Do You Believe in Magic (Cream)?

Before I launch into my review I think it's really important I give a shout out to the AMAZING staff at Beautylish. I placed my first order with them over the pre-Holiday sales and not only did I recieve my goods in a timely and beautifully packaged manner but the staff followed up with me on my purchase and inquired about whether or not I wanted to try some samples. 

I can't say if it was because I featured them on Instagram or here on the blog but none the less the follow up was a lovely touch. 

As such I was sent a very generous sample of Charlotte Tilbury's Magic Cream and although I probably could have told you how I would feel about this before I tried it I had to satisfy my curiosity.

This is the epitome of a thick, rich facial cream.

In both scent and texture it reminds me a lot of the Ponds and Olay classics that lined my grandmother's vanities when I was little. The effect isn't altogether dissimilar either. Supposedly blended together from years of backstage beauty trial and error it is not a stretch to images one or both of those products went into this at one point or another. 

For me this is very much not a skincare item and very much a makeup item. While there is no denying there is great hydration here the silicone content, fragrance and to a degree moisture level prevent this from being an effective daytime product for me. If it were not for the SPF content it may have come in handy during the nighttime but it seems like such a waste to me; plus it adds breakout potential to my somewhat congestion prone skin to layer on unnecessary ingredients before bed. 

What this is lovely for is night out makeup. During the day this causes a somewhat premature breakdown of my makeup but when I'm only going to be out for a few hours, even if they're sweaty hours, this provides a great base for more full coverage products. Foundation blends and smoothes wonderfully over top of this. It creates a luminous and skin like finish that I can only normally achieve with lighter products. The SPF content also doesn't interfere with photos that I've noticed as of yet but, I have paper-white skin and even without foundation I look glow in the dark in most pictures. 

So now in true review/sample fashion would I buy the full size of this?

Probably not, no. Despite it's transformative night out powers I simply would not put the large pricey jar to use often enough to justify the purchase. 

That said though, I do think this would work wonderfully for some women who suffer from much drier skins as a daytime moisturizer. 

Skincare Queen and all around Beauty Goddess Caroline Hirons had some very well articulated thoughts on the matter here. 

Have you tried the infamous Magic Cream? Would you?