Review: Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Flawless Filter

No beauty product has been on my wish list longer than the Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Flawless Filter. I’ve seen tons of YouTube, Instagram and TikTok videos where people apply this product and within seconds of blending it out their skin looks brighter, dewier and healthier. All the comments seem to be extolling its virtues too, makeup enthusiasts really do love this stuff!

Spurred on by this, and feeling very hopeful that Flawless Filter would live up to all the hype, I decided to go ahead and buy it. Unfortunately, I was too impatient to wait for my shade match to come back in stock and picked one that I thought would be a close enough fit. Side note: shades 2 and 2.5 are quite a bit different! You can read about how I managed to make it work later in this post, but first let’s jump into what this product is and why it’s so popular…

What is it?

Charlotte Tilbury’s Hollywood Flawless Filter is a product I couldn’t quite get my head around until I actually bought it. Is it a primer? Is it a foundation? Or is it a highlighter? In a way it ticks all these boxes.

The Charlotte Tilbury website describes it as a ‘glow filter’ in a bottle. It’s meant to blur your skin and add luminosity to give you a filter-like finish. You can wear it a number of ways to achieve your desired effect, the product page suggests the following:

1. before your foundation
2. mixed in with your foundation
3. by itself
4. as a highlighter

Application

Flawless Filter comes with a large doe-foot applicator which makes it SUPER easy to apply. I know some people aren’t keen on applicators that go straight back into the product after touching the face, but – since I tend to apply this on freshly cleansed skin – I don’t mind so much. It certainly cuts down on mess, as there’s much less chance of the product dripping everywhere (squeezy bottles or droppers are the worst when it comes to this!).

I’ve tried Flawless Filter as both a primer and a highlighter, and I like it both ways. The full potential of the product becomes really apparent when it’s used as a primer – you get that all-over glow which makes your skin look so radiant and healthy. Using it as a highlighter, on the other hand, is best for achieving a very subtle dewiness on the high points (cheeks, cupid’s bow, nose etc.) of your face. If you’re someone who usually avoids highlighter out of fear that it’ll leave white or gold streaks across your cheeks, Flawless Filter is a great alternative in this sense! It matches the tone of your skin/foundation, while still offering a really pretty glow.

For me, Flawless Filter is a little too dewy to be worn just by itself. I’m very envious of people who can apply this all over their face and leave it at that, but I always go in with a foundation over the top just to reduce the glow a little. I feel like toning this down with foundation makes it look a lot more natural. The Charlotte Tilbury website also mentions that you can pre-mix this with your foundation and then apply it. I haven’t tried this method yet but I would be interested to see if this changes the finish at all!

My preferred way to apply Flawless Filter to my face is with a damp makeup sponge. I have tried with a brush, and also with my fingers, but this never seems to diffuse the product enough. In my experience, a damp sponge is the only thing that actually blends out the product without pulling at the skin too much.

Formula

The consistency of the CT Flawless Filter is thicker than I had initially expected. In my head I thought this would be a runny product, sort of like a liquid foundation, but the texture is actually more similar to that of a creamy concealer.

Because it is fairly thick, it does require quite a bit of blending. But it doesn’t really dry out so it’s not like you need to rush to blend it in. This has no discernible scent and, as far as I can tell, it doesn’t contain any ingredients that would be problematic for acne-prone skin – though for some reason it does cause the odd spot here and there. Obviously, because it has a dewy finish, it might not be suited to oily skin types (especially if used as an all-over primer). However, I still think it that this would work well for all skin types as a highlighter.

Wear

I have combination skin so my face can get oily in parts, especially around my T-zone. I was a bit worried that the CT Flawless Filter would accentuate this and that I’d be completely shiny by the end of the day. But, to my surprise, my skin is no more oily than it would be with any other primer or foundation. Sure, it looks more dewy than usual – any product described as a ‘glow booster’ is going to do that. However, it doesn’t look excessively shiny or oily.

