Is Charlotte Tilbury Worth It?

"Makeup can give you the confidence to...change your job, move abroad, get a pay raise." - Charlotte Tilbury

Let me start by saying: these are by far the most expensive products I've ever purchased. I am in no way advocating budget-stretching or buying things that are overpriced JUST to say you did it for the namebrand because God knows that most prestige products can typically accomplish what drugstore products can just with healthier ingredients and a fancier label! But man, Charlotte Tilbury is the real deal, and I'm slowly falling in love with her products. She is a world-renowned UK makeup artist who has worked her magic on hundreds of celebrities and fashion runways and in 2013 launched her own line of cosmetics.

I had eyed her products for several months before I happened upon them in Bergdorf Goodman while on a trip to NYC. The exorbitance of the price is what always thwarted my obsession, but with the products there at my physical fingertips, I took the plunge and bought two products; the FilmStar Bronze & Glow and the Dolce Vita Luxury Palette. The very sweet brand rep threw in four Super Model Body shimmers too!

Left to right: The Dolce Vita Luxury Palette, Super Model Body, & Film Star Bronze & Glow

The Dolce Vita Luxury Palette (at a hefty $53) is an eyeshadow quad that consists of two shimmer & two matte shades. The shimmers are a cool frosted cream that actually applies as slightly yellow in tint and a warm gold. The mattes are a warm burgundy and a cool purple brown that applies more brown than plum. I'll be honest; I could've done without this palette. Aside from the burgundy and the creamy shimmer shades, I'm not a fan of the powder application. The glitters don't stick without a gummy primer underneath and even then they wind up on the cheekbones and lower lashes, and the mattes are rough, patchy, and not true to pigment.

Now let's talk about my very favorite contour palette, the Film Star Bronze & Glow in Light/Medium! Okay, it's not cheap at $68, and it's not much product, but for a makeup minimalist (on myself), it's perfect. There are only two colors, a champagne finely-milled highlighter and a soft taupe-y brown contour. The highlight is gorgeously glowing, neutral-toned, & creamy. The contour shade is only for very fair to light skin tones as it is a sheer taupe with not much pigment. It provides faint, airbrushed-looking definition to the temples and cheekbones and mimics the color of natural shadows on the face. I love this duo and the thin golden compact it lives in!

Because this is not one of THE most popular contour palettes on the market, any chance one of you have tried it? If so, don't you just love it?