This Charlotte Tilbury Foundation Is Like an IRL Filter for Our Beauty Editor’s Skin
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Some products that we’ve tried have stood the test of time and remain our faves to this day. In our series 10/10 Would Recommend, we’re giving the final word on well-known products that we fully stand behind.
The Product
Charlotte Tilbury's Airbrush Flawless Foundation is available in 44 shades, provides buildable coverage, and contains plenty of skin-friendly ingredients.
The Stats
The Price: $44.00
Year it came out: 2019
Reviewed by: Rated the “Best For Covering Up Acne Scars” by Cosmopolitan; recommended by Good Housekeeping; rated as one of the “Best Matte Foundations” by Women's Health
How Did I Find It?
I'm a Pillow Talk stan, so when Charlotte's foundation came across my desk back in the summer of 2019, I was thrilled to test her most recent innovation. It initially caught my eye because its claims are aligned with what I typically look for in a foundation: a long-wearing liquid formula with buildable coverage and a matte finish — something a ton of foundations claim to achieve, only to fall short more often than not.
Why Do I Love It?
As a beauty editor, it's my job to try out beauty products to ensure that every item I cover is on point! Since my journalistic integrity means everything to me, I'm diligent about keeping my carefully edited list of foundations up to date, only adding promising products that meet my high-quality standards and withstand my thorough product testing. And ever since its release, the Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless Foundation always reclaims the number one spot on my vanity — because it's seriously just that good.
I can’t help but gravitate toward this foundation. It doesn’t matter if it’s for a vacation, a birthday dinner with friends, or important work meetings — this bottle of beauty gold has been my go-to for years, no matter the occasion.
After I took some time to reflect on what exactly makes this foundation so epic, I quickly realized three main reasons why I can't stop using it — and since these features make this foundation stand out from the rest, I highly recommend adding one to your shopping cart, stat.
Wide Shade Variety
I'm Chinese-Jamaican, so as you can imagine, my family members have a beautiful array of skin tones. So even when a brand has a foundation that matches my complexion, if I don't see other wearable shades that could work for family and friends, I'm unamused.
Now that Rihanna's Fenty Beauty has normalized the idea that beauty brands need to provide proper shade diversity, companies like Charlotte Tilbury have come correct with a satisfactory amount of colors. Having said that, Tilbury's Airbrush Flawless Foundation comes in an impressive variety of 44 shades for you to choose from.
Selecting your color match is easy and should only take a few minutes.
First, you'll need to choose from three undertones: cool, neutral, and warm. Cool undertones typically have veins that are blue, purple, or both. Neutral undertones have blue-green veins while warm undertones have green or olive veins.
Your final step is to select a shade color. As the numbers increase, the deeper the foundation shade. Currently, there are 20 levels to choose from, bringing the total to 44 shades. I sport 9 Cool throughout the year, which places me near the middle of the noteworthy color range.
Still not sure if the suggested color is right for you? Take a quick quiz on either Charlotte Tilbury's site or share your current foundation with Sephora, and the retailer will help find your Airbrush Flawless match.
For what it's worth, I initially tried this product pre-launch, meaning the Charlotte questionnaire wasn't live yet. It took me a few tries to nail down the right shade — I toyed with 9 Warm and 10 Neutral — but once I got my hands on a bottle of 9 Cool, it was a color match success!
Skincare Quality Ingredients
Over the last 5 years, I've noticed more beauty brands are infusing their face makeup with ingredients that you typically find in skincare products like niacinamide and squalane, which are typically found in face mists, dark circle eye creams, and hyaluronic acid serums. Charlotte Tilbury is no exception, and it's not surprising since one of her earliest hero products is Magic Cream.
Airbrush Flawless contains four noteworthy skincare-quality ingredients, but do they actually live up to the hype? Clinical trials say a majority of users saw a reduction in the appearance of wrinkles, hydration was boosted by more than 200%, and skin is protected against urban pollution, humidity, and sweat.
Since I'm in my 20s, I thankfully don't have obvious wrinkles (yet!), so I can't speak to it minimizing the appearance of my current lines. However, I do find that my skin feels soft while wearing the foundation and after removing it. I like to think the combination of anti-aging REPLEXIUM and hydrating MossCellTec No. 1 are working together to help rebalance my skin.
Metropolitan areas like New York City, where Hearst is based, are notoriously polluted. Airbrush Flawless contains C.T. DEFENCE, a proprietary peptide that forms a barrier between my face and the dirt and grime from outdoors. I can't say for certain if the foundation is actually protecting me from environmental pollution, but I do notice my skin looks healthy whenever I use this foundation.
By far, my favorite ingredient in this foundation is AirCool because it delivers on its promise of prolonging the foundation's wear, including during hot and humid East Coast summers. This is especially important for me since I have oily skin and want a demi-matte finish throughout the day. I usually apply a face primer when I have a long day or special occasion, and this foundation holds up on its own until it's time to remove my makeup before bed.
Multiple Ways to Build or Dilute Coverage
TBH, if you apply this foundation with your fingers, it surprisingly looks good. But in order to truly gain the most from this product, you should invest in an application beauty tool like a foundation brush or makeup sponge.
One of the best features of this foundation is how easy it is to build or dilute its coverage. Here's my quick guide on how to achieve various coverage levels with a single foundation.
Full coverage: Buff one and a half to two pumps of foundation onto your skin with a medium-density brush, like the IT Cosmetics Complexion Perfection Brush.
Medium-to-full coverage: Blend one and a half to two pumps of foundation onto your skin with a medium-density brush, like the Bdellium Tools Phase II 968 Foundation Brush, and use a spot concealer for any remaining foundation.
Medium coverage: Stipple three-quarters to one pump of foundation onto your skin with either a damp Beautyblender or the best-selling Anisa foundation brush.
Sheer coverage: Use half to one pump of foundation with the duo fiber Bdellium Tools brush or Sigma F79 Concealer Kabuki Brush. This method doesn't require a brush, though I like to perfect the finish with a clean duo-fiber Bdellium Tools powder brush.
The Final Word
This Charlotte Tilbury foundation is a must-buy, especially if you have oily skin like me. You'll get a demi-matte finish that lasts throughout the day, whether you opt to use a face primer or not. It also photographs great, rebalances your skin, and is available in 44 shades.
Applying the foundation is straightforward, making it a solid beauty investment for beauty enthusiasts of all skill levels, ranging from complete novices to professional makeup artists looking to build out their kits.
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