Charlotte Tilbury
Charlotte Tilbury
Charlotte Tilbury
Charlotte Tilbury

Make-up artist Charlotte Tilbury shares her star-studded stories


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  • Arabic

It's hard not to like Charlotte Tilbury. Make-up artist to the stars, instigator of countless make-up trends and, since 2013, founder of a much-loved, eponymous make-up brand, she is also a human whirlwind. Whether she's talking about lipstick, shoots in the desert or Jennifer Lopez's contouring, she is so enthusiastic and animated that it is impossible not to get swept along.

Anyone who has held even a passing interest in fashion magazines over the past 25 years will be familiar with Tilbury's work. A veteran of innumerable fashion shoots, she has worked alongside some of the biggest names in the industry.

Mario Testino, Mert and Marcus, Kate Moss, Miranda Kerr, Victoria Beckham and Kim Kardashian are some of the names that trip off her tongue, but I am still taken aback to learn that she was the make-up artist behind a 2002 shoot entitled Castaway Kate in British Vogue that sparked my own interest in fashion.

It starred a young Moss, whose bronzed skin (from her lips to her eyelids to her arms) was so beautifully matte that it triggered a trend for nude lips and matte skin that exists to this day. "Back then, there were no tanning products," Tilbury says with a laugh. "To get the skin colour I wanted, I had to mix Ben Nye and Guerlain, and then I literally imprinted the mix onto her body with cotton wool. It took three hours. I wanted her to look naturally bronzed, gorgeous and natural. For her beige lip in the shoot, which I called Nude Kate, I was using concealer, a pinky lipstick and a bit of a brownish lipstick – it was a concoction. And it set off a massive trend. Afterwards, everyone was asking me: 'Can we get that lip?' So products were being born without me realising."

Tilbury did Amal Clooney's make-up for her appearance at the Venice Film Festival. Reuters
Tilbury did Amal Clooney's make-up for her appearance at the Venice Film Festival. Reuters

Read: Charlotte Tilbury's step-by-step approach to Amal Clooney's look

With an approach to make-up that she herself describes as "alchemy", Tilbury happily mixes products to get the precise colour or texture she is looking for. "Make-up artists have secrets and tricks that we keep to ourselves, and it's part of the reason we are booked. Magic Cream is where it all started for me. I was working with a lot of celebrities, and they would come off planes, exhausted and dehydrated. How do I make them look gorgeous in under an hour? It became so famous backstage – it was then known as 'secret cream' – that make-up artists, celebrities and models all wanted it. When I launched my YouTube channel, I realised I couldn't do it without my Magic Cream. When we went on sale in Selfridges, we had about 200 people queuing to buy it, and it's still one of our bestsellers."

Having spent years developing tricks and shortcuts, Tilbury is now keen to share her knowledge. Aware that many women feel intimidated by the sheer range of make-up products available on the market, her aim is simply to help women feel more confident. "All of my products come from me wanting to steal a celebrity's DNA and put it a bottle," Tilbury explains. "My WonderGlow Skin Care Primer is like shrinking Gisele Bündchen and putting her in a jar. She looks lit from within, glowing and gorgeous. So I wanted something that would do good for your skin, and make you look very glowy. Jennifer Lopez is the contouring queen. It's an old Hollywood trick, and when I worked with her, it was all about cheekbones, highlighter and facial architecture. Filmstar Bronze & Glow is something I wanted to give to women in an easy format. The whole thing is about democratising make-up and coming up with a solution. This was all about taking my tips and tricks from the runways and red carpets, and giving it to real women."

Aside from working on countless fashion editorials, creating red-carpet looks for celebrities – Kerr, Kardashian, Nicole Kidman and Sienna Miller are all devotees – and doing the make-up for both Moss and Amal Clooney's nuptials, Tilbury is also the brain behind the launch of make-up lines for Helena Rubinstein, Giorgio Armani, Alexander McQueen and MAC. "I created the whole Tom Ford line with Tom Ford," she confides.

