Happy New Year 2016!!! And what better way to start this new year, with not 1 simple review, but a 7 in 1 review of the Charlotte Tilbury The Golden Goddess Gift Box?
I really discovered the brand Charlotte Tilbury last year. I got a little taste of the quality of her products late 2014 with my first Matte Revolution lipstick, Love Liberty, which I still love (since then, I maybe expand a little bit my collection ahem).
I have had my eyes on the fabulous Charlotte Tilbury Gift Box for some time now. These are types of very complete makeup kits with different makeup products in a super cute makeup bag. Very tempting, isn’t it? wink
There are several, with different product mixes. You just have to find the one that contains the most products you like. And of course, the interest part is that it’s cheaper than if you buy all the products separately.
Well, keeping that in mind, and considering the Charlotte Tilbury price range, it will never really be “cheap”.
Taking advantage of the good times of November/December (Birthday/Christmas months), I bought the ‘The Golden Goddess’ kit because it contains a lot of products I was drooling over for months. It is sold $230 (if you buy the products and the makeup bag separately, it costs about $239) which is such a shame: when I bought it in euros: the Gift Box is sold 195 euros on Net-A-Porter and the products separately cost 234 euros! I don’t really understand the huge price difference, here… Buy it in euros, guys! uneasy
Charlotte Tilbury The Golden Goddess Gift Box, presentation:
Charlotte Tilbury offers various iconic makeup looks, each with a theme or should I say, a very specific inspiration. For example, you have: The Ingénue, The Vintage Vamp… and also The Golden Goddess.
Here, the idea is to give you a makeup kit to help you achieve an Ursula Andress or Halle Berry makeup look (aka the famous James Bond Girls). A kind of super glamorous beach babes, but the ultra-sophisticated version, the kind who doesn’t really go for a swim… wink
So OK, it’s more a look that screams summer and sun but hey, you know, the winter in Dubai is quite sunny (although when I write these words, the rain is drumming against my windows) (I know, crazy times) (this will probably be the only rainy day of the year) so it’s OK, I’m not too off topic! tongue
Inside the kit, you have:
- – a very cool makeup bag, super cute and glamorous at the same time,
- – an eyeshadow palette: The Golden Goddess,
- – a bronze eyeliner, The Classic Sophia,
- – a 5-in-1 black mascara, Full Fat Lashes,
- – a blush in the shade Ecstasy, a pinky coral,
- – a pinky nude lip liner, in the shade Pillow Talk,
- – a medium brown orangey lipstick, in the shade Stoned Rose,
- – a glittery transparent lip gloss, the Lip Lustre in the shade Ibiza Nights.
Charlotte Tilbury The Golden Goddess Gift Box, the eye kit:
Charlotte Tilbury The Golden Goddess Luxury Eyeshadow palette:
I’m not gonna lie, The Golden Goddess eyeshadow palette is probably the main reason for my purchase.
I already know about the great quality of Charlotte Tilbury eyeshadows because I have another one that I love (The Dolce Vita), which I’ve never spoken about here, shame on me…
The pink gold packaging is to die for, it is really stunning.
The principle of this Charlotte Tilbury quad is a “ready to use” eye makeup look, more or less intense according to the colors that you use:
– the lightest shade, Prime, can be used as an highlighter in the inner corner and under the eyebrow. It can also be applied all over the lid to unify it. It’s a very light beige color, quite creamy, and with a satin finish.
– the second one, Enhance, is a transition shade but can also be applied on the eyelid to give some dimension. The color here is a neutral medium brown, also with a satin finish.
– the third one, Smoke, will intensify and smoke (as the name suggests) the makeup look. You can apply it in the outer corner or along the lashes. This is a warm brown, quite shimmery.
– the last one, Pop, is pressed glitter. You can apply it in the center of the eyelid, with your fingertip for more intensity. It’s a very wearable glitter shade, in the same harmony of the other shade, a bronzy brown, very luminous without being too “in your face”.
Quality wise, the eyeshadows are very pigmented and easy to blend. The colors are really pretty and will go to all eye colors (they’re neutral, no surprise wink ).
They also have a great lasting power.
These colors are a bit more cool than the ones I usually use but they’re very easy to match with any lipstick color, which is very convenient. A no-brainer eyeshadow palette, really! wink
The price of The Golden Goddess eyeshadow palette: $52.
Charlotte Tilbury The Classic eyeliner Sophia:
To be honest, I was a little disappointed that the eyeliner from the range “The Classic” was the one in the kit you because I absolutely adore the Charlotte Tilbury Rock ‘N’ Kohls. These are probably the best eyeliner pencils I’ve ever tried.
Sophia is a beautiful metallic dark bronze brown.
It’s a classic eyeliner pencil, which can be applied both in the waterline and also along the lash line. It’s not waterproof (unlike the Rock ‘N’ Kohls) but it’s still super long wearing.
There are a lot of different powders in the formula, so it’s very easy to blend and smoke it out, and I love to do that with my eyeliner pencils. smile
It’s very pigmented and creamy, so it glides very easily.
