Since I have a few new foundation to try out, I figured I could rotate them each into my shop my stash every other month or so and really take them out for spin. First up: the new, very hyped up, Charlotte Tilbury Beautiful Skin foundation. The minute this was announced I knew I wanted to try it as I love her Light Wonder foundation and this promises to be the best of both worlds: coverage but also hydration. It was launched in the midst of lockdown and knowing CT’s range runs quite warm toned, I wanted to do my due diligence and waited until stores reopened to pick out my shade. Here’s how I fared.
Review: Charlotte Tilbury Beautiful Skin foundation 3 Cool
When looking at the basics, then there are no surprises here. Charlotte Tilbury is higher ranging luxury makeup brand and this foundation is priced accordingly. Now the €40 this goes for isn’t as ridiculous as many of its luxury counterparts (hello Dior and YSL), but that still isn’t cheap. You do get the standard 30 ml amount and the foundation is available in 30 shades. That all sounds promising, but especially when it comes to the shade range I have a few gripes, but I’ll explain those below. Let’s first dig into what this product promises it will do and how it works.
What does this foundation have to offer?
Let’s cut the chase: I love this bottle. It’s a plastic tube with a pump to dispense the product. It is very reminiscent of the IT Cosmetics CC Cream and if you were ever disappointed with that shade range (it has like 6 or something) than I think this is a good one to try out as I feel I experience a similar vibe when using these. And that may be due to the claims. This foundation promises to have a buildable medicum coverage, but still be hydrating as well. It should make your skin look more radiant, but at the same time protect your skin. Like the It Cosmetics CC Cream, this promises to be more than just a makeup product. Sounds like music to my ears!
How does this product swatch?
The minute I touched this foundation I fell in love with the texture. It is a rich, creamy formula that blends beautifully onto the skin. It is never too thick or gloopy as the texture is slightly runny making this feel lightweight and never heavy at all. This truly is a full glam foundation, but without the cake face. It gives a healthy glow as you can see in the final picture and a beautiful more perfected finish that doesn’t crease, nor does it pull into any fine lines or accentuate any dry patches. My skin loves this stuff.
What is the coverage like?
This foundation promises to be a medium coverage foundation that is buildable. Now I don’t love full coverage foundation, medium is as far as I’d like to go, but this foundation truly hits that sweet spot. The day I took these pictures, I had quite a bit of redness in my face and with a single layer of product I manage to make it all disappear. I do use a makeup sponge to apply it which sheer out the product even more and I ever only use half to one pump of product. I just don’t like overloading my face with foundation. I’d rather go in with a bit of concealer in certain areas of my face than getting all the coverage out of my foundation. So yes, coverage wise this is a great one.
What is the shade match like?
So yes, this shade is too dark. But hear me out on this one: while this foundation comes in 30 shades, the foundation doesn’t come in that many different undertones. In store, I was torn between 2 Neutral and 3 Cool. I couldn’t go with 1 Neutral as it was too light for me. The thing is, 2 Neutral was so yellow that it really clashed with my skin tone. Since I already own the Light Wonder and like that shade a lot, I looked what shade was closest to that one and that was 3 Cool. So while this is too dark for me, I know it will be easier to tone down and adjust than when a shade is too yellow. It is far more difficult to change the undertone of a foundation (i.e. impossible) but you can always lighten a shade or add more bronzer to make it match.
That brings me to my only downside with this foundation: the shades. The minute you get to the outer edges of the shade range, there are no longer any undertones apart from a single choice. In the lighter spectrum there are only neutral shades, which in my book skew far too warm toned and aren’t neutral at all. If there was a shade called 2 Cool, that would be my shade, but it sadly doesn’t exist. The same goes for many other shades in the range. Some come in warm and neutral, but not cool, others come in only cool and neutral and not warm. All in all, the range contains just 7 shades with a cool undertone. Like, how is that going to help anyone find their shade? I know I will be able to get more use out of this foundation as I love the finish and texture of it, but the shade range is a complete let down for me.
My final thoughts
I thoroughly love the Charlotte Tilbury Beautiful Skin foundation. It makes my skin look radiant and glowy and it feels amazing on my dry skin. It stays put really well and I get a full day of wear time out of this for sure. So the foundation and the way it wears, applies and feels on the skin is A+++. What I dislike about this foundation is the shade range. I struggled finding my shade and the way this foundation has been laid out, just isn’t the easiest to grasp. This truly is one you have to swatch in store and get matched and you still have to be careful as it just doesn’t come in a wide range of undertones. In 2022, I don’t think that a foundation at this price point should suffer from such a lack of attention in terms of shades.
Would I recommend the Charlotte Tilbury Beautiful Skin foundation?
Yes I would if you are looking for a dewy, glowy, radiant foundation that truly makes your skin look more beautiful. (This thing truly does what it says on the tin). That said, you may struggle finding your shade. So I would definitely make sure you go into store to try it (and don’t let a nagging sales associate talk you into a shade, go with your gut) or try and see if you can get a sample of a shade that you think might be a match. In the end, I think that is what is going to keep people from truly loving this foundation: the fact that the shade range just doesn’t cater to a wide enough variety of shades and undertones and still mainly focuses on the medium range.
6 responses to “Charlotte Tilbury Beautiful Skin foundation review”
Such a shame to hear the shade isn’t as perfect as it could have been! What are the shade ranges like for other Charlotte Tilbury foundations, did they mirror those at all?
The IT Cosmetics CC Cream comes in a few more shades now, one lighter than Fair too which was previously the lightest 🙂
Ah good to know about the It Cosmetics! The other CT foundations are okay, but they aren’t super light overall. I just happened to find my match in the Light Wonder.
My colour is completely out of stock. Which other brand makes a foundation similar to this I can use while I am waiting
I find that formula wise the It Cosmetics CC Cream is quite similar. But I have found that the Flower Beauty Light Illusion foundation makes for a good alterantive too.
As a very pale but warm yellow toned woman what you are saying sounds like music to my ears, there are so very few truly warm toned foundations in light shades it’s really hard to get good match. I will check this out ASAP.
Definitely go to a store to get shade matched! It really helped me with picking out my shade.