Charlotte Tilbury : The Golden Goddess

Here we have the Charlotte Tilbury Golden Goddess Palette.

I have one more palette to bring you after this one, but now as we are in the month of August it seemed appropriate to talk about her summery offering!

I do really like this, but I prefer the others I have. You can read about The Sophisticate, The Vintage Vamp and The Rock Chick.

If you are a lover of neutrals- then you will really enjoy this. Don't get me wrong, I really do but I find it lacks the depth that the others have. 

The Prime shade is a pale gold which looks great on the inner corners, the Enhance is a unusual taupe shade that veers bronze- it looks quite different when in the pan and when swatched.

The Smoke shade is a beautiful bronze which is obviously needed in any summer collection and then the Pop is a gold pressed glitter pigment. 

The issue I have with this is that when the Enhance and the Smoke shade are blended together they can get a bit lost. 

It all seems to blend into one. 

I will either put the enhance or smoke over the lid whilst using the prime and pop.

The glitter pigment is stunning and I love adding it on top- it also works beautifully over any gold/bronzey cream eye shadow to take things to the next level. 

I think the glitter shade actually works best over a cream base and it gives it something to stick to.

Sometimes I can get a bit of fall out with the pop shade in this palette, which is not something I experience with the others.

Honestly I am not  bashing this palette- it is beautiful and I get a lot of use out of it, this is such a great little neautral palette that I think a lot of people will enjoy. 

When I am tanned and I want to do the whole bronze goddess thing, this comes with me, it has been on several holidays with me and it works well for subtle day time looks.

I just wish this could be built up more. If you are into neutral, shimmery basics, you will love this, but if you really want to up the amp and achieve a sexy smokey eye, it's quite hard to do with this. 

I find it easy with the other palettes to create some serious smokey oomph.

L-R : Prime, Enhance, Smoke and Pop

Bottom Line : Neutral lovers will adore this, those seeking some serious intensity, need not apply.

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Because Charlotte told me to....

I was lucky enough to meet Charlotte Tilbury last November in the Manchester Selfridges when she was launching her Christmas collection.
If you have been reading this blog for some time, you will be aware that I am totally in love with Charlotte and her brand- I have loved pretty much all of her products, everything about them just speaks to me.
I was really excited to meet her, so after she had demonstrated her new collection, I joined the que to say hello and have a picture taken.
She's so cool! And totally and utterly lovely. I am an even bigger fan now.

Just before the picture as taken, she said I was the  'Dolce Vita', the 'Golden Goddess' and the 'Rock Chick'.
If Charlotte herself is telling you what would suit you- you get it!

I already had the first two and I had been longing for the Rock Chick palette for some time, but I kept dithering as I never know how well grays will suit me.

When Charlotte said it, that was it, I immediately marched over to the counter to purchase it, and I am so glad that I did.

You can read my reviews on The Sophisticate here and The Vintage Vamp here, I love them so much and I know I keep saying how they're my favorites...but I just adore this one as well.
It's hard to pick a favorite when they all offer such different looks. Honestly it's like Sophie's Choice, I can't pick.

I hadn't worn this in a little while, but I wore this yesterday and I forgot how sexy and smokey it is.

Honestly, if you want a sultry, smoldery eye- this is life.

From the top left going clockwise we have the : 

Prime :  pale grey with a slight frosted finish

Enhance :  shimmering taupe grey

Smoke :  matte dark grey

Pop :  glittery taupe grey

My favorite way to wear this is to put the prime all over the lid and on the inner corner to brighten, layer the enhance shade on the mobile lid and use the smoke shade on the outer corner, through the crease and smoke out on the lower lashline.

The key to making this really smolder, is to apply black liquid liner and wing it out slightly and then to give  you the authentic Rock Chick look, use the smoke shade on a smudger brush and smoke over the black liner.
Just try it, it looks amazing.
The final step is the glitter shade- it feels like a cream to touch, I rub my finger in (its very pigmented so I make sure i'm not too rough with it) and then I put this all over the lid.
The glitter shade is just on another level.
It creates a intense wet look sheen to the eye.
Of course you can press it gently and apply a subtle wash of shimmer on the eye, but I love a metallic wet looking eye.
This doesn't fade or crease- sometimes I notice a couple of rogue glitters on my cheek but I just brush them off.

L-R: Prime,Enhance, Smoke and Pop

Prime, Enhance, Smoke and Pop

I think the best way to wear this eye look is with clean skin, a chiseled cheek, a subtle champagne highlight, no blush- which I know is weird coming from the blush fiend, but I think it can look over done- if you can't go without blush, just go for something neutral that won't detract from the look.
Then you need a good smudging of black kohl - lining your top and bottom waterline and then finishing off with your  perfect nude lip, which for me is either CT Penelope Pink or Nars Barbra (see Babs in action here)

I was never into grays, but this palette has converted me

Out of the 3 Charlotte Tilbury quads I've reviewed so far, which one is your favorite?

