Charlotte Tilbury just launched her fourth Instant Look in a Palette in a neutral-cool toned option called the Smokey Eye Beauty. This is currently a Beautylish exclusive and in terms of color options this is one of the deeper ones that she has launched. The colors themselves are pretty basic and standard but the quality is on point and colors are easy to use so it makes for a good everyday option.
These Instant Look in a Palettes are designed for a basic five minute face. They have enough colors that you can do a quick look with or use on-the-go. In concept the number of colors in the palette is just the right amount for a full look for makeup color (minus base, concealer, lips, mascara, brows etc.). I’ve found that I still need 2 more eye products to really finish the look for me as I tend to do a lot of blending and I need some kind of creamy shadow stick as a base to help the powders adhere or blend better. My previous reviews of the other three linked with Natural Beauty, Seductive Beauty and Beauty Glow.
Smokey Eye Beauty has three eyeshadows, one bronzer, two cheek colors and one highlighter. The top three eyeshadows include a pale champagne shimmer, medium cool brown matte, dark matte black with navy tinge. All three are extremely smooth and well pigmented. They are easy to blend and apply but they are on the powdery side with powder kick up. The contour bronzer is a light to medium brown, it has a subtle sheen to it which makes it natural looking. It’s cool-toned on my skin. The two cheek colors are a light warm pink and a medium warm pink, both soft and also natural looking. The highlighter is a pale gold which is supposed to be the Bar of Gold. I never tried it so I can’t compare it to the original. This one has a stiffer texture which makes it look sheer on my skin. Long-time readers know how I feel about yellow golds. This one is pale enough that you can’t really see the yellow tone once on the skin so for me it’s actually a lot more wearable than I anticipated just from looking at it in the pan.
Below wearing:
- Foundation is MILK Makeup Blur Liquid Matte Foundation in Golden Sand
- Concealer under eyes is MILK Makeup Flex Concealer in Medium
- Powder to set is the La Mer Loose Powder in Translucent
- Cheeks + Eyes are the Smokey Eye Beauty Palette
- Lip Color is Charlotte Tilbury Matte Revolution in Pillow Talk + Miss Bloomingdale mixed
- Nail Polish is Diorific Ruby (review here)
- Top from H&M
Bottom line a solid performer. Colors, texture and pigment are all very wearable. As with powders there will be some powdery-ness and kick up, this one seems to have a little more than most but it wasn’t problematic. Color-wise the shades to me aren’t the most unique or exciting but they show up in a natural and soft way that is 100% wearable. I do think the combination of colors is great for ease of use. Sometimes an effortless palette is just what I need – this one is versatile enough to wear for a number of occasions and will go with all kinds of lip colors, light, deep, warm and cool. I give it a thumbs up. I will be reviewing the Instant Eye Palette soon (waiting on my order) – reviews have been really mixed, so it will be interesting to test this in person.
You can find the Charlotte Tilbury Instant Look in a Palette Smokey Eye Beauty exclusively at Beautylish right now. It retails for $75.
Thanks to Beautylish for sending this to me to review.









This looks great on you. I love the two TIlbury palettes I have but I will skip this one bec. the darkest shadow would get no use and I have plenty of use left in my other two palettes. Although I wouldn’t buy this one, I want to go on record as a huge Tilbury fan. Any of the palettes are quick and fool-proof ways to an easy or more dramatic look. I also love Secret Salma lipstick, Wonderglow, Magic Cream and Magic Night Cream.
I still have not bought a thing from her. Maybe all the Tom Ford makes up for it? Bad joke. What are the top items you would rec to a fair skinned gal with brown eyes and hair? Please and thank you!
I have the Seductive Beauty and Beauty Glow palettes. I love all the colors in each. I picked up Beauty Glow on a sale on the Tilbury website a couple of months ago, so sign up for their emails to get notifications. Highly recommend both palettes and the bronzer/highlighter is different in each. For my money, Tilbury makes the nicest bronzers. They are never too much, never muddy or orange.
You are amazing! Thank you!
Thanks Suzanna! Yes – if you don’t feel like you will use 100% of the colors then it’s an easy pass.
Lovely as always. I’ve learned my lesson from palettes, I never use enough of the shades to spend the money. If that eye brighten shade was sold alone I would grab it!
Totally!
Beautiful palette! They just opened a brand new Nordstrom in my area and they have a Charlotte Tilbury counter, yay!! I was admiring the lovely SA and asked her what she was wearing. She was wearing this palette, of course! LOL. I love this palette because it’s great for travel and it has everything you need, aside from foundation.
Interesting! I thought this was a Beautylish exclusive only. They do have other shade options – I wonder if she was talking about another color?
I could be mistaken. It could have been the other eyeshadow palette.
how do you like the milk blur makeup? does it blur well and how is it for oily skin?
thanks!
I have mixed feelings – foundation has really good coverage but shade pulls a little too yellow on me. I would say yes it is suitable for oily skin – I find I really need a beautyblender sponge to apply otherwise it looks cakey/streaky. Since it has such opaque coverage I feel like it’s not forgiving if you don’t have an exact shade match.
Concealer is really nice!
BTW beauty glow and seductive beauty are my two fave palettes. love how everything is coordinated from eyes to cheeks!
i have the instant eye palette and while some of the colors are beautiful, a couple of the lighter shades in day and desk eyes are fairly sheer. in general youll need to pack these colors on to get fairly opaque pigment.
if i had to recommend a palette to someone i would tell them to choose a UD naked palette over this. (i do really enjoy date and disco eyes, though!)
would love to hear your thoughts too – hope you have time for a post about it soon!
You look beautiful! Would love to hear more about the MILK concealer.
Thank you! I like the MILK concealer, but like the NARS better!
I love these palettes by CT, this one looks dreamy! x
Samantha’s Beauty Loves
I just returned mine. Really disappoint, the high lighter doesn’t show up on my skin and the black color is like a deep gray to me. For $75, it’s really not worth the money.
WOW these are so beautiful
Candice | Beauty Candy Loves
It’s pretty! I like the highlighter shade and the eyeshadows, but I think for the blushes it would’ve been nice if it had a pink neutral color and a peachy color. xx
Carolina’s Makeup Life
This looks so nice! I think is the best thing for a nice and clean day to day makeup !
https://asparklingjourney.com/
I don’t own anything by CT, but her lippies and face powder appeal to me!
http://thebookwormbeauty.com
her lipsticks are great, and it seems like net-a-porter has them for cheaper than usual??
This is really pretty!!! Not sure how much I’d use the black shade though. I saw her #2 palette like this (forgot the name) and now I want it realllllllly bad!! All of these palettes look so wearable.
I think of the ones so far this may be my favorite, simply because of the addition of a black shade. I felt like the others were incomplete due to that. I probably have dupes for all the shades, as as you said they aren’t unique shades, so I’m not sure if I’ll splurge on it, but it’s good to know the option is out there.
I love these all-in-ones, they’re perfect for travel! I have the natural beauty iteration, I’m eyeing seductive beauty next. 🙂
These are so great for traveling!
I agree – it’s super convenient.
Gorgeous! Love the cheek colors!
Thanks Melinda!
Just curious have you tried the Instabt Eye Pallet yet?