{"id":332915,"date":"2026-03-07T00:36:20","date_gmt":"2026-03-07T00:36:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/332915\/"},"modified":"2026-03-07T00:36:20","modified_gmt":"2026-03-07T00:36:20","slug":"why-is-charlotte-tilbury-reformulating-a-hero-product-that-is-already-a-global-phenomenon-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/332915\/","title":{"rendered":"Why is Charlotte Tilbury reformulating a hero product that is already a global phenomenon? \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you\u2019re familiar with Charlotte Tilbury and her eponymous make-up<\/a> brand, you probably know it all started with Magic Cream \u2013 the little jar she mixed up backstage between fashion<\/a> shows with the words \u201cCharlotte\u2019s Secret Cream\u201d scribbled on it, the one models raved about for saving their skin amid constant make-up applications and removals, over and over.<\/p>\n

\u201cI created it to repair the skin barrier, before skin barriers were a thing,\u201d she tells The Irish Times. \u201cWith celebrities and models, we were doing 40 fashion shows a season \u2013 they were using baby wipes, darling. Their skin was so red, so inflamed. So much make-up was going on and off. That\u2019s why I created it, because it repairs, hydrates, adds a dewy glow. It immediately plumps out and smooths the skin. It\u2019s like magic, which is why I called it Magic Cream.\u201d<\/p>\n

When the product first went on sale, not everyone was convinced. \u201cPeople said to me, \u2018It\u2019s a bit of a thick cream. This is not really what people want.\u2019 And I thought, I don\u2019t care,\u201d she says. \u201cThey didn\u2019t understand what I meant by glow either. \u2018Why are you talking about glow?\u2019 they would say. I definitely had some naysayers, but I knew what I was doing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Magic Cream isn\u2019t a secret any more. It\u2019s a global phenomenon. According to the brand, one pot is sold every two minutes worldwide, and it has since spawned an entire \u201cMagic\u201d family, including Magic Serum, Magic Night Cream and other iterations.<\/p>\n

A few months ago, the brand announced it was reformulating Magic Cream. Why reformulate something so beloved? It\u2019s a risky move. <\/p>\n

Look at Givenchy\u2019s Prisme Libre Loose Powder \u2013 a hero product for the house \u2013 reformulated in 2024 to improve the finish and remove the talc (an ingredient many brands have moved away from, primarily over concerns about asbestos contamination). The packaging remained much the same, but the performance changed, and the backlash was swift. <\/p>\n

Even when the science is stronger, and the upgrades are objectively better, there\u2019s often resistance to reformulations, because people love the original. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe reasons I created Magic Cream back in the day are more prevalent now,\u201d says Tilbury. \u201cWe\u2019re living in generation exhaustion. We\u2019re getting less sleep than ever. We\u2019re exposed to more pollution, more blue light. Our skin barriers are really going through it. And I have always said that I will never touch an iconic product \u2013 especially one with such an enormous customer base like Magic Cream \u2013 unless I can improve it and ensure people are going to love it even more, while addressing what our skin needs. And that\u2019s what I\u2019ve done.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"CharlotteCharlotte Tilbury Magic Cream – Reformulated (charlottetilbury.com) \"CharlotteCharlotte Tilbury Magic Cream: The signature glow remains <\/p>\n

Few founders can sell a product quite like Tilbury. But she also appears to take the science seriously. This isn\u2019t a superficial revamp with new packaging and a handful of trendy ingredients; the jar looks almost identical \u2013 deliberately so, to avoid confusing loyal customers. What\u2019s changed is inside.<\/p>\n

She says the \u201cbreakthrough ingredient\u201d in the new formulation is \u201crecoverstem peptide\u201d, a blend of more than 100 peptides that targets visible signs of ageing and help with skin recovery; hence the name.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0Charlotte Tilbury\u2019s new cream blush is summer skin, bottledOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

\u201cPeptides are the building blocks of proteins \u2013 they act as signals, telling the skin what to do, what to produce more of,\u201d she says. Tilbury claims this particular complex is designed to support repair and resilience. The new formula also contains NAD, growth factors and Pro-Collagen 1.<\/p>\n

Having used it myself for several weeks, there are two key things to note. Firstly, I could not distinguish it from the original, to the point that I double-checked the packaging. Secondly, the signature glow remains. It\u2019s soothing, and rich without being heavy. <\/p>\n

That said, this is a reformulation, not a reinvention (and the price point remains the same, at around \u20ac66 for 30ml). If you\u2019ve tried Magic Cream in the past and found it wasn\u2019t for you, the new version is unlikely to change your mind.<\/p>\n

What will Magic Cream\u2019s upgrade mean for the rest of the \u201cMagic\u201d line? Tilbury smiles. \u201cYou\u2019ll have to wait and see, darling.\u201d <\/p>\n

This week I\u2019m loving…\"RedkenRedken Acidic Bonding Concentrate Hair Bandage Balm (\u20ac39.20 from millies.ie) <\/p>\n

An excellent new product from Redken, Acidic Bonding Concentrate Hair Bandage Balm (\u20ac39.20 from millies.ie) is designed to seal, smooth, and hydrate the appearance of split ends. Housed in a palm-sized pot, it features a pleasingly lightweight cream-to-gel formula that feels equally as light on the hair – and a little goes a long way. It smells great, too.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"If you\u2019re familiar with Charlotte Tilbury and her eponymous make-up brand, you probably know it all started with…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":332916,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[1902,93,631,61,60,709],"class_list":["post-332915","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-beauty","tag-entertainment","tag-for-you","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-magazine"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/332915","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=332915"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/332915\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/332916"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=332915"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=332915"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=332915"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}