Charlotte Tilbury Instant Eye Palette Review and Swatches

Purchased (Affiliate Links)

By now, you have no doubt reached the proper conclusion that I am in the midst of a love affair with Charlotte Tilbury makeup, and I am thoroughly smitten with the Charlotte Tilbury Instant Eye Palette. This beautiful palette features 12 eyeshadows that are broken into 4 sets of 3 that were conceived to create 4 distinctly different looks. Of course, if you are anything like me, you will likely mix and match each of the colors as you see fit. Charlotte Tilbury refers to this as "the ultimate smokey eye shadow palette" and it is definitely a beautiful luxury neutral palette. The texture of each of the shadows is very finely milled, and the shadows glide across the skin effortlessly and deposit color evenly. Each of the shadows, from the mattes to the shimmer shades offer buildable coverage, but the palest ivory (on the far right) remains a barely-there base color. I experience little to no fallout, long-wear and the creamy highly blendable textures make this such a satisfying palette to use. Each of the looks– The Day Look, The Desk Look, The Date Look and The Disco Look– offer the intensity and pigmentation that is required to achieve their designated looks.

According to Charlotte Tilbury,

Darlings, the Instant Eye Palette, inspired by Charlotte’s smokey eye legacy, is a revolutionary control-pressed palette that will change the way you apply your eye makeup for perfect application every time.

The looks in this palette include:

The Day Look for a fresh, natural eye makeup look, with a delicate matte cream, shimmering neutral brown & taupe matte perfection.

The Desk Look with pink champagne, chocolate brown & caramel shades, this smokey eye is the perfect power of makeup look for work.

The Date Look has sultry, shimmering mauve-cocoa and chocolate shades for the ultimate smokey, soft and dreamt eye makeup.

The Disco Look is the go-to party eye! Indulge with black and emollient-rich molten gold for a dramatic rock chick look.

Close-up view of the Deco-inspired design

 Left to Right: Day Eye Swatches 1-3 and Desk Eye Swatches 4-6

The Day Look for a fresh, natural eye makeup look, with a delicate matte cream, shimmering neutral brown & taupe matte perfection.

The Desk Look with pink champagne, chocolate brown & caramel shades, this smokey eye is the perfect power of makeup look for work. 

 Left to Right: Date Eye Look Swatches 1-3 and Disco Eye Look Swatches 4-6

The Date Look has sultry, shimmering mauve-cocoa and chocolate shades for the ultimate smokey, soft and dreamt eye makeup.

The Disco Look is the go-to party eye! Indulge with black and emollient-rich molten gold for a dramatic rock chick look.

Create the Day Eye:

1. To use, start by applying the first cream matte shade back and forward across the eyes using your Blender brush.

2. Next, using the second taupe oyster shade, sweep across your eyelid & for an extra wash of colour, use the Smudger Brush, applying directly on the centre of your eyelids.

3. Still with the Smudger Brush, dip it into the chocolate Smoke shade and sweep it across your upper lash line, slightly blending upwards and outwards.

4. Finish off the look by applying Full Fat Lashes Mascara, Hollywood Lips matte liquid lipstick in Rising Star, and a sweep of Cheek to Chic blusher in First Love.

Create the Desk Eye:

1. Starting with the first shade in the Desk trio, sweep the pink champagne shade all over the eyelid with the Blender Brush.

2. Use the Blender Brush with the second caramel peach hue, nestling it into the eye socket then blending backwards and forwards. Then use the Smudger Brush to bring it along the lower lash line and in the outer corner of your eyes.

3. Lightly define your eyes with The Classic eyeliner in Sophia, drawing along your upper lash line then extending out for a subtle flick. Then sweep the third chocolate peach shade along the upper & lower lash line for gorgeous definition.

4. Finish the look with Full Fat Lashes Mascara, create a fuller looking pout with Lip Cheat lip liner in Pillow Talk & K.I.S.S.I.N.G lipstick in Penelope Pink for chic sophistication. Then sweep on Cheek to Chic blusher in First Love for a perfect desk makeup look.

Create the Date Eye:

1. Start by dipping the Blender Brush into the first shade of the Date trio, the gorgeous rose-gold hue, and sweep all across your eyelid. Use your Smudger Brush to get in the inner corner of your eye for a dreamy look.

2. Use the Blender Brush with the second dark pearl shade and blend into the outer corner and socket of your eyes.

3. Then dip your Smudger Brush into the dark cocoa chocolate shade and sweep along the upper & lower lash line for added intensity.

