Charlotte Tilbury Filmstar Bronze & Glow

The bronze shade is really pretty on my very fair skin (I’m an NC10 in MAC and I’m between the 0 and 1 in Charlotte’s Magic Foundation - the 0 is better tone wise, but the 1 has a better undertone for me). It’s not too dark, does not pull at all orange, and looks very natural. The problem is the highlighter. It’s not workable on me. It’s just too dark and too gold and does not look natural. For this alone I probably wouldn’t repurchase because I can find equally nice bronzers without having to pay for a highlighter I can’t use (the Hourglass Bronze Light is very similar if anyone else is looking for something else that would work for fair skin). The Kevin Aucoin contour light is also really good for more of a contour instead of a bronzer.

I have been using this product for contouring since it was first released and it is perfect for my pale NW-10 coloring ..... what I appreciate is that it does not turn orange or look dirty .... I use the bronzer to make my cheekbones look sharper and it also blends nicely with my blushes (I only use Charlotte Tilbury blushes as they are my HG.) Unfortunately I do not use the highlighter portion, but still worth for me to purchase as the bronzer does make a wonderful contour.

Pricey - yes, but it's worth it! I have this in 'medium/dark'. Perfect for that J-Lo type of glow. Firstly the bronzer is a medium-brown with warm undertones and a slightly gold hue to it. Honestly for me it's a game changer, it's so smooth and unlike the vast majority of bronzers I've used before, the quality is just in a league of its own. Also it's not super-pigmented meaning I can apply lightly and build-up as needed - just as good for day wear as it is building it up for a dramatic evening look. The highlighter here is a beautiful orange-gold slightly shimmery shade and again the quality is fantastic, you can actually see the difference in both when comparing to an averagely-priced highlighter or bronzer.
Great for highlighting cheekbones, under brow area and also inner eyes. Time-wise I get around 7-8 hours from both the bronze and the highlighter before they start to fade. I can see this lasting a long time. For reference I'm nowhere near the bottom of the pan yet, despite having this in heavy rotation (almost daily use).

Would be fantastic if this could be brought out in more shades as I feel it would appeal to a much bigger audience. For example my work colleague (roughly NC35) who got me onto this doesn't use it in winter when she is at her most palest, as she falls somewhere between the 'dark/medium' and 'medium/light' but not squarely into either. For me dark/medium is just perfect all year round and once (and IF) I run out I will be repurchasing.

Selena x


~ My HG list ~

(As I've sampled 100s of skin, hair and m/u products over the last decade and a half, I thought it might be useful to share my top 10 must-have products, subject to change if and when I come across something more effective. I love constantly trying out new stuff - usually sample sizes via e-bay, also plenty courtesy of a friend who works at Sephora)


1. Hair Loss Treatment: ‘Divine Herbal’ - Hair Oil
2. Lip Balm: 'Nuxe' - Reve De Miel Lip Balm
3. Pigmentation + Anti-Ageing Treatment: ‘Divine Herbal’ - Facial Treatment Serum
4. Cleanser: 'Paula's Choice' - Skin Balancing Cleanser
5. Concealer: ‘Mac’ - Studio Finish Concealer
6. Lash Growth Serum: ‘Divine Herbal’ - Divinelash
7. Foundation/SPF: ‘Juice Beauty’ - Stem Cellular Repair (warm glow)
8. Foot File/Callus/Heel Treatment - 'Microplane' - Colossal Pedicure Rasp Foot File
9. Ingrown Hair Treatment - 'Priva Shave' - Post Hair Removal Treatment
10. Hand Cream: 'Origins' - Make A Difference Rejuvenating Hand Treatment

I just love this stuff. I don't understand how it works to make my face look both thinner and more glowing, but it does (I just followed the instructions on where to place it). It smells divine and refined and the packaging is worthy of a jewelry box.

I'm a big fan of Charlotte Tillbury's line, and this is probably my favorite out of all her products. Filmstar Bronze & Glow has a stunning retro rose gold case and contains a tawny caramel bronzer on one side and a champagne highlighter on the other. The bronzer is not entirely matte; it has a beautiful satin finish. The highlighter is pigmented and shimmery, but not overly frosty. Both powders are finely milled and super blendable, with an almost creamy texture. My skin tone is around MAC NC40 and I can use the bronze side with a bit of a heavy hand as a super natural bronzer/ contour for day to day, or apply both for a night out. I apply this using the Chikuhodo Takumi T-5 highlight brush, but any tapered brush would do.

I love a lot of CT products and mostly think they're worth the splurge. This one, not so much. I chose the Fair/Medium shade for my NW20 skin because the Medium/Dark would be too dark. This doesn't do much bronzing or glowing me. The bronzer gives a subtle glow, but nothing amazing or unique relative to other bronzers. And the lighter shade doesn't really brighten or glow, at least against my skin tone. I tried it as a setting powder in the hopes of making it work but it doesn't really have any benefit there.

The powder itself is finely milled and lovely, and of course the packaging is elegant and glamorous. I wanted it to work but it just falls flat for me.

Really don’t understand the hype, it’s a bronzer and highlighter and yes Charlotte is a luxury brands but 50 quid? Unless I’m going to end up looking like kim k it’s not worth it, mac give me sun bronzer, benefit hoola will do the same job! I still tried it anyway but honestly it wasn’t even worth using again as i found it a boring bronzer, much prefer Mac’s give me sun.

This is one of those products, that you just HAVE TO try on your face before buying. Believe me, years and years ago, I would swatch it on my hand and say "uhm, no!". Which is why I couldn't get the hype.

That was until I have actually (yes) tried it on myself and I was blown away by just how smooth, pigmented and flawless her powders are. I mean that contour/bronze shade in particular is worth every penny. I feel like I am a hollywood bronzed goddess whenever I wear it. Highlighter is very sophisticated and delicate too, you can easily amp it up by using a bit of Fix Plus, but other than that - there is really nothing bad about this duo. It is expensive, but you will love it and use it on a daily basis.

For those of you who are curious to know more about her bestsellers, I have unedited swatches, application tips and makeup look in a separate review here (https://www.partyparrotblog.com/single-post/2018/09/16/Full-Face-Of-Charlotte-Tilbury-Bestsellers). I hope it helps!

This is a perfect product. I am medium skin tone so of course I cannot use the lighter shade as I normally would use a contour kit. It is not a contour pan for anyone other than fair skinned people. That being said I just use the darker color to sculpt and Contour while using the lighter color strictly as a highlighter. It's different than most Contour palettes because you would assume that the lighter shade is supposed to be used as a contour but it cannot be for anyone other than fair skin. Otherwise you're going to end up with highlighted forehead and everywhere else that you might apply the lighter shade in a contour kit normally. I continue to get this particular palette because I like the highlighter shade but for someone who's looking for a contour kit this may not be great. If I didn't already have another pan by another company of strictly light shade Contour I wouldn't really get the use out of this product. It's kind of weird that they placed a highlighter beside a Sculptor. Other than that it's a fabulous product so long as use it as a highlighter and not as a light Contour. That is what I've learned by trial and error with this product

This applies like butter, I will give it that. The color is also great for those who are fair skinned, it looks incredibly natural. However, it has a gold sheen to it. After swiping across my forehead which is a bit large-it made my forehead reflect light (which is not something I want my bronzer/contour to do). I literally look like I have gold highlighter all over my forehead! It just doesn’t work with the shine it has to it, you can’t swipe this all over the face naturally.