Charlotte Tilbury Magic Foundation in Shade 7 Review

From Charlotte Tilbury website

I managed to get hold of a 1.5ml sample sachet of the foundation in shade 6 from the CT website thanks to some fellow beauty lovers and like any foundation addict I was excited to try out this highly raved and glamorised (by Charlotte herself) luxury foundation. 

When I get foundation sachets, I like to get the most out of it and make sure it doesn't dry up. Nothing worse than a messy sachet with dried up, build up of product. I get an empty pot ready, make a tiny snip in the corner of the sachet then ease and massage out. every. last. drop. Close the lid and I've got a pretty decent sample to play around with. Smile a smug smile and the stinge in me is pleased.

Shade and texture is what I first anticipate when trying out a new foundation, then coverage, finish and feel and then lastly build-ability, oxidisation and longevity.

When I first swatched shade 6 I knew instantly that it wasn't the right shade for me. It was quite neutral and just looked too pale for me. I applied it on my face and this was confirmed. Shade 6 would be more suitable for someone in the light/medium side of the spectrum, in MAC references I would say an NC30 but a neutral NC30, not as warm and yellow. I'm between NC35 and NC42 so I used it up by mixing in 2 drops of yellow food colouring and it done me rather nicely and of course I colour corrected my problem spots first. I think the shades have been all made more on the neutral side to be more forgiving for all skin tones. I could be wrong..

Taken from website:
Shade 6 is a neutral golden/yellow for Medium Skin Tones with Neutral Olive Undertones.
Shade 7 is a neutral caramel for Medium to Tan Skin Tones with Warm Golden or Olive Undertones.
Shade 8 is a neutral deep tan for Tan to Deep Skin Tones with Warm Golden or Olive Undertones.

From Charlotte Tilbury website

Lady No. 8 is shade 6, lady No. 9 is shade 7 and lady No. 10 is shade 8

From Charlotte Tilbury website

I then went on to purchase a sample of shade 7, swatching it I did think it looked like a neutral warm shade, slightly dubious considering it isn't overly yellow how I like it, I tried it on like I would normally apply liquid foundation (with a damp sponge, on well moisturised and colour corrected skin) and I found that this shade is actually rather forgiving and flattering on my complexion. I do need to try shade 7 a few more times in different lighting, locations and with different company to see how I feel about this shade, so I can't/won't rave or admire it too much now but so far it seems alright.

***Sorry for taking so long to add the swatches, I've been away from home! Anyway, I've added swatches of the CT Magic Foundation in shade 7 next to Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer in Ginger since I figured most people interested in this shade will probably be/have Nars' Ginger and can do a comparison instead of seeing a single swatch, sometimes it's better looking at shade comparisons to see proper variations between tones.***

***Taken both in flash and natural lighting, England is proper dull and grey these days so it was difficult to capture 100% accurate swatches. Had to use flash because the off lighting was making my skin and the swatches appear really greyish, you'll see :/. Though I'd highly advise you take these swatches as brief ideas and get yourself correctly matched at a counter.***

The texture of the Magic Foundation I noticed is thick i.e. it won't run down your hand if you were to pump some out, it's almost moussey and gel like but creamy, and also elasticy and bouncy, like it's been whipped but it's still liquid in texture, I find it unusual but in a good way, I feel this plays a part on the finish and feel but more on that later. 

I am quite impressed with the coverage, you don't need a lot of foundation to get good coverage. Though I should mention that I don't like to use very much anymore. My area of concern is uneven skin tone, hyper-pigmentation and skin texture, My skin is fussy and I would label it as problematic but at the same time I don't have any major blemishes on my face to cover nor do I need that much coverage. My acne marks aren't too dark and I don't mind if they aren't completely covered, evening my skin with some foundation blurs/conceals them enough and I'm happy with light to medium coverage. After colour correcting, I apply a couple of dots of foundation on my forehead, a couple on each cheek, one on the nose, then a few around my mouth and I get medium-full coverage, an even skin tone, my scars etc are nicely concealed, pores filled, skin texture smoothed and my hyper-pigmentation around my mouth doesn't try to scream peak through, all this without looking mask-like. I very rarely use concealer for my blemishes and didn't feel the need with this coverage.