4. Create a subtle feline flick with Rock ‘n’ Kohl eyeliner in Barbarella Brown, and use the Rock ‘n’ Kohl eyeliner in Eye Cheat on the inner waterline to open up your eyes. Then apply Full Fat Lashes Mascara for a dramatic, wide-eyed gaze. Finish the look with Lip Cheat lip liner in Pillow Talk, Matte Revolution lipstick in Pillow Talk and Lip Lustre lip gloss in Portobello Girl.

Create the Disco Eye:

1. Use your Blender Brush in the shimmering gold first shade of the Disco trio, and sweep all over the eyelid.

2. Blend the molten gold khaki shade into the socket and across the eye using the Blender Brush, then take your Smudger Brush and drag along the upper & lower lash line. Still using your Smudger Brush, apply the shimmering gold into the inner corners of your eyes.

3. Use the Smudger Brush with the matte black shade to add intensity to your eye makeup, creating a slight wing with your eyeshadow, and sweeping along the lower lash line, making sure to blend well.

4. Create a seductive feline flick with the Rock ‘n’ Kohl eyeliner in Bedroom Black & apply in the lower waterline for a super intense gaze. Then finish off your eye makeup with Full Fat Lashes Mascara.

5. Use the Lip Cheat lip liner in Iconic Nude to cheat a fuller pout, and use the Hollywood Lips matte liquid lipstick in Charlotte Darling for a gorgeous beige nude pout. Finish off your look with a sweep of Cheek to Chic blusher in First Love.

This product is vegan-friendly, paraben-free, sulfate-free, and not tested on animals.

Matte Eyeshadow Ingredients: (Day 1 Prime, Day 3 Smoke, Desk 2 Enhance, Desk 3 Smoke, Date 3 Smoke): Talc, Octyldodecyl Stearoyl Stearate, Mica, Silica, Sorbic Acid, Sodium Dehydroacetate, Dimethicone, Trimethylsiloxysilicate, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Hoya Lacunosa Flower Extract, [May Contain/Peut Contenir (+/-): Iron Oxides (Ci 77491, Ci 77492, Ci 77499), Titanium Dioxide (Ci 77891), Yellow 5 Lake (Ci 19140)]

Cream Eyeshadow Ingredients (Day 2 Enhance, Desk 1 Prime, Date 1 Prime, Disco 3 Smoke): Mica, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Talc, Hydrogenated Polydecene, Paraffinum Liquidum (Mineral Oil), Zinc Stearate, Hydrogenated Styrene/Isoprene Copolymer, Silica, Coco-Caprylate/Caprate, Sorbic Acid, Sodium Dehydroacetate, Tocopherol, Hoya Lacunosa Flower Extract, Tin Oxide, [May Contain/Peut Contenir (+/-): Iron Oxides (Ci 77491, Ci 77499), Titanium Dioxide (Ci 77891), Black 2 (Ci 77266) (Nano), Ultramarines (Ci 77007)]

Cream Eyeshadow Ingredients (Date 2 Enhance, Disco 1 Prime): Mica, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Talc, Hydrogenated Polydecene, Paraffinum Liquidum (Mineral Oil), Zinc Stearate, Silica, Hydrogenated Styrene/Isoprene Copolymer, Coco-Caprylate/Caprate, Sorbic Acid, Sodium Dehydroacetate, Tocopherol, Hoya Lacunosa Flower Extract, Tin Oxide, [May Contain/Peut Contenir (+/-): Iron Oxides (Ci 77491, Ci 77492, Ci 77499), Titanium Dioxide (Ci 77891), Aluminum Powder (Ci 77000)]

Cream Eyeshadow Ingredients (Disco 2 Enhance): Mica, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Talc, Hydrogenated Polydecene, Paraffinum Liquidum (Mineral Oil), Synthetic Fluorphlogopite, Zinc Stearate, Hydrogenated Styrene/Isoprene Copolymer, Silica, Coco-Caprylate/Caprate, Sorbic Acid, Sodium Dehydroacetate, Alumina, Tocopherol, Hoya Lacunosa Flower Extract, Tin Oxide, Iron Oxides (Ci 77491), Titanium Dioxide (Ci 77891)]

Overall Assessment: I am so pleased with this purchase, and while it has a luxury price tag, the quality of each of these beautiful shadows made this a very worthwhile purchase– particularly since I have used it every day since opening it.

$75.00 for 12x 0.7g or 0.02 oz. from Charlotte Tilbury, Nordstrom, Spring, Cult Beauty and Net-A-Porter UK (Affiliate Links).

Purchased. All views expressed are categorically my own.
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