Charlotte Tilbury’s new ‘beautiful skin’ foundation is out today – we were one of the first to try it

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As with everything post-March 2020, the ongoing pandemic has caused serious shifts to our beauty routines, namely a desire for a pared back, minimalist aesthetic that blurs the lines between make-up and skincare.

Our continued focus on health and wellbeing paired with lifestyle changes has seeped into our cosmetic interests, as brands move away from heavy coverage products in favour of lighter, hybrid formulas that deliver skincare benefits as well as the perfect make-up finish. Margaux Caron, a global beauty analyst at Mintel, agrees, arguing that “the core of the acceleration of hybrid makeup products is made of deeply-rooted trends that have only been accelerated by the COVID-19 crisis, and are thus now established trends that will remain true after the pandemic has abated.”

Forever ahead of the curve, Charlotte Tilbury is tapping into this ongoing trend with its latest foundation formula that was three years in the making. After spotting a gap in the market for a medium coverage option that features skincare benefits, the brand created “beautiful skin” (£34, Charlottetilbury.com), a foundation that claims to deliver a hydrated, plumper smoother and brighter complexion, all while providing 16-hour wear. With Kate Moss being the face of the new foundation, it’s clear the brand is going big for 2022. We’re always skeptical of a make-up product that claims to improve your skin health as you wear it, but Charlotte Tilbury never shies away from ambitious assertions, and has undertaken clinical trials to back these results up. The brand has a newfound focus on hybrid formulas after launching its primer-turned-SPF in the summer of 2021.

Aside from its coveted lipsticks and “magic” skincare, Charlotte Tilbury’s foundation range is one of its most popular lines. Its airbrush flawless foundation (£34, Charlottetilbury.com), a full coverage matte formula, has remained our favourite heavy duty base product since its launch back in 2019. Thanks to our oily, acne-prone complexion, we usually favour full coverage, but with the rise in glowy formulas that “look like skin”, we’re willing to branch out, particularly for a foundation that features so many skin nourishing ingredients. Read on to find out how the luxury brand’s latest foundation fared on our skin.

We used the formula religiously over a two-week period, analysing the ease of application, finish, buildability, longwear and any skincare benefits that came from wearing it. We didn’t change our existing skincare routine in order to give the formula a genuine test, and tried wearing it both with powder and without to test the different finishes it gives.

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Much like many other Charlotte Tilbury products, this foundation is infused with hydrating powerhouse hyaluronic acid, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. There’s two patented complexes at work too: “bix’activ” looks to reduce oiliness and the appearance of shine and pores, while “hyalurosmooth” claims to even out texture, and reduce dryness and dullness, resulting in plumper, even skin. This is music to the ears or someone with acne scarring, enlarged pores and other texture.

Other standout ingredients include brightening rose water, coconut extract which helps the skin hold water and aid its barrier over time, and anti-pollutant defences that protect and strengthen the skin. It’s a serious cocktail of skincare ingredients, we’ve never seen so many in a foundation formula.

These skincare make-up hybrid formulas usually offer a sheer finish, in turn ruling out anyone who prefers full coverage, so we were intrigued by the foundation’s medium, buildable finish, as it could provide the perfect harmony between skincare benefits and a flawless base.

As advised by Tilbury herself, we applied the foundation with the brand’s Hollywood complexion brush (£30, Charlottetilbury.com) to buff it in, but we also found that applying it with our fingers worked well, thanks to it being a skincare hybrid. The formula has an almost gel-like consistency that buffs into the skin beautifully, leaving a subtle radiance to the skin that catches the light naturally. We can see how this formula is touted as being plumping, as it really bounced onto the skin evenly and left our skin looking supple.

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As a full coverage foundation stan, we’d say that the coverage is more light to medium rather than medium, and found that we did need to build up the formula to cover dark spots and acne. Anyone who doesn’t have these skin issues won’t need to build up the coverage, but it’s something to bear in mind if you do, as we had to use at least three pumps each time we applied it.

For those familiar with Charlotte Tilbury’s complexion range, we’d describe this formula as the lovechild of Hollywood filter and the brand’s airbrush flawless foundation, as it gives the luminosity and plumpness that the former offers while delivering more coverage.

When set with powder, we found this formula lasted nearly as well as our favourite full coverage foundations, which tend to have more staying power thanks to their matte finishes. This is impressive considering you’d usually have to give up longwear for a glowy finish. Setting it with powder did dial down some of the radiance, but it still looked healthy and fresh, and wore well throughout the day without any need for top-ups.

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We also tried wearing this as more of a tinted moisturiser on a no-makeup make-up day, without setting it, and found the formula did fade and needed topping up around the mouth and textured parts of the skin, but this is to be expected, as anyone with oily skin knows, you need to set your base for longwear. We can’t speak to the 16-hour claim but it didn’t budge when set all day and evening.

After wearing this foundation for two weeks at the end of a difficult year, our skin was looking dull and tired. Pair that with a festive period of copious drinking and eating and we were in prime position to see whether this formula could whip our complexion into shape. We didn’t notice any reduction in dark spots (this is probably down to the limited time period in which we tested it) but we did see a slight improvement in skin texture and brightness. Our skin felt hydrated and calm throughout the day and when taking our make-up off, and we didn’t experience any dryness or additional breakouts. We think that wearing this over a longer period of time would improve our skin further.

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This foundation is a clever move for a brand that dominates in skin-perfecting formulas. It really does fill the gap in the market for those who want that radiant, your-skin-but-better finish but who need slightly more coverage alongside it, as it’s a bouncy, buildable formula that leaves the skin looking fresh and supple. We noticed subtle differences to our skin health which to us, justifies the price of this formula, as it truly is a two-in-one product. If you love full coverage but want to branch out into something a bit more natural, this is the perfect olive branch to the glowy base market.