Charlotte Tilbury Bar of Gold

Just in time for the last Holiday season, Charlotte Tilbury released the Bar of Gold Skin Gilding Highlighter -a golden highlighter that was perfect for parties, and warming up those fading tans.

Unfortunately, it seems the packaging design was rushed.  When I first saw images of this online, I thought to myself, damn it looks tacky!  Having handled it in person, I am nothing but disappointed in the packaging.  Although it looked metallic in those early press pictures, Bar of Gold is quite literally a block of golden powder encased in a carton box that snaps open and shut with magnetic closure.  If you examined the online product description closely, it actually does state “carton packaging”, but I thought it referred to an external box the product comes encased in.  No, Bar of Gold does not come with any additional packaging at all, left to open and shut at will (hygiene considerations plagued me considerably).  Normally packaging doesn’t feature very strongly in my considerations (of course a sleek design is always a big draw!), but the reason I’m going to lengths to describe this, is because my gfs and I had ordered a total of 4 Bar of Gold in 2 separate shipments, of which, 2 of them had arrived smashed into smithereens, showering us with fine gold powder.  The other 2 that arrived intact, were dinged and scratched.  Bar of Gold is certainly not travel-friendly, and if you intend on bringing it anywhere, do handle with care!!!

Even though the packaging left me in a rather tenuous state, the first swatch had me hooked.  Charlotte Tilbury’s Bar of Gold is described as a “skin gilding highlighter”, and it does that with a very fine dusting of golden shimmery powder.  This is perfect for lackluster skin, especially those winter complexions, and brings out a warm glow to cheekbones and nose ridges.  It is incredibly finely milled, and feels soft to the touch.  It also goes on sheer, as I believe good highlighters should, but reflects the light exactly where it is placed.

I compared it against some of the other warm-toned highlighters that I currently own.  As you can see, Bar of Gold packs the most amazing shimmer which is a champagne gold color that really stands out.  The powder is so fine, it doesn’t look chalky or patchy when applied.  Kevyn Aucoin Celestial Powder gives a frostier appearance due to its silvery platinum color.  Cle de Peau Vintage Palette III is a really creamy and pretty highlighter, but it is much more subtle, with just barely a hint of satin finish.  I had layered on roughly the same amount of product for each of them, and Bar of Gold clearly stands out in its shine.

If you can get past the abysmal packaging, Charlotte Tilbury Bar of Gold is a lovely highlighter that can both warm up paler complexions and light up the features.  It is also perfect for parties, lightly dusted over décolletage.  As much as it hurts me to say it, at GBP30 for 5.5gm of product, it is the “cheapest” of the 3 highlighters discussed briefly above. If you are so inclined, go ahead and ship it halfway around the world from the UK at your own risk!

xoxo

For more Charlotte Tilbury goodies, check these out:

• Dolce Vita Luxury Eyeshadow Palette
• Cheek to Chic Swish & Pop Blush in Love is the Drug
• Colour Morphing Eyeshadow Pencils in Smokey Emerald & Amethyst Aphrodisiac