But personally, I don’t find it super flattering in my waterline because it tends to bring out my little red veins and make my eyes look red… And it doesn’t look cute. :/
The price of the Sophia eyeliner pencil: $22.
Charlotte Tilbury Full Fat Lashes mascara:
I had high expectations for this mascara.
I was probably brainwashed again by Charlotte because every time she uses it in her tutorials, she speaks of it like it’s one of the most volumizing, lengthening and curling mascaras in the world (and also the blackest black).
So I must admit that it’s not bad at all. As I’ve said many times here, I have quite long eyelashes but quite fine and very straight. With a mascara, I especially expect some volume and curl. If in addition, it’s ultra-black, it’s perfect!
In my personal pantheon of mascaras, nothing has managed to dethrone Le Volume waterproof de CHANEL for now. I know it’s a hit and miss for a lot of people, but I personally love the ‘fat eyelashes’ effect.
But back to the Full Fat Lashes.
I would describe it as a volumizing mascara but quite natural. No risk of clumpy lashes with this one, it really separates the lashes. In addition, it is very buildable; you can add a lot layers without ending with spidery lashes.
It is also lengthening and curling. And the curl holds (even if it’s not waterproof, which is rare enough to be said).
I wouldn’t call it ultra-black but it’s still well pigmented and really intensifies the lashes.
It’s also not smudgy at all and believe me with my long eyelashes and my oily skin, I’m a good subject of study for this kind of stuff! wink
And finally, the icing on the cake, it super easy to remove!
In summary, it’s not better than my beloved CHANEL but it’s a great option for a day when I want a more “natural” look.
The price of the mascara Full Fat Lashes: $29.
Charlotte Tilbury Cheek To Chic blush Ecstasy:
Big big crush on this Ecstasy Cheek to Chic blush!
The packaging is absolutely sublime, even if inside, the shape of the two powders looks like a boob (Come on, you saw it too! No? Just me? OK then. :P).
The color is super luminous: a soft pink coral in a satin finish that enhances my pale winter skin. Of course, it’s even prettier with a little bit of a tan.
Actually, there are rather two colors in the same undertones, they can be used alone or mixed together. The middle one is pink and the second is more coral (while remaining quite pinkish). Usually, I just mix them together because the result is quite soft and flattering.
The satin finish is dewy without being glittery. The pigmentation is very good and the color blends smoothly. And it’s very long lasting too. Perfection!
The price of the blush Ecstasy: $40.
Charlotte Tilbury The Golden Goddess Gift Box, the lip kit:
Charlotte Tilbury Lip Cheat lip liner Pillow Talk:
Again, one of my favorite products of this kit, if not one of my favorite beauty products ever!
This lip pencil Pillow Talk is probably one of the best nude pencils I own.
The color is beautiful, slightly lighter than my natural lip color but precisely, it redefines the contours without being too dark and looking harsh. It’s a pink nude that goes with lots of different lipstick colors.
The texture is creamy without being greasy, so it’s very easy to apply. It’s very very long lasting without being drying. Sometimes I apply all over my lips with just a little bit of lip gloss or lip balm on top and it doesn’t budge for hours (5-6 hours at least).
I confess that I have a second one which is in my hand bag because I’m obsessed.
The price of the Pillow Talk lip pencil: $22.
Charlotte Tilbury K.I.S.S.I.N.G. lipstick Stoned Rose:
I wasn’t sure about the color of this Stoned Rose lipstick when I purchased the kit.
I was hoping for a kind of pinkish brown and, on me anyway, it’s much more orange than I would have thought. It’s a very orangey rusty beige shade. It’s not ugly, but it’s typically the kind of color that suits me better if I have a bit of tan. So right now, it looks OK but it could clearly be prettier…
Quality wise, it’s a great lipstick: super pigmented, creamy without being greasy (it’s a satin finish), comfortable, and long-lasting. I have another one from the same range, the infamous Bitch Perfect and I love it (best name ever BTW)!
I just wish that the colors shown on the site were more realistic because it’s clearly difficult to get an idea based on their swatches…
The price of the Stoned Rose lipstick: $32.
Charlotte Tilbury Lip Lustre lip gloss Ibiza Nights:
I have mixed feelings about the legitimacy of this lip gloss in the kit: somewhere, it seems a little mandatory considering the theme of the kit but I would have loved a highlighter instead (yes, I’m totally dreaming, I know tongue ).
That being said, the Ibiza Nights lip gloss is a good product.
This is a nude (barely tinted) with tiny gold glitter inside. The glitter is very subtle and very luminous, like a lip lacquer.
Unlike many others, this gloss is not too sticky (I hate it when it’s like that), it’s quite comfortable and long-lasting (4h on me).
The price of the Ibiza Nights lip gloss: $22.
Charlotte Tilbury The Golden Goddess Gift Box, on me:
As you can see, this is an easy makeup look to wear, and even when you add some glitter, it’s still wearable during the day because it’s subtle.
So, in summary:
[wprs-pros][wprs-cons]
The Golden Goddess Gift Box is available on the Charlotte Tilbury website or on Net-A-Porter for $230.
And you, have you already heard about the Charlotte Tilbury brand? What are your favorite products from the range?
Photo credit: bonnie-garner.com