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Charlotte Tilbury Glow Glide Face Architect Highlighters and More

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This review is technically eight months in the making since the bronzer, Pillow Talk Highlighter, and mascara were supposed to be part of last year’s “May Purchases Reviewed” post that I still have yet to complete. In fact, so much time has passed that I fully used up and decluttered the travel size mini of the mascara, and had to rely on a sample size version to complete this review. The advantage of this situation is that I have very solidified options on most of the products we’ll be diving into today. But, let’s start with the newest product that I’m the most excited to talk about first!

Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Glow Glide Face Architect Highlighter in Sunset Glow and Bronze Glow

Even though Sunset Glow is my better shade match, the blended out swatch shows that it’s close to my skin tone. If it was the tiniest bit darker, I might not have liked it as much as I do.

This was supposed to be an early 2023 release, but 6 of the 7 shades were available via Selfridges for $38 on December 30, 2022. I knew Sunset Glow was the shade I really wanted the most, but it started off as a CT website exclusive for a week or so before it came to Selfridges, and I had already ordered Bronze Glow. As of this moment, Sunset Glow is still not available at Sephora, SpaceNK, Nordstrom, Bloomingdales, Saks Fifth Avenue, or Beautylish. I spotted it on the Feelunique website, so it seems the best chance to get this particular shade (if you live in the US) is from UK based places that have a US site too.

One of the first things I noticed when I got the product in my hands was how much it rattled when I held it and used it, to the point where the pan starts spinning in the compact when I try to do swatches. It’s not loose and it doesn’t fall out when held upside down. It’s just a matter of it being magnetic and not glued down. I don’t know if the ridges/raised elements on the bottom of the pan is the cause for the actual sound from it not laying evenly or if it’s due to having a weaker magnet inside the compact. It’s a minor flaw that I don’t mind because it makes it that much easier to transfer this pan into a different compact if Charlotte Tilbury comes out with something in the future with a pretty design on it. I like this outer packaging design more than the basic logo, but it’s not as cute as some of the past lunar new year compacts for instance, so I’d love to transfer this into prettier packaging some day because I really like this highlighter!

I created a chart using the images from the Charlotte Tilbury website to make it easier to see the color recommendations. Since Sunset Glow is the harder to find shade, I put that one in the middle, though it’s supposed to be in the 5th position.

According to the brand, these shades are “flawless on everyone,” but certain colors look especially pretty on certain skin tones. Bronze Glow is supposed to be the deepest color, but the shimmer looked light enough to work for me based on the brand’s swatches and examples on models. I was right in that regard, but the darker tone does keep it from looking as nice on me as it could. The point of a highlighter is to draw attention to a particular area of the face and bring that forward. Bronze Glow looks flatter and duller compared to Sunset Glow because the base isn’t light enough to create that lifted illusion. It still draws attention due to the sparkle color, but it’s not as pretty as when it’s both shimmery and lighter in depth, but not so light as to leave a pale stripe on the face. For this reason, I recommend taking the depth of one’s skin tone into account when choosing a shade despite the brand’s insistence on a universal aspect to them. As I learned, certain models are demonstrating one specific highlighter color for a reason and I found that choosing the shade closest to the model that looked like me resulted in the highlighter looking its smoothest. The “wrong” one drew a little more attention to texture.

Judging this based on Sunset Glow alone, these highlighters are super smooth. It feels slightly damp to the touch, but it is dry on the face. Part of what’s supposed to make this line of highlighters different from the rest is that it’s supposed to have a finish that looks like it’s melting into the skin like liquid highlighters would, while benefiting from the ease of use as a powder product. It looks beautiful all day and doesn’t lose its reflectivity like some lower quality shimmer in highlighters can do. This is by far my favorite highlighter from the brand and I believe it could be in the top ten ranking among all the ones I own.

Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk Highlighter in Dream Light

This may come as a surprise, but I wasn’t impressed with this product initially. It’s possible that I just had a sour taste in my mouth from my first one arriving broken. When this one arrived, I was disappointed to see the random larger glitter specks particularly within the dark reddish bronze strip (#2) and champagne colored strip (#4). Part of the theoretical benefit I saw to owning this highlighter was the ability to have four different highlighter colors within one product and be able to customize the shades by mixing two or more together, but the ones on the left and right sides of the pan are so small and thin that a select few brushes allow me to pick up the single color I choose. It turns out that the only shade I feel I can pull off wearing by itself is the deep golden one (#3). For getting just that, I tend to use my discontinued Wayne Goss #15 fan brush.