The UAE's first stand-alone Charlotte Tilbury store is due to arrive in The Dubai Mall early next year. Opening alongside stores in Kuwait and Bahrain, it promises to offer the same experience as her London flagship. "We are creating a Beauty Wonderland," she says. "I wanted to create an old-school theatre that's fun. You can come in and get a quick feline flick, or a five-minute smoky eye. I wanted to create different areas, a juice bar and a boudoir area, which is like Marilyn Monroe's dressing area. There will be amazing artists and private sessions for VIPs."

The Dubai store may be new, but Tilbury is no stranger to the UAE. She tells the tale of her first-ever visit to the country – and like most of the make-up maestro's stories, it's a good one. "I came here 13 years ago, when Dubai was just emerging. It was Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell, Mert and Marcus, Karen Elson, Amber Valletta and me, in the middle of the desert, shooting the Louis Vuitton spring campaign. There was nothing here then. It was like the Wild West."

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Read more:

Luxury Magazine: Beirut style, Zuhair Murad, Charlotte Tilbury and more

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Navdeep Suri, India's Ambassador to the UAE

There has been a longstanding need from the Indian community to have a religious premises where they can practise their beliefs. Currently there is a very, very small temple in Bur Dubai and the community has outgrown this. So this will be a major temple and open to all denominations and a place should reflect India’s diversity.

It fits so well into the UAE’s own commitment to tolerance and pluralism and coming in the year of tolerance gives it that extra dimension.

What we will see on April 20 is the foundation ceremony and we expect a pretty broad cross section of the Indian community to be present, both from the UAE and abroad. The Hindu group that is building the temple will have their holiest leader attending – and we expect very senior representation from the leadership of the UAE.

When the designs were taken to the leadership, there were two clear options. There was a New Jersey model with a rectangular structure with the temple recessed inside so it was not too visible from the outside and another was the Neasden temple in London with the spires in its classical shape. And they said: look we said we wanted a temple so it should look like a temple. So this should be a classical style temple in all its glory.

It is beautifully located - 30 minutes outside of Abu Dhabi and barely 45 minutes to Dubai so it serves the needs of both communities.

This is going to be the big temple where I expect people to come from across the country at major festivals and occasions.

It is hugely important – it will take a couple of years to complete given the scale. It is going to be remarkable and will contribute something not just to the landscape in terms of visual architecture but also to the ethos. Here will be a real representation of UAE’s pluralism.

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UPI facts

More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions

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Company name: baraka
Started: July 2020
Founders: Feras Jalbout and Kunal Taneja
Based: Dubai and Bahrain
Sector: FinTech
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The National Archives, Abu Dhabi

Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.

Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en

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Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6

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Six things you need to know about UAE Women’s Special Olympics football team

Several girls started playing football at age four

They describe sport as their passion

The girls don’t dwell on their condition

They just say they may need to work a little harder than others

When not in training, they play football with their brothers and sisters

The girls want to inspire others to join the UAE Special Olympics teams

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Sole survivors
  • Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
  • George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
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Capcom

PlayStation 4, Xbox One

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Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman

Director: Jesse Armstrong

Rating: 3.5/5

Name: Peter Dicce

Title: Assistant dean of students and director of athletics

Favourite sport: soccer

Favourite team: Bayern Munich

Favourite player: Franz Beckenbauer

Favourite activity in Abu Dhabi: scuba diving in the Northern Emirates 

 

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The five pillars of Islam

1. Fasting

2. Prayer

3. Hajj

4. Shahada

5. Zakat 

The National's picks

4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young

Anghami
Started: December 2011
Co-founders: Elie Habib, Eddy Maroun
Based: Beirut and Dubai
Sector: Entertainment
Size: 85 employees
Stage: Series C
Investors: MEVP, du, Mobily, MBC, Samena Capital

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