Charlotte Tilbury Magic Water Cream, Its Magic Line and the Glow Creams Beside It

Charlotte Tilbury Magic Water Cream, Its Magic Line and the Glow Creams Beside It

Charlotte Tilbury Magic Water Cream is the fragrance-free gel moisturizer built to continue the Magic Cream story. Here is the rest of the Charlotte Tilbury skin care line, plus glow creams, illuminators and hyaluronic serums that work in the same hydrated, dewy spirit.

Charlotte Tilbury wrote about the day the Magic Water Cream arrived, dated 31 August 2023, and she opened it by going back to the start. The first product she ever launched, she says, was her born backstage, instant-turnaround moisturizer, Charlotte's Magic Cream. The new gel moisturizer was meant to continue that legacy, and she describes it as one that drenches like a water cream and revives like a Magic Cream.

That tells you a lot about the brand's point of view. Skin care here is built like a makeup artist's kit: quick, practical and aimed at how skin looks under lights. Charlotte Tilbury Magic Water Cream is fragrance-free, with niacinamide, and she says she chose a fragrance-free gel because some people are sensitive to fragrance in skin care.

The rest of the first row fills in the routine. Magic Cream is the richer one, with a peptide and hyaluronic acid. Charlotte's Magic Serum has vitamin C and niacinamide, and Magic Night adds time-released retinol for evenings. Magic Revival is a milky cream-to-foam cleanser, and Daily Glow Toner is acid-free with prickly pear extract. Magic Eye Cream has retinol too, and the Dark Spot Correcting serum pairs vitamin C with tranexamic acid.

My test for charlotte tilbury magic water cream: press a small amount onto damp skin in the morning, wait a minute, and see whether foundation sits smoothly on top.

Big numbers collage titled MAGIC WATER CREAM, six products numbered one to six with each product set beside its number: Charlotte Tilbury, Saie and Glow Recipe
Charlotte Tilbury Magic Water Cream

Charlotte Tilbury Magic Water Cream and Charlotte Tilbury skin care

Glow creams and illuminators for a dewy finish

Glow creams are the step between skin care and makeup, and this row has a few clever ones. Embryolisse is the most interesting story. The brand says a dermatologist from the Saint Louis Hospital created its Lait-Crème Concentré in 1950, and that it was quickly embraced by makeup artists. The Radiant Complexion Cream in Rose Glow has a soft rose tint, and Apricot Glow is a gel-cream with a warm golden tint.

Dr. Barbara Sturm Glow Cream is a pale-pink gel-cream with purslane and light-reflecting pearl pigments. Victoria Beckham Beauty The Cell Rejuvenating Illuminator in Golden uses Augustinus Bader's TFC8 technology for a warm bronze glow. Saie Glowy Super Gel in Starglow is a liquid highlighter that you can dot on the cheekbones or mix into foundation.

COUNTER Counterglow Hyaluronic Cushion Cream is cushiony, with ceramides and a subtly sweet plum oil scent. KORA Organics Turmeric Glow Moisturizer is tinted golden yellow, and True Botanicals Ginger Turmeric Hydraglow Cream is an ultralight gel-cream with ginger, turmeric and green tea.

Mix a drop of Saie Starglow with your moisturizer, or tap it only on the high points of the face.

What I would skip: a tinted glow cream on the same day as a full-coverage foundation. Choose the one that leaves your skin visible.

Glow creams and illuminators

Hyaluronic serums to layer underneath

Hyaluronic serums are the layer I reach for when my face feels tight. The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5 has five forms of hyaluronic acid and ceramides, and The INKEY List Hyaluronic Acid is a fast-absorbing, non-tacky serum. Glow Recipe Plum Plump pairs juicy plum with 5 weights of hyaluronic acid. Those three are the plainest serums in the row, which is why I would start there.

Dr. Barbara Sturm Hyaluronic Serum combines long- and short-chain hyaluronic molecules with purslane. COUNTER Counterglow Tri-luronic has three molecular weights of hyaluronic acid, plus rainbow algae and squalane. Monastery Aloe Hyaluronic Moisture Boost is cooling and lightweight, and the brand says it layers easily under moisturizer, SPF or makeup. Joanna Vargas The Daily Serum is a hyaluronic acid serum with antioxidants and vitamins. Auteur Definitive Hyaluron Activator Serum is the treatment-minded one, with a growth factor complex and peptides.

The order I use is simple: serum on damp skin first, then a moisturizer like a water cream to seal it in.

What I would skip: layering three hyaluronic serums in one morning. Their jobs overlap, so choose one, and let the moisturizer do the rest.

Hyaluronic serums

Building a hydrated routine around a water cream

A hydrated routine does not need many steps. Cleanse, put a serum on damp skin, then smooth a gel moisturizer like Magic Water Cream over it, and add a glow cream only on days you want color and light. If you use retinol in the Magic Night or Magic Eye Cream, keep it to the evening and let the morning be about hydration. Patch test anything new, and give each change a few weeks before you decide. The best skin care routine is the one you will still follow when you are tired.

Hydrating primers, mists and eye masks to go with it

If Charlotte Tilbury Magic Water Cream is the base of your routine, this last shelf is about what goes on top and around it. I start with primers. Charlotte Tilbury Wonderglow uses light-reflecting microspheres and can go under foundation or on its own, MILK MAKEUP Hydro Grip is a gel with hyaluronic acid and niacinamide, and Armani Beauty Luminous Silk is water-based with hyaluronic acid. Fenty Beauty Grip Trip adds maple sap extract, and Bobbi Brown Face Base+ is a moisturizer and primer in one.

Then the mists. Tatcha Luminous Dewy Skin Mist can be used under or over makeup, and rhode Glazing Mist has ectoin and a ceramide trio. The Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush setting spray has Japanese green tea and is waterproof. For eyes, Dr. Barbara Sturm uses purslane and skullcap, OLEHENRIKSEN Banana Bright+ is fragrance free and built on vitamin C, and Jillian Dempsey makes hydrating eye masks with camelina and almond oils, ten pairs to a box. For lips at night, LANEIGE Lip Sleeping Mask in Berry has murumuru seed and shea butter.

What I would skip: two primers in one morning. Pick one, then let a mist do the finishing.

Hydrating primers, mists and eye creams