Charlotte Tilbury Magic Foundation

Hello Lovelies, 

Recently I went on a rare trip out with my daughter Lissy to meet my lovely friend Jodie in Manchester, whilst we were there we nipped into Selfridges so I could pick up a sample of the new Charlotte Tilbury Magic Foundation, I have the Light Wonder foundation (full review here) and really like it and have tried the Magic Cream (full review here) so I was really excited to try the Magic Foundation, I'd heard so many good things about it and read up on it and it sounded perfect for my skin. 

The sales assistant said she wasn't sure which shade I'd be so she gave me 3 samples in shade 2, 3 and 3.5 which incidentally were all wrong, she didn't try the foundation on my face but my daughter who is a professional MUA can colour match someone by looking at them so I assumed she could too, obviously not. 

✿ Shade 2 - A pink-beige for Very Fair Skin Tones with Cool Undertones.

✿ Shade 3 - A neutral beige for Light Skin Tones with Cool Undertones.

✿ Shade 3.5 - A warm golden-beige for Light Skin Tones with Warm Golden/Yellow Undertones.

Shade 3.5

What Charlotte Tilbury Says About The Magic Foundation

My Magic Foundation is a miracle in a bottle that transforms skin for all ages, skin tones and skin types.

I have worked with laboratories for five years to create a “hyper-intelligent” formula that gives full-coverage yet feels completely weightless, with all the anti-aging and protective benefits of a luxury skin cream.

It conceals imperfections, glides on like a dream, and literally feels like a second skin. Whether your skin needs just a bit of perfecting, or you struggle with a frustrating issue like acne, melasma or rosacea, my Magic Foundation will give you a perfect skin day, every day!

Chose from 15 beautiful demi-matte shades to match every skin tone from Lily Cole to Lupita Nyongo. Buff on with my Magic Complexion Brush for a flawless, air-brushed finish.

IDEAL FOR TREATING THE FOLLOWING:

Acne & Acne Scarring

• Instantly tightens pores and reduces shine.
• Minimizes oil production after 9 weeks.

Redness, Rosacea, Discoloration & Melasma

• Weightlessly covers any discoloration or imperfections.
• Helps reduce over-production of melanocytes (which cause pigmentation issues like melasma).

Mature Skin: Lines, Deep Wrinkles, Age Spots & Spider Veins

• Smoothes the appearance of wrinkles in just 1 hour.
• Reduces the appearance of age spots by 75%.

Normal to Tired, Dull Skin

• Antioxidant formula rejuvenates skin from within for a rested, refreshed look.

Broad Spectrum SPF 15

My Thoughts

First of all as I said all 3 shades were completely wrong, the sales assistant said I'd probably be a 2 normally but because I still had some of my holiday tan I might be a 3 or 3.5, which does sound like it makes sense doesn't it? However the shades don't go just in shade deepness, as you can see from my description of each shade above, they go in undertone, colour and shade deepness so going up in numbers wasn't ever going to work for me, shouldn't she have known this? Although the shades I'd been given were incorrect I decided I would still try the foundation as I would be able to try it based on application, formula and how it wore etc. 

I decided I would apply the foundation with my beauty blender as this is how I usually apply foundation, I had already prepared my skin with my usual skin care regime. I applied the foundation and it applied well with the beauty blender, as soon as I applied it I really disliked the finish, it is a matte finish and my skin looked really flat, I would agree that the foundation reduces shine but not that it minimises pores, I found that it settled into my pores slightly. I have very dry and dehydrated skin and told the sales assistant who said and I quote "oh it's perfect for your skin type" I have fine lines around my eyes and on my forehead due to having very dehydrated skin and some of the fine lines around and under my eyes are probably due to my age too but the foundation does claim to be for a more mature skin, however the foundation settled really badly into the fine lines around and under my eyes and on my forehead they looked awful almost immediately, I smoothed the foundation out but once again it settled into the lines. 

I also felt the foundation looked quite cakey, the day I wore it my sister was doing my hair and I asked her what she thought and she said it looked "powdery" and my skin looked dull and flat and I have to agree with her it did. The foundation gives quite a full coverage but I'd say medium to full rather than full, it did cover my redness but my freckles were still visible in some areas. 

Overall Thoughts & Will I Purchase?

I was so disappointed with the Magic Foundation, I really wanted to love it. I adore the Light Wonder foundation but this is so different compared to that, I honestly cannot agree with the claims apart from it covering redness as it is a medium to full coverage but the rest of the claims I couldn't disagree more, I hated the way my makeup looked, my skin looked flat and powdery and my lines were extremely visible. In my opinion this foundation would be best used by someone with a normal skin who doesn't suffer with dehydration or dryness, maybe if you have dry skin but use a good hydrating primer it could be ok but any sort of fine lines it will settle into, unfortunately I can't speak for oil control as my skin is very dry and not oily at all but as far as my very dry and dehydrated skin goes this foundation certainly wasn't for me at all and I certainly won't be purchasing a full size, I'll stick to the Light Wonder. 

I do want to mention that my daughter Lissy tried her sample and the foundation looked lovely on her and she really liked it, she has normal skin, no dry patches, no dehydration and no oil just completely normal and very clear skin. 

If you would like to try the Magic Foundation you can find it here from Selfridges or here from John Lewis priced at £29.50 for 30ml. 

Have you tried the Magic Foundation? What did you think?

Thank you for reading, much love as always

Zoe x