Five minutes with Charlotte Tilbury
By Sophie Nutt | 21 June 2018 | Expert Advice, Feature
Upon launching the Charlotte Tilbury Pro membership programme, allowing make-up artists and students backstage access to her world-renowned empire of products, Scratch caught up with Charlotte Tilbury about her love for make-up, the beauty industry and her advice for aspiring artists…
From where did your passion for make-up begin?
My ambition and journey as a make-up artist started when I was growing up in Ibiza. It’s such a magical, bohemian place. I was constantly surrounded by a melting pot of creatives and visionaries who sparked my own creativity and I believe I was therefore always walking a path towards make-up artistry.
My talented father, Lance, was a painter in Ibiza and gave me an amazing root in colour, tonality and contrasts. When I was 13, I went to boarding school and started wearing mascara for the first time. It changed my life! Overnight, everyone reacted to me in a very different way. I was instantly more empowered, magnetic and mesmerising – I felt enriched with confidence.
I always knew that I wanted to create my own brand. I started dreaming of it at school as a young girl. I would regularly give my friends makeovers and advise them on clothes to wear and the shades that suited their hair and eye colours. I was always helping them to feel the most beautiful version of themselves!
What advice would you give to aspiring make-up artists?
My one piece of advice to anyone wanting to become a make-up artist or trying to build their own brand is to never give up and always have self belief. It’s so important to have a single-minded focus, visualise success, dream big and dare to make your dreams a reality.
I believe in the power of visualisation. Visualise what you want and don’t give up until you get it. Dare to dream it, dare to believe it and dare to do it! You need to be professional, dedicated and hard-working to make it in the industry, but most of all you need to have fun, as to be successful you need to love what you do.
When I was starting out, I received a note from a beauty editor saying, ‘Knock it to them, Charlotte. I know you’ll be a star.‘ It encouraged me to keep following my dream during tough times and really gave me motivation when I was cold calling for jobs and struggling. It made me realise that I just had to believe in myself. Due to this, you will find a hand drawn star all over my brand and on the packaging.
Find out more about the Charlotte Tilbury Pro programme here and read the rest of Scratch‘s chat with Charlotte in the June issue of the magazine!