I’ve been a Charlotte Tilbury Magic Cream enthusiast for years, probably since I first got my young newbie beauty assistant hands on it (which was a while ago but no need to age myself here). A big part of being a beauty editor is trying everything—I mean everything—that comes my way. But once I saw the way Magic Cream melted into my skin and gave me a true instant glow, I stopped testing other facial moisturizers as I had found my holy grail. And I know I’m not alone—consumers and beauty editors alike are hooked; one jar is sold every minute globally.
So when I heard that the iconic Magic Cream was getting an upgrade, I was intrigued. What more could they do to make this rich, nourishing cream even more magical? I was lucky enough to be invited to London (where Tilbury’s brand was born) to learn about this huge brand re-launch from the master herself. As you can imagine, I hopped on that plane (bye kids!) anxious to get all of my questions answered, and to get my hands on this new upgraded formula.
GH Contributing Beauty Editor Dori Price with Charlotte Tilbury, makeup artist and brand founder.
I hadn’t met Tilbury IRL before and she is everything you would imagine and more: glowing, warm, and super passionate about her skincare. When asked why she would change this best seller, Charlotte went back to the beginning: “Darling, my one and only Magic Cream has always been revolutionary,” she said. “I created it because it was a need-state for me as a makeup artist—and it quickly became a need-state for the world. Backstage, I was working with celebrities and supermodels whose skin barriers were compromised from long-haul flights, lack of sleep, and makeup on and off all day. I needed something that could deliver immediate skin revival, but nothing like that existed at the time—so I invented it myself.”
A tower of Charlotte Tilbury Magic Creams
So, why now?
Tilbury noticed that as time has passed, people’s skin’s needs have changed. “We’re living in generation dehydration and exhaustion, with blue light, pollution, stress, and overuse of harsh products becoming daily assaults on our skin.”
So Team Tilbury put in the time—10 years of research and development to be exact—and found a formula that was worth the upgrade. “I would never touch Magic Cream unless we had made a breakthrough truly capable of supercharging it,” Tilbury says. “We worked through hundreds of iterations to ensure loyal customers wouldn’t feel a difference in the iconic texture—but would see a difference in the results. It’s still the iconic Magic Cream everyone loves—just supercharged for our skin concerns today.”
What’s different
The new cream features the Recoverstem Peptide, a blend of over 100 potent peptides that according to Tilbury is designed to supercharge skin recovery. “No other moisturizer or product in the world has this!” The naturally-derived peptide is extracted from the stem cells of the Eternal Jasmine Youth Plant, and has the power to transform and recover the look of skin both instantly and over time. The superstar ingredient is clinically proven to reverse 10 visible signs of aging (yes, 10!), including boosting hydration, glow, plumpness, firmness, elasticity, and lift while reducing redness, uneven texture, fine lines and wrinkles, and neck lines.
The other big change is in the product’s proprietary Cushion + Lift Mesh Technology, which helps the formula adhere and sink into skin. The new formula has triple the amount of this technology, and is now infused with barrier-boosting ectoin, which helps reduce transepidermal water loss (meaning, it keeps moisture in the skin) and shields the skin barrier from environmental stressors.
But loyal users (myself included) don’t need to worry about losing the good stuff that was already in the formula. The new cream still contains its original MVP ingredients including brightening vitamins C and E, hydrating hyaluronic acid, rosehip oil, and camellia oil, along with soothing oat extract.
Putting it to the test
The proof is definitely in the pudding. Tilbury’s team sponsored their biggest clinical trial ever (done by an external company) on this new product, with 253 testers using the product over a period of eight weeks. According to this study, four out of five people agreed that Magic Cream “is like a facelift in a jar!” Additionally, tester feedback revealed that wrinkles were reduced by up to 33%, redness was reduced by up to 51%, glow was boosted by 40%, and firmness increased by 39% after this eight week period. The rich cream also holds onto its speedy skin-boosting record that its predecessor had: it works its magic in just 28 seconds, making skin smoother, glowy, and perfectly primed, stat. I can attest that the hard-working formula really does have an immediate effect; my skin looks brighter and healthier in seconds.
My hot take
That’s easy—I’m sold. The texture feels similar to the old one, if anything a little creamier and fluffier and truly melts into the skin. It gives that same instant fresh-faced glow and after a month of daily use, my skin feels plumper and smoother. While it is definitely an incredible makeup primer (check out my London glow up c/o Charlotte Tilbury UK Pro Artist Sarah Doherty), I love that it also leaves my skin so radiant that I don’t always feel the need to put makeup on after.
GH Contributing Beauty Editor Dori Price after using Magic Cream and Charlotte Tilbury makeup
I have combination skin—drier in my cheeks and oilier in my T-zone—and while it is a rich formula, I have never found it to be too heavy or thick. It’s especially great in the wintertime when skin is craving moisture. I like to warm it up on my fingers first to loosen it up a bit before pressing it onto my skin gently.
Final thoughts
While I was an avid OG Magic Cream user (if you couldn’t tell), I will happily make the swap, and can’t wait to see how my skin continues to change over the coming months.
