Charlotte Tilbury’s Magic Cream review: Is it worth the hype?

Charlotte’s Magic Cream has long been a coveted product. A ‘secret’ formula that Charlotte used on her models backstage to get their skin positively glowing for the catwalk. The cream is cleverly marketed and is seriously hyped up to be something really special, so I was pleased to receive a pot of Charlotte’s Magic Cream in my World of Legendary Parties advent calendar backin December and was really keen to try it out after hearing the rave reviews.

I’ve tried many products from Charlotte’s makeup range since receiving my advent calendar and absolutely fell in love with most of them, so I really had high expectations for the cream hailed as being adored by models and celebrities.

The ingredients include:

• BioNymph Peptide Complex to stimulate collagen production while fighting free radicals
• SPF15 and UVA filter to protect the skin from the sun’s ageing effects
• Rosehip and camellia oils
• Vitamin E to transform grey complexions
• Sodium Hyaluronate that forms a film of hyaluronic acid and Wild Pansy extracts to help renew over the skin to seal in moisture

Other ingredients are: Water (Aqua), Homosalate , Glyceryl Stearate SE, Ethylhexyl Salicylate, Butylene Glycol, Glycerin, Butyl Methoxydibenzoylmethane, Octocrylene, Cetyl Alcohol, C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, Cyclopentasiloxane, Dimethicone, Phenoxyethanol, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, Steareth-21, Avena Sativa (Oat) Kernel Extract, Carbomer, Dimethiconol, Potassium Cetyl Phosphate, Chlorphenesin, Caprylyl Glycol, Xanthan Gum, Hydrolyzed Viola Tricolor Extract, Allantoin, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Disodium Edta, Tocopheryl Acetate, Camellia Oleifera Seed Oil, Rosa Canina Fruit Oil, Rosa Damascena Flower Water, Sodium Hydroxide, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Michelia Alba Leaf Oil, Sodium Lactate, Coco-Glucoside, PEG-8, Ethylhexylglycerin, Sodium Hyaluronate, Tocopherol, Palmitoyl Oligopeptide, Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-7, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Plumeria Rubra Flower Extract, Ascorbic Acid, Citric Acid, Nicotiana Sylvestris Leaf Cell Culture, Linalool, Citronellol, Geraniol, plus a little bit of top secret magic…

The first thing I noticed about the cream was the thick texture, it almost felt like Pond’s Cold Cream when I applied it to my face thanks to its texture and cooling effect on the skin. Next, I noticed the scent which is quite similar to the scent Nivea moisturisers have, so it smelled lovely and fresh and not too overpowering at all.

I’d describe the cream as quite heavy and nourishing, it takes a little while to soak into the skin and gives the skin a healthy almost wet-look glow. The skin doesn’t feel too tacky to touch around 15 minutes or so after use, but it does keep the ‘glow’ which can actually look a little more greasy than fresh. This moisturiser wouldn’t be any good for straight up oilier skin types, but if you have skin on the very dry side or mature side, you’d probably like it in moderation.

One of the biggest downsides I found to the cream was the horrible stinging it caused if I managed to get it close to my eye area (perhaps down to the SPF) – my eyes are quite sensitive, but I should imagine that the cream will have the same effect on many other people too. I also found that the cream could sometimes tend to roll up on my skin depending on which serum I’d used underneath it – it seemed to mostly happen with my Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair serum but also was the case with my Skin Chemists 24 Hour Aqua Repair Facial Serum.

I find that applying makeup on top of the cream is a bit of a nightmare for me, it doesn’t tend to last too long on top of the cream and feels like it’s sliding around pretty prematurely compared to when I normally apply my makeup with my regular Vitamin E Complex underneath. I put this down to the fact that the cream includes Silicone in its ingredients, something I really dislike putting onto my skin as it feels too heavy for my skin type and I don’t like the feeling it creates. Now don’t get me wrong, I’ve persevered with the cream for a long time and keep trying it out to try and figure out why it isn’t working for me, but it just really isn’t suited to my skin type at all.

The only time I tend to use the cream is on my ‘no makeup’ days if my skin is feeling particularly dry. The days where I’m sat at my desk all day working on blog posts or editing videos and don’t need to leave the house.

So, would I repurchase it for myself or my pro kit, or think it’s worth £70 for 50ml? Absolutely not. I think there are other creams that are better and for a fraction of the cost from brands such as Embryolisse and Nivea. It was nice to try the cream out for myself after seeing so many people rave about it, but honestly, I think the marketing is much more magic than the cream itself.

© This post is copyright of Rachael Divers 2017.