I had the absolute pleasure of being invited for a Charlotte Tilbury Transformation earlier this week to celebrate their recent launch in the House of Fraser, Meadowhall. 

To say I was a tad excited was an understatement.

I have purchased a few bits and bobs from Charlotte Tilbury in the past but was keen to trail and discover more. Especially the skin care which I’ve heard mainly good reports about.

I arrived bear faced [with the exception of a slick of lippie] . I don’t think I’ve left the house without some form of makeup… ever!

It has however been an awful few weeks and finding out the devastating news that my mums cancer is back has been giving me sleepless nights.

Being told your mum has cancer is bad enough. Being told they’ve done everything they can, and your mum is now classed ‘as living with cancer’ is a hard pill to swallow.

She’s not classed as terminal yet and medication will hopefully slow the growth. “She could be around for years “ the nurse reassured us but it’s still a worry…

I’m finding it hard to comprehend mainly because the majority of me doesn’t want too. I suppose it’s called ‘in denial’

Like a military operation you get up, put your face on, smile. I’m becoming quite good at hiding the fact I’m in bits. I’ve got to be strong for mum.

Anyway, I’m all cried out with red watery eyes and dark circles. I feel as though I’ve aged about 10 years in a few weeks. I don’t think I look that great without makeup anyway but I looked positively exhausted, or as mum says ‘dug up’ on the morning of the makeover.

A makeover however was just what the doctor had ordered. I couldn’t wait but was also quite apprehensive having never had my makeup applied by a professional before.

I arrived 5 minutes early . I’m punctual if nothing else.

I received a warm welcome from the Charlotte Tilbury girls who were both looking beautiful wearing colours from ‘The Dolce Vita’ look. [ I suddenly felt 100 times worse than I did before ] .

I met the lovely Sophie who had organised and invited me along to the event and Ben the store Manager. Everybody was so friendly.

I was seated at one of the makeup stations and handed a glass of Tattinger [ my favourite champagne ]

It was 10.00 am Wednesday morning .. why the hell not!  Happy bloody hump day 🙂

Our makeup artist for the day was Johnny Cacaran one of Charlotte Tilburys lead MUA who is usually based at the Flagship store in Covent Garden. A lovely Irish guy who you couldn’t help but immediately warm too. It’s that Irish charm I imagine!

Charlotte Tilbury have a choice of looks , or rather collections you can choose from.

I choose REBEL mainly because it’s something I’d never normally consider purchasing,  let alone wearing.

It can be worn with either a bold red lip or a nude. I choose the nude [ no surprise there then!]

I already have the ‘Dolce Vita’ and ‘Vintage Vamp’ eyeshadow palettes – this was something totally different to them both.

Johnny started by prepping the skin with Magic Cream [£70.00] which felt beautiful on application. This plumps the skin and raised some much needed colour to my cheeks.

It’s a fairly thick cream which I am assured is suitable for all skin types including spot prone. It has SPF 15 which is something I always look out for.

He then applied Wonder Glow [£38.50] which apparently gave me a wonder glow! This is on my lust list.

It’s described as a miracle fix to turn around tired, dull, dehydrated skin in a beauty flash. I think we might just become best friends.

I don’t usually wear foundation as I find it sits on my skin and in my pores, highlighting rather than hiding my imperfections.

However I decided as this could be a once in a lifetime makeover I’d go for it. Light Wear Foundation shade 5 [ £32.00 ] Was applied , followed by Airbrush Flawless Finish Powder 1 [£33.00 ] over and across my T-zone.

Blusher came in the way of Cheek to Chic First Love [£30.00] with subtle contouring using  Filmstar Bronze and Glow -light [£49.00]

The main focus and the area I tend to play up myself is always the eyes. I adore a smokey bold eye which is something Charlotte Tilbury is synonymous with.

While most mums would probably have discouraged their 16 year old daughter from wearing lots of makeup, my mum would be quite the opposite. “Do your dark smokey eye tonight Tracey ” she’d enthus and upon seeing them she would proclaim “fabulous, just fabulous” 

The seed was well and truly sown.

I was excited to see the results…

Firstly my brows were defined using Brow Lift in Brooke S [£22.50] this is a fabulous brow pencil that is shaped so you can be precise and draw individual hairs. A definite one for the purchase list.

Using a combination of The Rebel Luxury Eyeshadow Palette [ £39.00] and Colour Chameleon  in Smokey Emerald [£19.00]  a beautiful smokey eye was created using varying shades of green including a fabulous sparkly one.

Finishing touches were lashings of Full Fat Lashes Mascara [£23.00] and Rock n Kohl pencil in Bedroom Black [£19. 00] along my waterline.

It really made my eyes pop… what do you think ?

I bloody love it! It makes me green eyes look greener and ever so sparkly.

Lips were lined in Lip Cheat Iconic Nude [£16.00] and filled in using lipstick in Very Victoria [£24.00] which is a beautiful matte nude.

The overall look was maybe a bit full on for day-time / popping to work. [ Dad asked me if I’d got a hot date later  ] but like I said I wanted to try something different and I seriously don’t care anymore.

Life’s to short to worry about the trivial … something my mum keeps instilling into me.

It’s definitely a look I’m going to try and recreate myself at home.

If I’m honest I’d skip on the foundation, [only because I personally don’t like the feel of anything on my skin other than concealer where needed and powder to stop shine] I would purchase everything else!

I had a lovely time, as I stated earlier,  one which was much needed. It’s quite therapeutic having your face ‘done’

It’s also another one off my bucket list.

Last month I ticked off appearing on live radio … this week it was having my makeup done by someone other than myself.

I’m 46 & like an old dog I’m set in my ways. Letting someone loose on my face may seem small but it’s very significant.

To top it off as I was leaving I was handed THE most amazing goodie bag . It is just WOW!

Four full size products to try at home, including the Goddess Clay Mask which I had been eyeing up in store.

I will review these all separately but here they are in-all their glory.

Charlotte Tilbury is available throughout the UK. If you’re in or around Sheffield however  I encourage you to call into The House of Fraser, Meadowhall and take a look at the Charlotte Tilbury collections for yourself.

Their counter is more or less bang in front of you on the LHS as you enter the store from the first floor.  It’s laid out to make it super easy for you to see each collection and how it looks on. Plus the assistants are  on hand, friendly and approachable if you get stuck or just want some advice.

You can purchase the Full look [ which includes eyeshadow palette , blusher, lip stick, liner , mascara and eyeliner for £165.00 ] or mix and match individual pieces that take your fancy.

I went into Meadowhall Feeling ‘blahhh’ but left smiling and with a spring in my step.

You cannot measure the confidence a ‘pretty face day’ gives you ! I felt better. Armour in place … I was ready to handle whatever the day threw at me.

My inner Rebel unveiled!

Until next time,  Tracey x

* Thankyou to the House of Fraser and Charlotte Tilbury for the kind invite & the very generous gift bag. To Johnny for giving me my sparkle back.

* Johnny Cacaran MUA can be found over on Instagram @makeupbybonzo go look. He’s amazing. 

* It was great to briefly see Katie from Pouting in Heels who was having a makeover with Johnny after me. She looked beautiful. You can see photos of her Transformation over on her Instagram @poutinginheels

* linking up with the lovely notlamb #SaturdayShareLinkUp