When I want a stronger intensity level of highlighter, I add the tiniest bit of the light gold (#1) on the very highest point/spot on my cheekbones. Besides the random larger sparkles, my biggest reasons for not preferring Stripe #2 is that it’s too red and dark, and Stripe #4 because it’s too light. Mixing all four shades creates a beautiful middle-ground color that I like, but I don’t wear it that way because of the increased number of random larger glitter specks. Of course, the more I use this and the more the shades kick up into one another, it’s becoming increasingly more difficult to not get larger particle size shimmer in #1 and #3. So, it’s something I’m just trying to embrace.

Because this is another relatively smooth highlighter, I do like it. However, if I had to choose between the Pillow Talk highlighter and the new Glow Glide Face Architect ones, I prefer the latter because of the extra smoothness and glow it provides without looking so powdery. They are the same price, and the Pillow Talk highlighter gives more variety, but four pretty highlighter colors don’t compare to one near-perfect shade.

Charlotte Tilbury Beautiful Skin Sun-Kissed Glow Bronzer in 3 Tan

I love this bronzer, but it had me going crazy for a bit! I included multiple photos because no matter what background or lighting I use, the color doesn’t look consistent. To my own eyes, when I wear this on my face, it sometimes looks more olive, or neutral, or warm-yellow, or warm-orange. I still can’t give a definitive answer as to what undertone this bronzer in Tan has! When I first started using it, there were times I thought the shade was strange and then other times it was absolute perfection! I’ve been using it on and off since June 2022 and I haven’t figured out the witchcraft that makes it look so different sometimes, but it’s one of my top three favorite cream bronzers now. It blends effortlessly on my face and sets without needing to powder it. The longevity is fantastic. One of the things I’m super impressed by is the fact that the texture has remained creamy for all these months without a film or discolored layer forming on the surface, and hasn’t partly dried out, like some other cream products of mine have done. It’s a pleasure to use every time!
Factoring my powder bronzers into the equation, this product has a ton of competition for claiming a spot in my top five favorites, but this might just be number one among the cream bronzers. I have three others that come to mind, but I haven’t spent enough time with them to say for sure yet which is the best of the best. Perhaps 2023 will be the year I finally do a yearly favorites post again to declare the winner.

In order to enjoy the pretty swirl pattern for longer, I mostly put my brush in the same spot (top right of the compact). It looks barely used, for that reason, from the top down perspective, but I’ve created a decent dip into the pan when taking into account how little product is needed.

Below, I’ve included a photo (taken in June) of another bronzer I bought that same month and love: the Nars Laguna Bronzing Cream in Laguna 04. It’s darker and more red toned than the Charlotte Tilbury cream bronzer, which is why I prefer Charlotte’s over it. Plus, the Nars bronzer is heavily scented.

There are so many reviews of this product by now, so perhaps it doesn’t need to be said, but the cream products are darker than the powder counterparts. For example, the powder version of Tan is lighter than this cream version of Tan. The powder version of Deep is lighter than the cream version of Deep. So, despite there only being four shade options, this helps to round out Charlotte’s overall bronzer line if you don’t mind using cream versus powder. I always wanted a “Dark Tan” or “3.5” bronzer shade in the powder line, but cream Tan is filling that void for me.

The price of this is ridiculously expensive, but it was worth it to me. It’s like if the Danessa Myricks Power Bronzer Cream and Anastasia Beverly Hills Cream Bronzer had a baby and that baby acquired magical powers.

Charlotte Tilbury Hypnotising Pop Shots in Sunlit Diamond and Cosmic Rocks

I rarely reach for single eyeshadow products, unless they’re in a custom magnetic palette, so I try not to purchase things like this. However, that packaging was pretty, and having a multichrome eyeshadow in a beautiful compact that I could reuse (if I wanted to re-press a different eyeshadow into there) was extremely appealing. So, I purchased Cosmic Rocks. The only reason I ended up with Sunlit Diamond is because the brand sent me that on accident instead of the Sunset Glow highlighter. So, they allowed me to keep it and sent me a second package with my correct item inside. Sunlit Diamond is a beautiful color, so I’m happy to have it, even though I wouldn’t have bought it myself. It’s not due to the product being bad. These eyeshadows are pigmented and sparkly and stay pretty well bound together when picked up, which means I can avoid making a mess when applying them and I don’t have to dampen them to apply them either. However, I did apply the inner halves wet in the eye looks below to see if there would be a dramatic difference and there was not.
I don’t get much fallout during application, but I can get a bit of it as the day goes on. I still haven’t tried these with glitter glue, but perhaps that could prevent some of that fallout throughout the day.

