[sample/ad/affiliate] The list of claims on this box! I don’t have words. Well, I do, but there’s a little bit of trickery on the front that just makes me irritated. In large gold writing you can see 93% Younger but just above the word younger on the same dimension line as 93% it says ‘agree skin looks’ which is a completely different thing to a consumer’s initial perception. I just think if you need to use sleight of hand on people to get them buying your product that’s not a very good thing.
So, the other claims are: reduction in the appearance of wrinkles by 34%, firming the appearance by 49% and these claims (note the words ‘appearance of’) were ‘observed’ in a clinical study. What does any of this mean? ‘Observed’ in a clinical study isn’t something I’ve seen before – usually, it’s ‘results of’. Oh, on the bottom of the box in writing that needs glasses to read the 34% and 49% came from testing on 31 people over 8 weeks and the claim of 93% agreeing skin looks younger comes from 209 people over 4 weeks. My brain will explode in a minute.
On the plus, it contains polyglutamic acid which is a relative newcomer to trend ingredients and said to be over four times more hydrating than hyaluronic acid. There’s also a big resurgence of Vitamin C as a beauty ingredient, which this serum also contains. Chances are, it’s a great serum that will have a decent effect on skin brightening and hydration so we really didn’t need any of the baffling BS. It’s £60 HERE, non affiliate HERE. It also might signal a direction towards older women for this brand which obviously is welcome but we’re not as dim as they think.
So far as the Charlotte’s Magic Lip Oil goes – a perfectly good lip conditioner with a roller ball applicator that I’ve been using a lot. Again this has a lot of claims – and I can’t even get past the 157% moisture increase in one hour because who, at home, can measure that? Plus the 70% lip volume increase in 28 days – I mean, who wants their lips to be 70% bigger? Wouldn’t that be weird? All I can say about it is that as someone who has a continuing dry lip issue unless I’m very vigilant is that it does the job and does it very well. It’s particularly helpful to use as an overnight lip mask and on that basis I’ll purchase another when this is finished. It’s £28 HERE, non-affiliate HERE which doesn’t seem too harsh when you compare to the same amount in a Sisley tub for £52.
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All products are sent to me as samples from brands and agencies unless otherwise stated. Affiliate links may be used. Posts are not affiliate driven.
17 comments
Brilliant, so delighted to see a Charlotte T review that isn’t just a fawning press release!
I think the brand is clearly mendacious and exploitative, and since I also abhor the presentation (being an anti-bling/glitz person) I give it a wide berth. Long before CT offered products, I was astounded at her cult following, given her own reliance on impenetrable artifice, even for sleeping . She’s not one to inspire a gal with inner confidence, giving out the message that all a woman needs is a full time mask, in public and in private. Grrrrr!
(But to your items: just as you say, she must think we were all born yesterday, to try all that bamboozling.)
I just think they drowned their own product in a sea of words. Charlotte is very nice – I like her a lot – I just don’t like the messaging around this product because it’s totally not necessary and loses the impact of a serious product. If they do want to attract an older audience, a rethink might be required.
The stats given on these products are quite something aren’t they. There’s a claim for the serum having 20% active ingredients too…um. A group of 31 people isn’t large or representative enough either to prove anything.
As for 70% larger lips, that’s just hilarious and downright misleading. Why is a brand using very young models to promote a product which is supposedly anti ageing? I thought we were getting past this. Plus again online and in sales material CT is using way too much photoshopping throughout. Your comment about lovely Joan Collins looking embalmed in the foundation or whichever campaign still makes me chuckle. Rant over.
I thought that too about the model they use – lovely as she is, she didn’t have a wrinkle in sight!
Oh dear! The same old BS! Actually, even if the claims were true I wouldn’t buy it because it’s all so OTT! But thank you for a frank and humorous review!
I do love your honesty Jane—I am yet to try anything from the brand x
I have never got where all the love and adoration for CT was about – particularly from within the industry and other MUA’s.
It’s clear from the beginning she had ripped off Tom Ford and the similarity in their products and packaging is obvious to the most casual observer.
Many of the product names reference sex or super models and is highly irritating!
I myself got a bit sucked in by the hype in the beginning which is major part of this brand, but found the actual products to be quite disappointing in the main!
On the whole I love the products – I just think their messaging has gone awry. It started as a glamorous, modern Hollywood style and it’s got blurred around the edges on that front. I feel annoyed about this particular product because it rather lets the brand down but I expect sales will be high.
Not a CT cheerleader by any means, but Charlotte was the artist behind the Ford products. She worked for him, creating his runway “looks”, and they created his line together – before she started her own line. So yes, there are big similarities, but it’s not a case of her ripping off someone else. Those original TF products are hers.
I’ve always felt, what with the branding focus on 50’s Hollywood Glamour, that CT’s target customer was rather advanced in years. Modernised Art Deco packaging, really safe and unexciting colours, with Pillow Talk being the most “naughty” thing in the catalogue. Not that I’m saying we should all rush to NARS (ew) or KVD for shade name suggestions, but CT’s always been offputting to me as a woman merely in advancing middle-age, and a much younger friend once described the brand as “Makeup for grandmothers”.
Slapping all these anti-ageing claims on the packaging just makes it more overt, IMHO.
That’s such an interesting view point – price wise, it’s certainly in the middle-years shall we say, but they must have put a great deal of market research to see who they are really attracting and the result of that is an anti-ageing serum. So your friend might be right (although harsh.. loads of glam grannies out there!). In that sense, it’s a really good thing so maybe their outward appearance needs to reflect their market so a much better proportion of older models would be a way forward. A super glam brand proudly aiming at an older market would be fantastic.
I hate the testers claimed reviews by companies. Proper trailed testing measuring the wrinkle and then it’s so called reduction is what I want!
Well, CT skincare does not agree with my skin and the active ingredients which actually do something usually at the bottom of the list.
I have mixed feelings about Charlotte Tilbury as a brand- I don’t like the OTT, ridiculous claims they make or the way they fudge stats to help them get there. I also wish they’d be more inclusive age and ethnicity wise in their campaigns; the models are stunning but most all are young and white…even the 10 core looks couldn’t get a look in!!
Despite all those things I have found some real gems in the line that I’d happily chuck my money down for, and I’ll keep repurchasing until something better comes along. The formula of the airbrush powder is fab, I love the colour chameleon pencils, the eyeliners are great and the matte revolution lipstick formula is one of my faves <3
I find it somewhat ironic that they’re chasing the anti-ageing market since CT has such a terrible reputation for being unwelcoming to 40 plus women on their counters. I’ve heard so many tales of this, and experienced it myself as I watched the SA turn around and ignore me despite the fact that I was holding out a lipstick I wanted to buy (and didn’t, as it turned out).
They’ve got such a lot of work to do on the reputation front, maybe that’s the place to start rather than pushing more product.
I never like to hear of this although I have heard it before. It’s such a shame – but likewise I’ve heard terrible tales from people who feel they’ve experienced negative bias because of their weight from other brands (not CT).
Is there anyone else who is irritated by the CT ads on You Tube where (I think) the lady herself is spouting some ‘poetry’ ? Surely this is not reaching out to her core market?
I don’t find it irritating to be honest (although I’d like to rewrite it!!) – Charlotte is a larger than life character and it does kind of fit with the ‘magic and glamour’ aspect of the brand – BUT I do find it crops up in some odd ad slots – I can see that they’re opting for prime slots but when it appears in the middle of Morse (or whatever) it feels a bit out of place.