Guest post from Vancouver Eyeshadow Addict: 

Pretty much all things Charlotte Tilbury are overpriced, but SO worth it

This summer, I tried my first Charlotte Tilbury product, a cream eyeshadow called Bette. I blinked, and a month and half later, my makeup storage is becoming a problem, my bank account hates me, and I love her stuff SO MUCH. I now have 18 pieces. But we won’t talk about that.

Today I’d just like to tell you about my very favourite piece from Charlotte’s collection, the Vintage Vamp Luxury Palette, and all its gloriousness. Like all of Charlotte’s palettes, it’s a colour-coded quad that you can take “from desk to dusk” depending on how many of the shades you wear. (I explain this in more detail in my review of her Dolce Vita Luxury Palette.) Note, though, that I never follow the rules: I slap on the prime, enhance, smoke and pop shades for a day at the office, because why not? There’s so much beauty in this little palette, and I want to enjoy all of it.

I’ve been reaching for this and my other Charlotte Tilbury pieces pretty much non-stop for the last month. I’m in love. But let’s be real for a second: Her palettes are not a bargain. For about the price of one of the Naked palettes, you get four eyeshadows. But my lovelies, they are so chic and so beautiful. They make my heart go ba-boom, ba-boom. And when something speaks to you like that, it’s worth the $64 Canadian. Am I right?

Here’s what you get (clockwise from the top left, below):

Caption: Charlotte Tilbury Vintage Vamp Luxury Palette.

Caption: Vintage Vamp swatches, bottom to top: Prime, Enhance, Pop, and Smoke.

You should know that I found there was a bit of a learning curve with these. The shadows aren’t quite what you might expect, so I have a few tips:

I’m perfectly content with the fact that these shadows aren’t the most pigmented on the market. I find the bit of sheerness makes them easier to blend, and it gives me more options: I can sheer the colours out or build them up.

You’re meant to start by applying the prime shade all over your lid from lash line to brow bone. When you do this, the shadows pretty much blend themselves.

You’ll be frustrated if you try to apply the glittery pop shade with a brush and achieve full opacity. You’re meant to push it over another colour with your finger for some sparkle—much like Bobbi Brown’s glitter shadows. With a little patience, you can get some good intensity. I love it.

Initially, when I started with my standard MAC 239 and 217, I was frustrated with the amount of fallout I experienced with these shadows. Somehow, the brushes either picked up too much product or didn’t hold on to it properly. (Tapping or patting the brushes off helped a little, but I still wasn’t satisfied.) So I went in search of a better tool: a brush that resembled Charlotte’s blending brush (which she uses for these shadows) but didn’t cost $40. I landed on the Sephora Pro Tapered Crease Brush 19, and it’s perfection! It’s softer and denser than my MAC brushes, which I think makes the difference. I use the brush slightly differently for each step, and I can work out a whole look with it—without fallout. (The glitter shade is an exception, but that’s to be expected. Do your concealer after your eyeshadow.) I sometimes need to go in with a clean blending brush at the end just to blend it all together, but that’s it! Let this be a lesson: The right tools are key.

Here’s a look I came up with:

Here’s the rest of what I’m wearing for this look (brace yourselves; it’s a long list):

What do you think of this look? Have you tried any of Charlotte’s products? Do you think they’re worth the splurge? Let me know in the comments!

An InLinkz Link-up