Wednesday, July 1, 2015

Charlotte Tilbury Vintage Vamp Luxury Colour-Coded Eyeshadow Palette Review, Photos and Swatches


The Charlotte Tilbury collection recently launched at Holt Renfrew in Canada, and after finally getting the chance to see the products in person, took a deep breath and made a purchase. Yes, the Tilbury products are pricey but the quality is exceptional and sometimes it's worth it to treat yourself.

I bought the Vintage Vamp Luxury Eyeshadow Palette and the Barbarella Brown Rock N Kohl Eye Pencil. In this post I'll review the Vintage Vamp Luxury Eyeshadow Palette. It costs $64 CDN and contains four eyeshadow colours.

Charlotte has designated each shade in her palettes as the Prime shade, the Enhance shade, the Smoke shade and the Pop shade. Diagrams are on the back of the box and on the back of the compact to show which shade is which.

The box and the compact are a shiny deep red with rose-gold detailing and type. 


More packaging photos.

Charlotte's whole philosophy is that makeup is a secret weapon, that it can change your life and empower you. She's inspired by beauty icons, and creates looks and products to enhance your sex appeal.

The power to mesmerise is in your eyes. With this make-up, hypnotise.
It sounds even better in french. 

Le pouvoir de fasciner repose dans vos yeux. Grace a ce maquillage, hypnotisez.



Inside the compact are the four eyeshadows, and a good sized mirror etched with a small star in the upper right corner. 


From top left clockwise, the Prime shade, the Enhance shade, the Smoke shade and the Pop shade.


The Prime shade is a soft, shimmery lilac-pink with a hint of gold to it. The Enhance shade is a muted pink-burgundy with a coppery shimmer to it. The Smoke shade is a deeper, richer burgundy with a little bit of shimmer, and the Pop shade is a copper-gold glitter shadow.

Prime, Enhance, Smoke and Pop shades.
All four shadows apply beautifully. The texture of all of them, and particularly the first three is creamy and buttery. The Pop shade is glitter-heavy, so it's not quite as creamy, but it's certainly not dry. They can be applied lightly or more heavily and blend incredibly well. These are easily some of the best eyeshadows I've ever used. 

With four shadows there are a variety of different ways to use this palette. Here's the first look I came up with - a softly smoky look. 

I applied the Prime shade all over my lids, and in the inner corner of my eyes, the Enhance shade in my creases and on the outer corner of my lids, as well as along my lower lash lines. I smudged the Smoke shade along my upper lash lines and then applied the Barbarella Brown Rock N Kohl Eye Pencil on top. I'm wearing a bit of Benefit Rockateur blush on my cheeks and some lip balm on my lips. My base is MAC Face + Body and I've got MAC Pro Longwear Concealer under my eyes and MAC Prep + Prime powder to set everything. I've filled in my brows with Anastasia Dipbrow and I've got Benefit Bad Gal mascara on my curled top and bottom lashes. I'm also wearing some NYX Stick Blush in Pink Poppy on my cheeks.






I also tried Charlotte's own looks for this palette, which she's got on YouTube here. 


The day version of her Vintage Vamp isn't terrifically different from the look above, with the Prime shade used all across the lids, and in the inner corners. The Enhance shade is is applied to the outer corners of the lids, and softly in the crease. The Enhance shade is smudged along the upper lash line and three-quarters of the way along the lower lash lines. Then you apply the Barbarella Brown Rock N Kohl Eye Pencil along the top lashes. Apart from the eye pencil and the eyeshadow palette, I do not have the other products she uses in her video so I improvised with ones I do own. My blush is MAC's Pink Swoon, my lipstick is the Bite Beauty Lip Lab lipstick I had custom-made for myself. I applied it as Charlotte does in the video, making it look like my lips are stained as if I've been eating cherries.

My base, concealer, powder, mascara and eyebrow products are as in the above look.







And here is the night version of Charlotte's Vintage Vamp look. Starting with the look above, I applied the Smoke shade on the outer corner of my lids, and through my crease, bringing it up in a roughly triangular rectangle in the outer corners to mimic the flapper look of the 1920s. The Smoke shade is smudged quite low along my lower lashes for a vampy effect and the Barbarella Brown Rock N Kohl is applied to my waterline. Finally, I used my finger to apply the Pop shade on the inner half of my eyelids, and on the inner corners.






This was my favourite of the three looks, but not one I can wear everyday. I'll save the other two for that. But next time I have the occasion to do such a dramatic, vampy, sexy look, I'll go full Vintage Vamp.

Yes, Charlotte Tilbury's products are high-end but from what I've experienced, they're worth the splurge. I love the philosophy behind them, and the passion and experience Charlotte puts into the collection. There's magic to her make-up.

Charlotte Tilbury's collection is available at Holt Renfrew stores in Canada, and on her website. 

Grade: A


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