Also, I get the tiniest bit of movement where the shadow doesn’t want to stay in the deepest line of my crease, but it could be the primer I’ve used with this. It’s such a minor amount for me, but I thought I would mention that anyway for those who might have deeper lines on the eyes than mine. Admittedly, since I’m not much of a single shadow wearer, I’ve tested this product the least of everything else (only four times).

As far as multichromes go, Cosmic Rocks certainly can’t compete with Clionadh in terms of intensity, but I’m not certain if that was even the brand’s goal considering their typical clientele. It doesn’t have nearly as dark of a base as the others, so I’m guessing Cosmic Rocks is meant to be a more approachable way to wear a colorful shadow and a multichrome without intimidating neutral lovers too much.

Even without being as deep as Clionadh’s Jewelled multichromes, Cosmic Rocks is still pretty dramatic on my eyes, so I’m still pleased with it. However, considering the full $34 price of the Pop Shots (I bought Cosmic Rocks from Selfridges for $25), I wouldn’t recommend if for those who love really full on multichromes. Granted, it does come in a lovely lightweight compact, so perhaps the upcharge is understandable considering it houses a multichrome eyeshadow. As much as I like Sunlit Diamond, I personally find the full price to be astronomical for a more traditional eyeshadow.

Charlotte Tilbury Push Up Lashes Mini Mascara

Right off the bat, I have to say that my experience with the sample was different from the travel size. I’m not sure if that has to do with the travel size having more product in the tube and being able to fully coat the brush or if there’s a slight difference between the two applicator brushes. All I know is that I liked the travel size enough to where I considered buying a full size, but I would never have been interested in this mascara if it was based on the sample alone, because with the sample I couldn’t build as much volume as I wanted without doing at least two coats. Unfortunately, I used up the travel size many months ago, so I cannot remember which eye looks I’ve taken in the past that I was wearing this mascara. I only have photos of this mascara using the sample size (which is in the pop shots section above).

Based on the travel size, I like that I can create a defined fanned out look with the wand. I get a decent amount of length and volume, although my lashes don’t get quite as long or full as my favorite mascaras can provide. I like that the brush is fairly skinny, so I have an easier time coating my lower lashes. I don’t get any clumping, smudging, or flaking with this either.

I considered repurchasing the travel size again specifically for my lower lashes, but after using the MAC Extended Play Lash, I decided against it because I prefer the applicator on that one and it’s slightly cheaper than the Push Up Mascara from Charlotte Tilbury. Plus, my top favorite mascaras do a good enough job with both top and bottom lashes and I just have to be a little more careful and deliberate when applying mascara to my lower lashes.

I’ve sometimes experienced a difference between the full size tube and travel size of mascaras (if for instance one is wetter or one gets too much or too little product on the applicator), so I don’t know if I would notice yet another difference if I had the full-size. But, based on the travel size, this is a nice mascara, but I don’t see myself repurchasing it.

That concludes this Charlotte Tilbury update post!

Thank you for reading!

-Lili ❤

Glowing Skin ft Auric, Becca, and Charlotte Tilbury

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I’m not sure what to classify these products as: liquid highlighters, dewy skin tints, illuminators? These multipurpose glow products can be used in whichever way someone wants, but today I will be sharing my thoughts on how they compare to each other and the ways I prefer to use them. In honor of Becca closing its doors on September 30th at 1 PM EST, I wanted to make sure I post this beforehand in case anyone is interested in the Light Shifter Dewing Tint and is considering making a last minute purchase.

UPDATE: September 17th, 2021

It appears Estee Lauder is saving Becca’s best formulas by pairing it with their other brand, Smashbox. I thought I would update this post with that information. Now, onto the review!

Auric Glow Lust Radiant Luminizer in Citrine

Auric is a brand created by beauty influencer Samantha Ravndahl. I’ve watched a couple of her videos, but my interest in the Glow Lust was purely from the angle of wanting to see if it’s comparable to Charlotte Tilbury’s Hollywood Flawless Filter. This costs $45 plus shipping for 35ml whereas Charlotte Tilbury’s is $44 for 30 ml (and likely free shipping from Sephora if you’re in the US). Auric has seven shades available. Charlotte Tilbury had seven shades initially, but released an additional five shades just weeks before Auric’s launch.