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The Vintage Vamp Palette by Charlotte Tilbury

This is one of the most gorgeous palettes I own.

I have a few of the CT palettes, but I reckon this one and The Sophisticate (reviewed here) are my two favorites.

Every time I use this I cant get over how simple the application is, it is so pigmented and smooth that it takes no time at all to create a full impact burgundy smokey eye, which makes a nice change to the browns I often use.

The prime shade (top left) is a very pale shimmery pink- I normally can't stand pinks anywhere near my eyes, but this shade is so flattering and neutral, its just a bit more interesting than going for a run of the mill champagne.

This shade isn't quite as smooth and buttery as the others in the palette, but nonetheless it is still very easy to work with.

The next shade (top right) is more of a red based burgundy whilst the one underneath is more purple, I understand in the pan they do look similar, trust me that upon application the difference is quite apparent.
Both shades are a satin finish that blend seamlessly.
If you click this link you can watch Charlotte apply this onto a model, which makes this palette a lot less intimidating as she tells you where to apply each shade, which I love, but even if you want to freestyle it, these colours practically blend themselves, so you can create a nice diffused smokey eye.

You can create a day time look, which involves combining the two shades at the top. You will easily end up with a lovely eye but I find it so hard to hold back so I often go the whole hog.

The final shade is the 'pop' shade which is possibly the best glitter shade of all the CT palettes.

It is a bright gold colour and very pigmented so you can use it as a strong gold pigment across the lid, however only press your finger in the pan slightly if you want a wash of gold.

I have done the full on Vintage Vamp look during the day...because life is too short to not rock a smokey eye at breakfast. 

Now onto the swatches:

L-R: Prime, Enhance, Smoke and Pop

L-R: Pop, Enhance, Smoke and Prime 

None of the CT shadows crease on me, but sometimes I notice after a few hours of wear there can be minor fading- an eye primer is a good idea, but the fading is slight so it's not a big deal.

Creasing I cannot tolerate at all. 

When I first saw this palette online, I thought it looked really similar to the Dolce Vita palette.

It doesn't in real life- this is very burgundy/wine/purple whereas the DV is warm bronzes and reddish coppers. 

I do have that palette as well if anyone is interested in a review?

Here's a little picture of the prime shade in the centre and the other two burgundy shades blended around, with a slight touch of the gold pigment on top.

Bottom Line : This is one of my favorite palettes of all time...I just haven't seen anything quite like it.

Pigmentation is on point, whilst still being smooth and blendable- it's a difficult mix to get right, but Charlotte does it flawlessly.

It can be hard to wear reddish colours on the eye as one can end up looking a tad ill...or it can just look messy or almost costume like.

Not here. It literally is the classic burgundy smokey eye, and when I finish this palette, I will one hundred percent repurchase- and I don't say that often with shadows.

Have you tried any of the Charlotte Tilbury quads?

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My Favorite Matte Palette : Charlotte Tilbury 'The Sophisticate'

This was my first eye shadow quad from Charlotte Tilbury, I got it for my birthday a year and a half ago, and it is still a favorite.

It's definitely one of my most loved palettes of hers.

I have used this heaps of times and I haven't hit pan yet!

This palette features a matte ivory, matte light brown/camel shade, matte mushroom grey and a dark brown that has the tiniest amount of micro shimmer in- very hard to see and I reckon it's just there to aid blend-ability.

I do class this as entirely matte.

I use the first two shades all the time, I take the ivory all over the lid and then take the camel through the outer corners and blend into the crease and on the lower lashline.

Even when I go the full whack as Charlotte suggests, you end up with this gorgeous matte chocolate smokey eye.

This palette is very aptly named- it is Sophisticated.

The shadows are very smooth, pigmented and blendable, which is incredible hard to find in a matte.

The swatches below are from just one swipe

I do own a lot of eye shadows- it's not really something that I finish often, but I hand on heart feel, that if I ever finish this palette, I would repurchase.

It's timeless.

Also if you are slightly more mature and you often get fed up that almost all eye shadow palettes are very shimmery and that's something you don't feel confident wearing and hence would end up wasting your money on shades you'll never use- look into this.

Bottom Line : My favorite matte formulation thus far. Long wearing, creamy and easy to use shadows in a compact where I use every single shade. Not one colour remains untouched.

Worth every penny. 

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