Charlotte Tilbury created the now iconic Tilbury smoky by perfecting the bombshell look of the late Seventies and early Eighties, and making it utterly modern! While her new makeup line hasn’t made it to the Montreal Holt Renfrew, yet… I managed to find in my makeup kit some great products to get your Tilbury face on, without breaking the bank. Gorgeous!

I have to admit to obsessing and spending whole evenings watching the Lisa Eldridge and Charlotte Tilbury’s how-to’s on YouTube. The next best thing to actually assisting either one of these makeup queens. Tilbury is famous for all those browns, coppers, green-grey shimmers that let you know it’s her hand, and you can find these shades in her eyeshadow quads. I’ve also been dreaming of the creamy and long lasting pencils, and luscious lip products, all encased in rose-gold packaging. But as they get to a counter near me, I decided to practice the Tilburry.

You need to start with a gorge’ face, with beautiful eyes, like that of Deborah Farinotti, a writer who currently works at ZOI PR. The products I chose are umm…more readily available and match her colour palette, and shimmering textures. For the techniques, just watch Charlotte doing a smoky on YouTube first hand! Without further ado, here is my recipe for a Tilbury face:

Eyes: Shiseido Shimmering Cream Eye Colour in BR306 and L’Oreal Paris Liquid Pencil Eyeliner in Brown and Black (or any brand as long as the black is dark), just diffuse any harsh lines, and finish with the famous “flick” of the eye!

Cheeks: M.A.C. Mineralize Skin Finish in Give Me Sun used as a bronzer/blush. It’s better not to use contour or pink blush, because with these eyes and lips, it’s just toooooo much Robert Palmer. Or maybe not enough, just go with your flow!

Lips: Lip liner in Ruby Woo by M.A.C. — and “don’t be afraid to cheat your lip line” as she likes to say: to get that heart-shape! Swipe on some Joe Fresh Long Wear liquid lipstick in Red–the perfect cherry red (8$). This stuff is H-amazing!!!! Available at certain Loblaws and Joe Fresh stores. If you’re darker in terms of skin tone, go for Ruby Woo. I didn’t put any gloss, I’m sure Charlotte would disapprove, as she likes oooooodles of gloss– darling, ooodles (using my best Tilbury voice). But your lipstick will last longer (in real life)!

For foundation/concealer, I used the M.A.C. Concealer palette in Light, for a full coverage look, over Clinique’s DDML, set with Dior Skin Nude powder. For eyebrows I used Anastasia Brow Whiz in Ash Blonde to fill in and define.

Have fun being a sexy screen siren, with dramatic lights and sexy pouts galore. Instagram away, setting hearts ablaze with your fiery gaze–just like my friend Deborah did! Want to share your own version send me a snap on Instagram @ewabili.

Photography César Ochoa

Same makeup, different lighting.