Weaving her web of magic: Charlotte Tilbury's success is down to the product

Celebrity circles aside and her own relentless drive and high energy, the main reason for Charlotte Tilbury’s success is the product itself, writes Vickie Maye

With more than 200 products sold in 39 countries, Charlotte Tilbury has achieved the unimaginable. In an already bloated beauty market, the make-up artist to the stars has created a cult brand in little more than five years.

The secret to her success?

“I talk a lot about the power of visualisation,” she says. “Visualise what you want and never give up until you get it. I always say that to be successful you need to love what you do... This was my dream.”

Of course, it takes more than a leaf through the pages of self-help bibles like The Secret to build a multi-million euro brand.

The product is key.

Tilbury jetted into Dublin to spread the word about her brand new sell-out concealer (more on that later) and her conversation was peppered with darlings, hugs and air kisses. High energy, screaming creativity, she barely takes a breath between sentences, her PAs hanging on her every word. She name-drops celebs, Amal, Kate — they fall off the tongue. These legendary women are friends to her — Kate Moss is godmother to her two children, she’s named lipsticks after some of her highest-profile clients.

But visualisation and celebrity circles aside, there’s a bigger reason for Tilbury’s success. There’s the woman herself — the public fall for her charms every bit as much as the rich and famous.

But really, it’s all down to the product itself.

Tilbury knows make up like no other — and when she sets her mind to creating a product, she’ll pull in the A-team to make it happen.

Her Magic Cream, one of her first launches, and still the most iconic, sums it up.

A concoction she developed for Fashion Week, she had requests from top models for samples to take home.

Her most recent concealer is another case in point. She was tired, she says, of cakey, chalky concealer, that gathered in a pore or else rolled off the face. So she created, as she puts it in her own words, “Spanx for the face”.

“Darling, it’s so special. My brand new Magic Away Liquid Concealer is unlike anything you have seen before,” she says, as only Tilbury can.

But the truth is, it works. This is a concealer like no other with ingredients and science that come up trumps.

“It has Persian silk tree bark extract for youthful looking skin, it can contribute to the illusion of a lifted upper eyelid, as well as reducing the appearance of fine lines, fading dark circles and puffiness,” she explains. “It also has Palmitoyl Glycine that helps rejuvenate the complexion and makes the skin look bouncy, fresh and youthful, and extract of wild indigo that helps to enhance the skin’s luminosity and brightens the under-eyes.”

Tilbury always talks about the power of make up. She references “getting by on fumes of sleep” but when she’s in full make up, she looks in the mirror and feels instantly energised, “plugged into a happy frequency”.

“Beauty and make up products really are so much more than decoration. They have an incredible ability to empower women and I truly believe they can change your life,” she says. “That’s the reason behind one of my mantras, ‘Give a woman the right make-up and she can conquer the world’. It has this ‘magic’ ability to morph your state of mind. It can boost your confidence, pick you up when you’re feeling down, and literally re-energise you. I call it the psychology of make up, if you look good, you feel good, you exude confidence and the world reacts to you in a powerful, more positive way. Beauty is incredibly powerful and with the right make up, anything is possible.” She even admits to wearing make up in bed.

“I live in my make up. I always wear a smoky eye to bed, that’s where the expression ‘smoky eye til I die’ originates from. I start by taking off all my make up with my Take-It-All-Off Eye Makeup Remover, followed by my beautiful Multi-Miracle Glow Balm,” she says, sharing her night-time beauty routine.

“The key to flawless, poreless looking skin at night is my Goddess Skin Clay Mask. I leave it on for 15 minutes. I then smooth on my retinol-infused Magic Night Cream elixir and Magic Night Eye Rescue. I then perform my Tilbury Tap massage to stimulate my circulation, so my skin looks fresh and plumped. For my famous bedroom eyes, I define my eyes using with my Rock N’ Kohl eyeliner in Barbarella Brown, I like to make my eyes look more almond-shaped eye with my signature Feline Flick — it instantly makes eyes look lifted and elongated, giving them the appearance of a more feline, seductive shape and you can rock around the bedroom all night. I finish with a little Legendary Lashes V2 mascara.

“My husband has never seen me without make up on. I always say look good, feel good, and a little eye make up at night keeps the magic alive!”

Tilbury was discovered when she met legendary make up artist Mary Greenwell at 16 — she had already personally discovered the transformative power of make up when she used mascara for the first time in her early teens. She began assisting her on shoots and Vogue covers followed soon after.

George and Amal Clooney at the royal wedding. Tilbury is a friend of Amal and did her make up that day. Picture: PA Wire

“Because I have been in the industry for over 25 years I have been lucky enough to have so many incredible experiences — and I still do. I’ve worked with so many amazing celebrities, all around the world, many of whom are great friends too. One of my favourite moments this year was creating Amal Clooney’s mesmerising makeup look for the royal wedding. I love working with Amal, she is absolutely beautiful, with chic, timeless and understated style and always looks polished and perfect. She has the perfect face for makeup too — mesmerizing, almond-shaped eyes, dark, thick lashes, and pillowy-rose lips. I always work together with my clients to create their look, they often have inspirations or visions they want to channel and I’ll start with that. It’s very important for occasions like this to also consider the dress, the shape, the fabric, the cut — and of course the colour is key to the make up look. Amal wore an incredible mustard yellow dress by Stella McCartney so I made sure the make up, especially the lip colour, complemented this stunning dress perfectly.” For the woman who survives on “fumes of sleep” she is adamant about family downtime.

“My day-to-day schedule is very busy — but I love it a little bit crazy. Every year I take time off in August and travel to Ibiza with my gorgeous husband George and my two wonderful boys Flynn and Valentine. It’s where I grew up and my parents still live there, it feels like home to me. It’s where I go to relax, unwind and it recharges my batteries. Family, friends, music, parties and dancing until late, it’s my magic fuel!” And with that, she bids Dublin goodbye and is off to another city, another launch.

“I couldn’t be more excited about what’s happening next at Charlotte Tilbury. Stay tuned darlings!”