Charlotte Tilbury’s Setting Powder Made My Skin Look Airbrushed

We put Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless Finish setting powder to the test after receiving a complimentary sample from the brand. Keep reading for our full product review. 

After all of the hard work you’ve put in to get your foundation and concealer right, it’s always good to have a product that can keep it in place. Whether you like translucent products or powders that can give you a ton of extra coverage, using a powder to set your makeup helps your application last longer and adds a little extra polish to it. After having been loyal to my favorite powder for what feels like forever, I wanted to try something new. Having heard so much about the Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless Finish setting powder, I decided to check it out.

Below are my unfiltered thoughts.

About My Skin: Sensitive, combination, acne-prone skin

My skin can be temperamental and reactive with beauty products and the environment. On a good day, my skin cooperates, and I don’t break out too heavily or experience an allergic reaction. On a less-than-great day, I might experience a breakout or rash from a change in routine (seriously—I recently moved and broke out into hives in my new apartment). While this is frustrating, I know what works for me after many years of being completely beauty-obsessed.

Since my skin is so sensitive, I focus on skincare and keep my complexion products streamlined. Because I wear concealer most days and only wear foundation on nights out, I still use a powder to lock the product in; my go-to is the MAC Cosmetics Mineralize Skinfinish Natural Powder in Dark Golden. I’ve been using it for years, and my skin complexion has never looked off by using it. Curious to know what the Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless Finish powder was about, I decided to abandon my favorite powder and check this product out.

How to Apply: Use a fluffy brush

The Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless Finish setting powder has a gorgeous texture with packaging that makes the product really easy to use. It comes in a pretty straightforward compact, so all you need to do is use a brush to apply the product. Since the powder is sold as a product that blurs over imperfections, I decided to use a fluffy brush instead of a denser brush. From my personal experience, powders that are marketed like Tilbury’s are meant to set makeup applications—meaning that they’re used more sparingly—instead of being worn as a foundation or providing significant coverage. I used my brush to place the product over my skin, softly spreading it out over my forehead, cheeks, and under-eye area.

The Results: Illuminated skin and creaseless under-eyes

After using the Airbrush Flawless Finish for several days, I noticed that my skin was smooth and radiant. Since I have an oily t-zone, my pores are bigger on both sides of my nose; this powder helped to softly blur their appearance. The Tilbury powder has almond oil and rose wax in it, which helps to soften, nourish, and moisturize skin. I definitely noticed that my skin looked soft, natural, and touchable without needing to apply a setting spray to soften the look of my application. 

On top of that, the product gave my skin the look that I love: I had a skin-like finish and a radiant glow—sans sparkle or shine. After a few hours, my t-zone was a bit shiny, but not unreasonably so; I used a mattifying primer as a base before I put my makeup on, which helped. This product is formulated with light-reflecting pearls, but the pearlescence is so subtle that combination and oilier skins that like a glow (like me) can still use it without feeling like you look greasy.

The Value: Amazing, but expensive for the amount of product

The Airbrush Flawless Finish setting powder from Charlotte Tilbury is a prestige product that does exactly what it says: it’ll give you glowing skin, blur over blemishes, and reduce shine. While all of this is great, I do think the powder is expensive (it retails for around $45). With this powder, you get 0.28 ounces of the product—my go-to powder gives you 0.35 ounces, 10 more shade options, and costs less. I don’t dispute the Airbrush Flawless Finish setting powder and its magic—I’ve just tried other options available that can deliver the look I received from the Tilbury powder at a cheaper price. If you don’t mind shelling out your coins for a product that works, Charlotte Tilbury’s Airbrush Flawless Finish will blow you away.

Similar Products: You have tons of options 

MAC Cosmetics Mineralize Skinfinish Natural ($36): The greatest substitute that still delivers, the Mineralize Skinfinish Natural Powder from MAC Cosmetics is, to me, a must-have product. Easily blurring over blemishes and spots, setting makeup, controlling shine, and giving your skin a soft glow, the Skinfinish Natural Powder illuminates your skin without sparkle and is available in 14 shades.

Maybelline Fit Me! Matte + Poreless Powder ($8): A super popular complexion product, Maybelline’s Fit Me! Matte + Poreless Powder can set your makeup easily, control shine, last for hours, and also give you more coverage if you want to have that choice with your powder. Its micro-powder technology will also blur your skin just like Tilbury’s, but at a fraction of the price.

Make Up For Ever Matte Velvet Skin Compact ($38): Make Up For Ever’s collection of Matte Velvet products manage to balance matte finishes with rich, creamy, velvety textures. The Matte Velvet Skin Compact is no different: it’ll set your makeup, blur over pores, take down oiliness, and smooth over textured skin with its blurring technology and buildable coverage.