What I'm thoroughly impressed with is the finish and feel of the Magic Foundation on my skin. I can get medium - full coverage and it feels and looks like skin, legit! I was worried that I wouldn't get along with this foundation because I've read in various places that it's a matte finish and best suited for oily skin types, I'm quite surprised because I would say it's demi-matte to satin, it's not a flat matte at all, way too creamy to be flat, it's skin like and gives off the radiance that bare skin would. It just looks like skin, not oily or flat but just a second layer of skin, again more on this particular comment later.  I do find it nourishing and hydrating surprisingly, it leaves my skin feeling soft to the touch and after a few hours of wearing it I still feel the softness. It's like the foundation slowly lets out moisture and keeps the skin hydrated. Which is excellent because as I get older I'm finding my skin absorbs and sucks foundation in leaving my skin patchy and creased.

Having dehydrated / combination and uneven textured skin I am extremely wary of how certain foundations can sit and feel on my skin. This doesn't pick up on any of my skin texture neither does it make my skin feel tight. It doesn't look dry or cakey nor does it feel heavy or thick, I get such good coverage with such little and it looks like skin regardless of the texture being thick. I would never go for thick foundations but this works so well on my skin. I don't think this needs major setting but I would actually use a thin layer of powder over my skin because I find it doesn't set dry and powdery like usual mattifying foundations do, it's more creamy and velvety in finish. If you have dry skin and dry flakes I highly suggest you exfoliate and moisturise well or this will just sit on them (like most thick foundations would). On the other hand if you have oily skin a mattifying primer and setting powder will probably be necessary.

This foundation is most definitely build-able, but you won't have to build too many layers because one layer I find has pretty decent coverage on it's own, but this may be dependable on skin conditions. This builds really nicely, it doesn't cake or build texture and I have texture. Now about the "second skin' comment I made earlier, something that I find particularly amazing is how this foundation makes my skin appear SO smooth and plump, like PLUMP. I recall in the description it says that it fills in / blurs pores, it does! YES it does! I ADORE how this foundation makes my skin look so much smoother and beautifully plumper. Even though I'm in my twenties I do yearn for more youthful looking skin, this foundation makes my skin look younger and healthier, literally like baby skin. I know I'm probably sounding like Charlotte Tilbury right now, but if this foundation did take 5 years in the making then Charlotte has done a bloody bloomin amazing job with the formula and science behind it! I adore the intricacies in the qualities of this foundation and admire the care and work that has been taken in concocting this magic potion.

I haven't noticed any major oxidisation, actually I think it does a little, again more trials are required before I make any definite claims because I haven't worn it enough. This does have decent longevity. Since my skin leans more dry, thicker foundations just naturally last longer and better than dewier, liquidy foundations and since this foundations falls in the middle it can last quite long on me, as mentioned previously I can even set this foundation with a little powder all over (you should know that I avoid powder if I can) so it is definitely forgiving for my skin type as well. If I haven't set my face with powder, after around 4-5 hours I notice that my skin has a subtle luminous sheen, with hardly any creases or major spots of shine I can see how well the foundation has been working to keep the grease in and stay in place whilst keeping my skin fully hydrated at the same time. I really believe that this formula works well with my combination skin type.

I love how plump and smooth this makes my skin and how natural it looks. Obviously it's not as skin like as bare skin would be nor is it a thin fluid textured foundation that disappears into the skin, but it gives off a beautiful, flawless finish and builds coverage while plumping the skin at the same time. As weird and gross as it sounds I feel like this foundation is melted skin in a bottle because of the way the texture of the liquid mimics skin even though it is a definite layer sitting above the skin, it is definitely aptly named magic!