Magic Cream is the product that made Charlotte Tilbury’s name, the secret skincare sauce first used on her fashion models and A-list clients, then turned into one of the most iconic skin creams in the world. It’s been a best-seller ever since, but now, a decade on, it’s been radically reinvented. It sounds risky on paper, but Magic Cream V2 has already won rave reviews ahead of launch, with four out of five of the brand's testers agreeing it’s like ‘a facelift in a jar’.
A bold claim? Absolutely. But when you see how glowing Amal Clooney and Penelope Cruz are looking lately, you might think that Charlotte’s onto something.
The glamorous 50-somethings are among Tilbury’s loyal clientele and have already been showcasing the new cream out on the red carpet: Amal at the Golden Globes, and Penelope at The Bride! premiere, both looking phenomenal.
Their starry glow adds a convincing case for Charlotte Tilbury’s own claim that the new formula ‘revives the look of skin in 28 seconds and reverses 10 visible signs of ageing’.
Charlotte’s Magic Cream
In terms of how it’s done, the formula now includes a ‘world-first Recoverstem Peptide’ with over 100 multi-action peptides, extracted from stem cells of what’s been dubbed ‘the Eternal Jasmine’.
‘Recoverstem is clinically proven to activate five key skin recovery biomarkers in one technology,’ says Jonathan Reynolds, the brand’s director of scientific development, who walked GH through the revamp ahead of its launch this week. ‘You really see the transformation after four weeks. Everyone’s going to be addicted to this very soon.’
As well as trying it out on celebrity guinea pigs, Jonathan says the brand carried out its ‘largest ever clinical study in skincare - we have tested on over 500 people in clinical settings across multiple ages, race, gender, skin types and countries with testing points starting at 28 seconds, right after application.’ (Hence the ultra-speedy claim)
Tilbury was also keen to find a new formula that would visibly combat ageing without causing aggravation (vital for a product so relied on for red carpet and backstage prep.) ‘We tested it after people having non-ablative laser to really show that Magic Cream versus a placebo really repairs the skin much quicker. We’re super excited by that,’ says Jonathan.
Most importantly, the brand hasn’t thrown out the baby with the bathwater in the quest for ageless skin, he says. ‘You get that iconic Magic Cream glow that you love but it also now targets and reverses visible signs of ageing. So those are dehydration, wrinkles and fine lines, plumpness, elasticity, firmness, sagging, dullness, redness, uneven texture and necklines. It is literally going to be your one and done.’
As for this GH beauty director’s verdict? I’ve used Magic Cream for years, so I was slightly nervous about one of my favourite dry cream revivers being meddled with, but I needn’t have been.
The quenching feel, the thick, luxurious texture, the instant jig of joy I feel my skin give as it goes on – they all remain unchanged. Makeup goes on effortlessly, and yes, there is that instant radiant glow we Tilbury girls depend on.
It’s a new kind of Magic, and I’m 100% under the spell.
