I'm going to be totally honest with you, when I heard about Charlotte Tilbury's Beautiful Skin Foundation back when it first launched in 2022, I was a teeny, tiny, little bit indifferent. Yes, I said it. Now, don't get me wrong – I LOVE the Tilbury products; Charlotte's Filmstar Bronze & Glow is irreplaceable in my makeup bag. But when I saw a snap of the Beautiful Skin Foundation on my IG feed, I couldn't help but feel a little wave of 'meh'. Let me explain...
It's January '22, I'm living my life in leggings, working from home and counting down the seconds till payday. Sure, I want glowy, plumped, dewy, flawless-looking skin, but as my social life currently stands, the only person that will see my glossy-complexion makeover will be the local DPD delivery driver...
Still, when I finally got my hands on that pale-pink Charlotte Tilbury box, excitement took over logic, and I couldn't wait to give the foundation a try.
My first impressions of the packaging were great – I much prefer a tube to a bottle (it's lighter in the makeup bag and easier to get every last drop out of), plus, the pump dispenser is simple to use and faff-free.
As someone with fair skin and pink undertones, I opted for shade '3 Cool' which Charlotte describes as "perfect for fair skin with cool pink undertones." There are 30 shades to choose from in total, ranging from deep to fair and in a mix of warm, cool and neutral undertones.
The foundation is designed to hydrate whilst offering a medium coverage, so if you're prone to dryness (or just prefer a dewier makeup finish) it's likely to work well for you.
For my skin, it was perfect. I primed my face with a little moisturiser/SPF beforehand and the formula blended seamlessly – even over the drier areas of my complexion (like, around the nose and brows).
It's a medium coverage, so whilst it made light work of neutralising the redness on my cheeks, a couple of blemishes still showed through (nothing a little dab of concealer couldn't fix though).
The foundation claims to hydrate, smooth, brighten, even and plump the skin (not bad, hey?) and have to say, it ticks every box. I noticed the pores over my cheeks looked smaller, whilst the fine lines on my forehead were smoothed. Feel free to zoom in and see for yourself.
The lasting power is impressive, too! While most dewy foundations tend to have a shorter lifespan than their matte counterparts, I found the Beautiful Skin Foundation to hold up well all day. Yes, there was a tiny bit of fading here and there, but overall my skin still looked fresh and even-toned.
Don't just take my word for it though, here's what a few of our favourite TikTokers thought...
Well done Charlotte, you've officially done it again.
Victoria Jowett is an award-winning journalist and the former Beauty Director at Cosmopolitan UK. She was named one of PPA’s 30 Under 30 for her work in beauty journalism and oversees the skincare, hair, makeup and fragrance content across all of Cosmopolitan’s platforms. She's worked in the beauty industry for over 13 years (and tested 1000s of products), making her an expert when it comes to recommending beauty brands that truly work. Having started her career working weekends on a makeup counter, Victoria began interning at the likes of AnOther and IDOL magazine, before landing her first Beauty Writer job at weekly fashion magazine, LOOK. Joining Cosmopolitan in 2016, Victoria has always remained a beauty fanatic and has been lucky enough to interview everyone from Britney Spears to Kourtney Kardashian about their beauty routines. Follow her on LinkedIn.
