Charlotte Tilbury Eyeshadow Quad in The Dolce Vita

Charlotte Tilbury has definitely taken her MUA career to the next level. She launched her line of cosmetics some time last year but it is very limited in stockists. Most Australians wouldn't have even heard of Charlotte Tilbury cosmetics let alone where to buy it from. Her theme, which is her main selling point, is that she has created 10 specific looks that you can achieve from purchasing a kit with the exact items that she uses. Aside from these looks, she also has a series of products that suit each particular eye colour if you don't wish to starve for a week and buy one of each product from her range. Here I have The Dolce Vita eyeshadow quad, one of Charlotte's best selling items, and I am ready to tell you whether this little number is worth the hefty price tag that it comes with.

Blurry picture to show the strong shimmer of the glitter 

If you have a warm complexion like me, i think you really
have to blend the smoke and enhance colour together to bring
more warmth to the shadows. Here I am just wearing the
"smoke" shade and it looks rather muddy on it's own.

Smoke and Enhance in the crease
Prime on the lids and inner corner
Pop in the middle of the lids

There are three shimmer shades and one pressed glitter. The shadows are buttery enough. Definitely high end quality but nothing that's more outstanding than...say...Nars eyeshadows or Stila or Too Faced etc. It is better than MAC though, by far, as I have just done a MAC palette review (here) and my dislike for it has still left a bad taste in my mouth.

Top left is Prime, your everyday cream coloured shimmer used for highlighting or all over the lid. Top Right is Enhance, a warm burgundy brown for a sultry smoked out look. Bottom Left is Pop, a pressed copper glitter and bottom right is Smoke, a dark brown with slight taupe in it. All three shimmers are soft and wonderful to blend. They are very pigmented, so you definitely need a blending brush to help you minimize any harsh lines. The glitter shade however, is a little disappointing (especially since it roughly costs around $20 for that little pan alone). Like all glitter eyeshadows, it is most easily picked up and deposited onto the eyelids with your fingers, but like a puppy who's been couped indoors all day, it can't stay in the one place. Foiling it with a setting spray would do the trick but it would also mean that your subtle glitter smokey eye would turn into a full blown metallic foil. This is the downfall for this quad because when I spend $80 on an eyeshadow palette, each colour have to compliment the other and each colour has to be outstanding, not just pretty to look at.

I primed my lids with MAC Soft Ochre Paintpot and there was no creasing. The shadows did not oxidize and change colour and remained gorgeous for the better half of a day and this will probably  be my first choice for when I'm opting for a dark, sultry brown smoky eye. 

This little quad contains 5.2g of eyeshadow altogether. So you definitely don't get a lot for what you pay for. Charlotte Tilbury quads are often compared to that of Tom Ford and some people might be tricked into opting for Charlotte's collection as it is slightly cheaper. But please bear in mind that Tom Ford has twice as much product in his quads and the quality is much better as well. The Dolce Vita does remind of Tom Ford's Cognac Sable and I will do some comparison swatches when I get around to reviewing my Cognac Sable quad.

Here is a comparison of the size of the Quad against some other popular quads. It is definitely sleek and compact, using only the amount of room that it need. As 1g for each pan is very small and very shallow in deepness so there is not a whole lot of wasted space in this palette.

How the compact compares in size

If you are considering buying one of Charlotte's quads, my opinion is to buy it only if you really really want something from her range. The colours aren't extremely unique, I'm sure you can find similar colours offered by other brands and the texture is great but nothing that I feel like I haven't experienced before. If you did decide to bite the bullet a purchase a quad, I would definitely give the quads that offer a glitter shade a miss because it's just not practical and you will likely be left with three empty pans and a hardly touched glitter eyeshadow. Again, these are just my opinions and I've given my two cents for the ladies who are contemplating whether or not to splurge on this brand (a rather new and small brand at that). The quality, packaging, application (except glitter) are all of high quality and would definitely still be a nice addition to your makeup collection.

Charlotte Tilbury is available with international shipping from Selfridges and Net-a-porter.