This product can be added to skincare, mixed with foundation, used under foundation like a radiant primer, or applied to specific areas for extra glow. It was created to be sheer enough that a wide range of people could use one or more shades. This also means it will not offer much coverage on its own as a foundation, so I regard it as a mixing liquid or liquid highlighter.

I prefer to use this with a brush. I take a tiny amount and slowly build it up. The highlight lasts easily through a full wear test. The times I’ve tried it with a sponge, it moved my concealer a bit (Tarte Shape Tape). Also, despite using a lot more product with the sponge, the Glow Lust either gets absorbed into the sponge or melts too much into my skin because the end result is less reflective/shiny than when I use a brush. The fingers can blend the product in nicely, but I don’t like how it feels to the touch, so this is not a method I’d use again.

Citrine leans heavy on the yellow undertone and, on its own, it’s a bit too light for me to use as anything but a highlighter. Perhaps the shade Goldstone could have worked for me as a base product, but the texture feels thick on my skin, even when I use the Glow Lust sparingly. For this reason, it’s my least favorite of the three formulas I’ve tried. The effect is pretty, but I cannot stand how it feels when I wear it. I should note that I’ve also tried mixing it with foundation to make a better color match and give me a more subtle glow. The combination allows me to wear it all over my face for as long as I want without it feeling heavy. However, by the end of the night, my face looks greasy. It’s more glow than I want, so I would only continue to use this on my cheekbones. This makes me very glad I purchased this for significantly less than retail from a Mercari seller. I have a personal rule against buying liquid products from third party sellers, but I made an exception because this product was newly launched and had a pump top (so I could confirm it wasn’t old and hadn’t been exposed to the elements). Considering my feelings about it, I would have been very unhappy if I purchased this at full price.

I don’t like the thick consistency of the Glow Lust and I don’t like the fact that this doesn’t dry down (at least not with the Dior Backstage Face and Body Powder No-Powder nor when I mixed it with the Nars Soft Matte Foundation). These are personal preference issues and not about it being a bad product. It does what it’s intended to do, so I understand why it’s so hyped up. Regarding whether it’s worth the price or not, I honestly cannot say because Auric aims for this to be seen as a luxury product and the brand delivers on that. It isn’t worth it to me, but that’s because I know I will never use up a full size liquid highlighter enough for any of them on the market to be worth it.

Becca Light Shifter Dewing Tint in 4.5 Cloud Nine and 5.5 Borealis

I seem pretty silly having bought two full-size glow products after I just said a single one wouldn’t even be worth it. However, I purchased these as radiant tinted moisturizers the way Angelica Nyqvist and Not Fit For Print Beauty on YouTube wore theirs. Plus, I got them both at half price. Beautylish was the first retailer to discount this product to $15 during their Spring sale in March. That’s when I bought Cloud Nine and realize it was way too light for me to use all over my face. Then a few months later I bought Borealis from Sephora. That shade was way too dark for me, but I figured I could mix them both. As a tinted moisturizer, the Dewing Tint provides more coverage than the Auric Glow Lust, but it’s still supposed to work for those a few shades away from each color option. However, the gap between 4.5 and 5.5 is huge and the swatches at the end of the post make it clear why I couldn’t use either one alone. Also, I’m not very good at mixing my perfect shade. It took many attempts to find the right ratio. This isn’t an issue when I use them for highlighting purposes, but it’s significantly noticeable when it’s in place of foundation.

Fragrance isn’t on the ingredient list, but I swear there’s a faint chocolate smell. Perhaps my nose is mistaking that for Shea butter, which is the twelfth ingredient. The liquid consistency is lighter than the Auric, but it’s also stickier. When I’m wearing this product, I’m hyper aware of the fact that it doesn’t dry down and when I’ve used it as foundation, I had the urge throughout the whole day to wipe it off my face, the way one gets the urge to wipe away a crumb of food or a loose strand of hair. I could barely tolerate doing an 8-hour wear test. I know this type of sensation doesn’t happen to everyone because it’s the same reason so many people love the Tower 28 Cream Blushes but I hated the texture enough to return that blush. Also, all the beauty YouTubers I’ve seen who say this dries down ended up using quite a bit of powder with the Dewing Tint, certainly more powder than I use, and I didn’t powder at all during the wear test. The feeling of the product aside, I don’t want this level of glow all over my face.