Aside from the dewy aspect of this product, I also wondered how it would compare to other primers in terms of keeping my makeup in place. It actually does a really great job. My foundation doesn’t separate when I wear this and it doesn’t look like I’ve got another layer of makeup underneath. In fact, it looks incredibly natural! This is the thing that makes me like this product so much – my skin still looks like my skin (just with an extra glow!).

Shade Range and Swatches

At the time of writing, the Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Flawless Filter is available in 12 shades: 1 Fair, 2 Fair, 2.5 Fair, 3 Fair, 4 Medium, 4.5 Medium, 5 Tan, 5.5 Tan, 6 Tan, 6.5 Deep, 7 Deep, 8 Deep. The shade range is pretty decent for a sheer product – it’s designed to blend into your natural skin tone so you don’t always need an exact shade match. In my case, despite having a shade that’s a tad too warm for me (2.5 Fair), I am still able to use it by 1) applying a light layer with a damp sponge and 2) wearing a tinted serum/moisturiser in a paler shade over the top.

My one criticism of these shades, however, is that the naming of them makes it really hard to decide which one would actually suit your skin. Shades 1 – 3, for example, are all classed as ‘Fair’… but this category is much too broad. Someone with typically fair skin (Fitzpatrick skin type 1 or 2) would probably only be able to use shade 1 or shade 2 as a base by itself. If you’re able to try out the products in-store, it’s definitely easier to find your shade match, as you won’t have to rely on the names so much. But if you’re shopping for Flawless Filter online, this is something you’ll probably want to keep in mind.

Since Flawless Filter shades are perpetually sold out, I could only get my hands on shades 1, 2.5, 3, 4.5 and 5.5. I’ve swatched them in the shot below so you can see what the jump between shades is like.

Overall thoughts

I’d seen so many people create stunning makeup looks with Charlotte Tilbury’s Flawless Filter, so I was really hoping that it would work out for me too. And, honestly, the first couple of times I used it I wasn’t sure about it: the shade was off, it felt really heavy and it looked much too shiny. But I think a lot of this was user error. I had been applying it as I would a regular foundation and this really didn’t work. Less is definitely more when it comes to Flawless Filter, and you’ll only need a small amount to reap its benefits.

Once I started using less of the product and applying it with a sponge, I managed to get the finish I wanted. I’ve learned that if it feels thick or overly sticky when you put it on, you need to sheer out the product with a damp makeup sponge before you go any further. Applying foundation on top when the base already feels heavy does not solve the issue!

It may take a few Flawless Filter applications to figure out how it works best for your skin type, so don’t be discouraged if it you’re not wowed by it right away. Each time I wear it, I like it more – it’s definitely a product that has grown on me. And, while it’s a nice addition to my makeup routine, I wouldn’t say it’s a necessity. You may be able to achieve similar results with glowy primers you already own. If you’re unsure, I’d recommend getting the mini Flawless Filter first to see if it’s right for you!

Where can I buy Flawless Filter?

You can buy the Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Flawless Filter from most UK beauty retailers. Sephora, Cult Beauty and Space NK all have it listed on their website for around £36 (30ml). Alternatively, you can buy it directly from the Charlotte Tilbury site for the same price.

The travel-size version (5.5ml) can only be bought from the Charlotte Tilbury website. Unfortunately, however, the Flawless Filter mini only comes in four shades: 2 Light, 3 Light/Medium, 4.5 Medium and 6.5 Deep.

Similar products

Looking for something a bit cheaper? Check out these drugstore alternatives…

• Collection Gorgeous Glow Filter Finish Primer and Illuminator – £6.99 (currently £5.59)
• e.l.f. Halo Glow Liquid Filter – £14
• Maybelline Instant Anti Age Perfector 4-In-1 Glow Primer, Concealer, Highlighter – £12.99

And read this post for an in-depth comparison of Charlotte Tilbury’s Flawless Filter with the Collection and e.l.f dupes.

Have you tried Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Flawless Filter? Would you try it? Let me know in the comments!