By popular request I have a review + swatches of the entire Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Collection. This collection launched a few weeks ago with new makeup formulas for lips (liquid lips) and cheeks (contour wands and a new highlight wand). I’m still playing catch up with posting about new beauty launches – these have all been put to the test for several weeks by now. The entire collection has a glamorous theme with luxe packaging. For me there are some hits and misses with this launch. More details on each below.
For the lips there are 10 shades of a new liquid lipstick called Hollywood Lips which are soft matte liquid lipsticks that have a plumping effect. I’m still not a fan of liquid lipsticks because I have full lips and matte shades tend to make my lips either look flat, dark or wrinkled like prunes. The best thing about liquid lips is the lasting power once they set and don’t budge after they dry however for me the “setting” factor isn’t something that works in my favor. They usually make my lips look like dry cardboard and I end up looking aged. Adding a balm or primer underneath can help with the finish for me but it’s an extra step I’m not thrilled about (I did that here with the NARS Powermatte Lips). In terms of matte lipsticks in general, the Charlotte Tilbury Matte Revolution formula is the best matte I’ve tried (reviewed here and here). I had high hopes of the new Hollywood Lips as her colors are usually 100% on point but I was still unsure of the formula. These come with a beveled sponge tip applicator and have full buildable coverage. Texture is smooth and easy to blend but they still dry to a soft matte finish. Once on the lips they don’t budge or slide around but they aren’t transfer proof as they never set or dry completely. The thing that struck me the most was how full they made my lips look – without any tingle or plumping feel. The formula is one of the better ones I’ve tried for a matte liquid lip but it still has not made me fall in love with liquid lipsticks. Out of all the liquid lipstick formulas I’ve tried the Burberry Lip Velvets have the best formula and finish but if you remember my review from a while ago, none of the colors worked for me. With the Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Lips the colors work well, but formula is still a bit dry-looking.
Descriptions of the colors:
- Charlotte Darling is a light peachy pink
- Best Actress is a perfect nude
- Dolly Bird is a cool-toned light pink
- Platinum Blonde is a pink nude
- Rising Star is a medium neutral pink
- Pin Up Pink is a deeper brighter rose
- Too Bad I’m Bad is a deep coral pink
- Show Girl is a perfect plum mauve
- Dangerous Liason is a deep brick red
- Screen Siren is a bright red
My favorites are Best Actress, Platinum Blonde, Too Bad I’m Bad and Show Girl. All the darker shades performed the best for me. I was relieved to see all the lighter colors worked as well color-wise, the formula not so much with Charlotte Darling and Dolly Bird – they looked extra dry on my lips.
Next are the contour and highlight which I wasn’t excited about in the least. To this day I’m not huge about contouring as I have a round face and there’s really only so much I can do to create the illusion of sharper cheek bones. I do use products to contour softly in a 3 shape (or backwards 3 on one side) with creams or powders but it’s usually a very quick process for me. I don’t have the patience to do a proper contour. There are two shades of the Hollywood Contour Wand in Light-Medium and Medium-Dark. Swatched on the arm you can clearly see the difference in undertone but on my face both look very similar in the sense they look dark straight out of the squeeze tube. The Beauty Light Wand highlighter comes in one shade Spotlight which looked super frosty when I swatched it but was surprisingly wearable once blended onto the face. Both come with a sponge tip applicator which is soft and cushiony. I don’t know how well it will hold up after use – it’s something that looks like it could get really dirty quickly.
The pigment is intense and quite rich but very easy to blend for a natural look. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I like these. They do set after a few minutes so I’d recommend blending quickly. The Double-Ended Complexion Contour Brush is very good and quite clever with the smaller angled tip so you can easily blend along the nose or other areas where you want a more detailed contour or highlight. I’ve lost some of my tan with recent travel and the heat here in Florida has made it where I’ve pretty much stayed indoors as much as possible. I like the Light-Medium color but think it has enough of a cool undertone to work for those lighter in skintone than me.
Swatches:
A quick look with two of the Hollywood Lips and the Contour Wand + Beauty Light Wand. I’m wearing:
- Diorskin Forever Perfect Foundation in 21 mixed with 31
- Charlotte Tilbury Flawless Powder #2
- Charlotte Tilbury Legendary Brow Gel in Supermodel
- Contour Wand in Light Medium
- Beauty Light Wand in Spotlight (both on eyes and cheeks)
- Right side: Hollywood Lips in Platinum Blonde, left side: Screen Siren
Bottom line a nice collection for lips and cheeks. The Hollywood Lips are definitely among the better formulas I’ve tried since they don’t dry down 100% and aren’t super matte. The colors are all beautiful and easy to wear. I was pleasantly surprised by how wearable and easy to use the contour wand and highlighter are. They’re compact and easy to travel with or apply on the go if you need to touch up or apply makeup in the car.
You can find the Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Collection now at Charlotte Tilbury and Beautylish. Also available at all other Charlotte Tilbury counters.
Many thanks to the Charlotte Tilbury team and Beautylish for providing products for me to review and swatch for my readers.