Luckily, this product plays well with my Nars Soft Matte Foundation. Mixing the foundation and both of these shades together gives me a glow that I don’t mind putting all over, and it also dries down without needing to set it with powder. It’s more lightweight on the skin when used this way, and I add the tiniest extra amount of the Dewing Tint onto my cheekbones to make that spot stand out from the rest of the dew.

This product gives me a wet type of glow as opposed to the pearl/shimmer effect the others have. As a highlighter, it doesn’t disturb any products underneath. The fingers, brushes, and sponges all apply the product well, though I was surprised that the prettiest result was with a sponge. However, the result with the sponge wasn’t significant enough that I would switch out of using brushes.

There are eight shade options in total, so if you can find your match, this is a more affordable glow liquid option. I don’t think this is my kind of product, yet I’m not ready to declutter it because I do love the look of it as a highlighter and I can make this fit my needs even more if I continue to use it mixed with foundation.

Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Flawless Filter in 6.5

This is my favorite formula of the three. It’s the most lightweight on my skin, it dries down the most, it’s just as long lasting through a wear test as the others, and it doesn’t disturb products underneath when using the fingers or a brush. Using a sponge requires a little more product and can move my base products if I’m not careful. The end result between using a sponge and a brush look the same, so a brush is my preference.
Shade 6.5 is the closest to my skintone if I want to use it as a foundation, and the fact that it’s slightly darker than my skintone aids in giving the appearance of more coverage. For highlighting purposes, shade 6 would presumably be more flattering, but they don’t make minis of shade 6 yet. As much as I like this product and don’t have liquid consistency issues with it, my comment about never going through a product like this stands. I purchased this mini from Sephora on December 2020 and I have plenty of it left. A full-size would still go to waste, so I’m really happy I have this smaller option and easily recommend the mini.

I once tried to use this all over my face as a foundation, but I removed it shortly afterwards. The Becca Dewing Tint is shinier, but its wet effect looks more natural than the way the Hollywood Flawless Filter shimmers and reflects on areas other than traditional highlighter spots.

I have only tried actually mixing it with my Nars Foundation once, and the result wasn’t as shiny, so I didn’t mind having it all over my face that way. But when it comes to using a combination of a glow product in with foundation, I think the Becca Dewing Tint gives the prettiest results. So, I prefer to utilize the Hollywood Flawless Filter as a highlighter and as a wet base to intensify any powder highlighter that’s applied on top of it. And because I’ll likely only continue to use these three products for highlighting purposes, the Hollywood Flawless Filter is still my preference.

Swatch Comparisons

Overall, the Glow Lust has a pearl-like type of highlighted shine, the Dewing Tint gives the wettest type of radiance, and the Hollywood Flawless Filter is somewhat in-between. I like Charlotte’s consistency the most, Auric’s packaging the most, and Becca’s price the most.

They’re beautiful products, but I won’t purchase anymore like this in the future. Powder highlighters are better suited for me because they’re easier to use and cost far less than what I spent on the three I reviewed today.

Becca Ignite Liquified Light Highlighters

I had a sample of three different liquid highlighters from Becca and figured this would be the perfect place to feature them. There are five shades in the line and the two not featured here today are Acceptance (pink) and Gratitude (dark copper-pink).

These highlighters remind me a lot of the consistency of the Dewing Tints, except that they feel oilier to the touch, like a typical shimmer body oil. These have a strong but pleasant smell (fragrance is on the ingredient list). The Ignite highlighters have a metallic shine rather than the glow of the Dewing Tints, and actually show visible shimmer particles on the skin, rather than a wet sheen. They “set” in the sense that touching one’s face wouldn’t completely remove the product. However, it doesn’t dry on its own. I did a nine hour wear test and it wasn’t until around eight hours that it felt a little drier in the areas that the highlighter was on top of concealer where I covered some discoloration.

When used sparingly on the tops of the cheekbones, the varying shade depths of the highlighters aren’t that dissimilar. Even regarding the tones, while I could see slight differences between them, I was able to pull off wearing the lightest shade, which is a light champagne. It didn’t look stark like I expected. Creativity is slightly more golden-tone version of Passion. The deep bronze tone of Strength blends with my skin, so it’s not as intense as the rest, but the shimmer particles still give a bold highlighted effect. Strength and Creativity together gave the prettiest results, in my eyes, but the oily residue guarantees I wouldn’t purchase them. The results are beautiful, but I prefer powder highlighters.

That’s all I’ve got! Thank you for reading!

– Lili ❤