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Charlotte Tilbury is all about beauty with a touch of magic. Known as one of Hollywood’s biggest celebrity makeup artists, British-born businesswoman has a deep love for her clients and their signature looks. From her Airbrush Flawless Foundation, $44 to her Magic Cream Moisturizer, $100, it’s safe to say Charlotte is one of makeup’s MVPs. We sat down with the makeup mogul to discuss her philosophy, her exclusive friendship with Salma Hayek and Sofia Vergara and her magical life advice.
On her philosophy for the Charlotte Tilbury brand, and what gaps she saw in the market: My philosophy is give everyone the right makeup and they can conquer the world! I truly believe that beauty is MAGIC and POWER. When I launched my company, Charlotte Tilbury Beauty, I saw a gap in the market for makeup magic and supercharged skincare that was easy-to-choose, easy-to-use and easy-to-understand! I wanted to decodify the world of shopping for beauty, making women and men feel beautiful, safe and empowered by makeup and skincare, so that everyone can feel like the most beautiful versions of themselves every day!
On her experience working with many powerful Latinas such as Salma Hayek: Throughout my 28-year career as a makeup artist to the stars, I have been lucky enough to work with so many incredible women, many of whom are also very good friends of mine. I always love working with Penelope Cruz and Salma Hayek – they are both gorgeous, mesmerizing women who have the most beautiful features. They have both inspired me and helped me to create multiple beauty trends over the years. From Penelope’s signature smokey eyes to Salma’s sumptuous lip looks, it’s always a dream to create makeup magic with them!
On the inspiration behind naming lipsticks after Colombia actress, Sofia Vergara and Mexican-American star, Salma Hayek: They both inspire me in countless ways, from their beauty and style to their power and positivity. When I created the Hot Lips collection to support Women for Women International, I really wanted to bottle a bit of their beauty DNA to create lipsticks in homage to them, so that everyone can have their glamour, confidence and power, every day and everywhere.
Salma is such an enchanting, mesmerising woman that I wanted to bottle it and share that beauty-enhancing, confidence with the world! My Hot Lips shade in Secret Salma, $34 is a natural deep-rose plum that really brings out the colour of her beautiful brown eyes.
For my Hot Lips 2 shade in Viva La Vergara , $37 I worked closely with Sofia Vergara to come up with this color. It is inspired by vibrant energy and sensuality, a soft-wine shade that’s the perfect super flattering, super wearable color.
Advice to makeup artists when they are pursuing a career in beauty: The one piece of advice I always share with makeup artists who are pursuing a career in beauty is one of the positive mantras I live by, DARE TO DREAM IT, DARE TO BELIEVE IT, DARE TO DO IT! It is so important in this industry to never give up and always have self-belief! Keep a single-minded focus, dream big and dare to make your dreams your reality. I talk a lot about the power of visualization as well. Visualize what you want and don’t give up until you get it. You need to be professional, dedicated and hard-working to make it in the industry, but most of all you need to have fun – to be successful you need to love what you do, darlings.
About the brand’s partnership with Women for Women. Since 2014, I have been a passionate supporter of the inspiring charity, Women for Women International and I am incredibly proud to be a Global Ambassador. Ever since I first heard the stories of women in the program, I was shocked, devastated and determined to do something to make a real difference. I am committed to raising awareness and support of the charity and their work and I have seen the most incredible, heart-warming change from our work with the charity so far. Last year, I pledged £1million to help further support the life-changing work they do to help women in war-torn countries learn the skills they need to rebuild their lives and inspire hope for the future.