Charlotte Tilbury Complexion Booster Shade 4 Review

The merging of Instagram and beauty products isn't anything new, we've seen multiple launches of cosmetic items claiming to smooth, fill and perfect the skin within an inch of its life. Do they work? On the most part no; more often than not Instagram focused launches rely on pretty millennial-pink packaging, innovation is skimpy on the ground and really what you are paying for is relevance rather than results. Well lucky for us not all products are equal and proving this very point is the new Charlotte Tilbury Complexion Booster: part glow, part base and more importantly it is as close to a real life instagram filter you will find on a beauty counter.


In typical Charlotte Tilbury style even the physical bottle that holds the nectar of the Complexion Booster is both beautiful and well thought out - the ribbed, rose-gold lid gives the product a luxurious and opulent feel and the large doe foot applicator makes application a breeze. Yes it is a glass bottle, and yes sooner or later I will drop it on my bathroom floor and weep but for now I am marvelling at just how beautifully packaged a liquid base can be.

Charlotte Tilbury Complexion Booster Shade 4 Review

Charlotte Tilbury Complexion Booster is the very definition of multi-purpose, depending on which shade/s you purchase it can be used to highlight, contour, as an all over base product or as a mixing medium to add luminosity to your complexion. When utilised in lieu of foundation this does create the most beautiful, sheer yet glowing canvas, mixed in with other products it fuses with the formula to add as little or as much radiance as you wish. Due to the dewy nature and finish of the Complexion Booster, I don't personally recommend using it to contour in the traditional way, rather I feel a deeper shade would be best used to gently warm the skin; however as a highlighter this brightens and is perfectly suited to typically tricky areas of the face such as the under-eye. However you utilise this wonder product, it does deliver a few aspects universally: it optically blurs fine lines and open pores, brightens and illuminates, and if that is not enough it eliminates the need for a primer too. The downside is that it can look a tad overly shiny/glossy on oily skin so do tread with caution and keep a setting powder within close proximity at all times.

Charlotte Tilbury Complexion Booster Shade 4 Review

The formulation is best described as a cream-liquid, the texture is light and very easy to blend into the skin regardless of how you decide to use it: sponge, brush, beauty blender, hands and all that is in-between - it all works. As this is a sheer formula, coverage is next to minimal and is somewhat buildable but it does disguise discolouration, evens out skintone and eradicates redness.

Charlotte Tilbury Complexion Booster Shade 4 Review
Charlotte Tilbury Complexion Booster Shade 4 Review
Charlotte Tilbury Complexion Booster Shade 4 Review

As for shade range, I won't pretend that the selections are vast with just seven options in total but what I will say is that they do sweep from light to dark ; as someone who has never struggled with a foundation or base match, I don't feel I am equipped to comment on if there are enough shades to cater to both ends of the spectrum but I will state that the formulation of the Charlotte Tilbury Complexion Booster is fairly adaptable due to its sheer nature. At the moment I am at my palest, I haven't seen a lick of sunshine in close to a year and yet if I do take the time to blend Charlotte Tilbury Complexion Booster in shade 4 Medium into my skin, I can make it work - it really just depends on how you chose to use it.

If super dewy, flawless skin is all you have ever craved then this is the product you (and Instagram) have been waiting for.

Charlotte Tilbury Complexion Booster £30 - link.