Put your best face forwards with Charlotte Tilbury’s Hollywood Flawless Filter

When it comes to hyped beauty products, Charlotte Tilbury’s Hollywood Flawless Filter is right up there with the Dyson Airwrap.

You’ve no doubt watched countless video reviews of people praising its merits. You may even have friends who insist you need to try it, but if you’re still on the fence or have been left disappointed by the ‘dupes’, this honest review is just what you’ve been looking for.

If you’ve wandered in-store and seen the beautiful Art Deco-inspired packaging, I’m sure this thought has crossed your mind. It’s not quite a foundation, nor a highlighter, so what does it actually do?

Described by Tilbury as a ‘glow booster’, Hollywood Flawless Filter is designed to blur, smooth and illuminate skin, giving you the kind of radiance normally reserved for red-carpet royalty.

Personally, I would describe it as a multi-use illuminating primer and, depending on the look you want to achieve, there are three different ways to wear it. For the ultimate ‘no makeup, makeup’ look, wear it in place of foundation, which is my preferred method. Alternatively, you can use it as an actual primer to boost the luminosity of your skin under foundation, or apply over the top of your usual arsenal, like you would a highlighter.

OK, so we’ve established that it’s not strictly a foundation, but I understand why you might still want to cling to that. There are, after all, 12 shades to choose from and – as most primers, highlighters and illuminators only come in two colours – that’s a pretty extensive range for a product claiming not to be a foundation.

It’s true that the large doe-foot applicator is designed to work equally well for all three different methods of application, yet my favourite way to wear it is in place of foundation. It’s a trick I learnt from makeup artist Jamie Genevieve and gives the best ‘no makeup, makeup’ look.

Worn on its own, I find the formula delivers the kind of fresh-faced glow you normally only get from a two-week holiday – without a single speck of glitter, too, which is ideal, unless you’re 12.

I should add that it doesn’t give much in the way of coverage though, so if spots or texture are a concern for you, wear it under a heavy-coverage foundation to make it look more natural.

You can do either – it all depends on the level of glow you like. If you’re going for a megawatt radiant finish, apply it under your foundation, as it will quite literally shine through. If, however, you prefer a matte look or your skin is particularly oily, stick to applying it on top of your foundation like a highlighter, brushing it onto the tops of your cheekbones and the bridge of your nose.

Picking a shade online without someone to help can be tricky, but as Hollywood Flawless Filter doesn’t give you much in the way of coverage, the shades are fairly adaptable.

As I’m still sporting a bit of a tan from my now long-forgotten summer holiday, I’m wearing shade 4 (medium) at the moment. However, the descriptions are straightforward and fairly accurate, with shades broken down into variations of fair, medium, tan and deep. If you stick to a shade within your natural skin tone range, you really can’t go far wrong.

Finally, is Hollywood Flawless Filter worth the hype? In my opinion, yes. I’ve yet to find another highlighter-primer hybrid that sits so naturally on skin, while simultaneously giving you the glow of your life – and trust me, I’ve tried all the dupes out there.