Charlotte Tilbury Chocolate Veil & Diffused Black Matte Eyes to Mesmerise Reviews & Swatches
Chocolate Veil
Charlotte Tilbury Chocolate Veil Matte Eyes to Mesmerise ($34.00 for 0.17 oz.) is a medium-dark brown with warmer, more golden undertones and a matte finish. The texture was firm, dry, and stiff to work with, and it was a challenge to get product to pick up on a brush without realy pushing and digging at the surface. For example, an angled eyeliner brush has a stiffer brush head, so I was able to push it into the surface and dig deep to get product but flatter or fluffier brushes did not do that as well.
It dried almost instantly, which made it even harder to blend, as the texture itself did not lend itself to blending, let alone building, as the product dragged and pulled at eyelids whether I used fingertips or a brush to attempt to apply. The product applied unevenly, would not diffuse or blend around the edges, and effectively looked a mess for the entirety of its wear. If I tried to layer and build up coverage, I had flaking after eight hours of wear.
FURTHER READING:
Formula Overview
for details on general performance and characteristics (like scent).
- Urban Decay Drip (PiP, $19.00) is lighter, warmer (90% similar).
- Fenty Beauty Nudy Booty (PiP, ) is lighter, warmer (90% similar).
- Clarins Brown Sugar #4 (PiP, ) is lighter (85% similar).
- Pat McGrath Taboo (PiP, $25.00) is lighter, warmer (85% similar).
- ColourPop Craft (PiP, $4.50) is lighter, warmer (85% similar).
- Marc Jacobs Beauty Daddi-O (P, $29.00) is lighter, warmer (85% similar).
- Makeup Geek Tiki Hut (DC, $6.00) is lighter, warmer (80% similar).
- Anastasia Incense (LE, $12.00) is lighter, warmer (80% similar).
- Urban Decay Bucked (PiP, $19.00) is lighter, warmer (80% similar).
- NARS Tulum (P, $19.00) is lighter, warmer (80% similar).
Formula Overview
$34.00/0.17 oz. – $200.00 Per Ounce
The brand said that the formula combined the “long-lasting, smoothing powers of [their] iconic Eyes to Mesmerise cream shadows” with a matte formula that is supposed to be “long-lasting” and easy to “build, blend, and wear.” They actually specifically out that it should feel “smooth” to the touch and “doesn’t drag the skin on the eye lid.”
It’s an incredibly dry, draggy formula that feels more like an old cream eyeshadow that’s dried out and is on its last legs of usefulness. It was really quite at odds with how shiny/glossy the product looked in the pots, but if you looked closely at the center of each, you could see faint cracks that alluded to it being a drier product.
The texture was dry, thick, and quick to dry down, which was a recipe for uneven application that did not blend, did not build (layering was atrocious!), and really only was feasible to use as an eyeliner where sharper, precise motions were desired and no blending was wanted, but it still lacked the fluidity ideal for working around the curvature of the eye area.
I tried using fingertips and different brushes to apply, and for something all over, using a fluffy brush and diffusing during the initial application yielded less awful results but ultimately, still disappointing. They are nothing like the original Eyes to Mesmerise shades!
I found that they didn’t crease or fade, but they were more prone to flaking as an eyeshadow, so the wear was more like seven to nine hours.
Browse all of our Charlotte Tilbury Matte Eyes to Mesmerise swatches.
Ingredients
ISODODECANE, CERA CARNAUBA/COPERNICIA CERIFERA (CARNAUBA) WAX/CIRE DE CARNAUBA, ETHYLENE/PROPYLENE COPOLYMER, DIMETHICONE, TRIMETHYLSILOXYSILICATE, HYDROGENATED POLYCYCLOPENTADIENE, MICA, COCO-CAPRYLATE/CAPRATE, STEAROYL INULIN, DEXTRIN PALMITATE, METHICONE, LAUROYL LYSINE, ALOE BARBADENSIS (ALOE VERA) LEAF JUICE, RICINUS COMMUNIS (CASTOR) SEED OIL, SODIUM HYALURONATE, HYDROGENATED CASTOR OIL, LAVANDULA STOECHAS EXTRACT, CITRIC ACID, SODIUM BENZOATE, POTASSIUM SORBATE, [+/- TITANIUM DIOXIDE (CI 77891), IRON OXIDES (CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499)].
Disclaimer: Ingredient lists are as available by the brand (or retailer)
at the time of publishing. Please always check product packaging, if it exists, for the ingredient list applicable
to the product you’re purchasing, or the brand or retailer’s website for the most up-to-date ingredient list.
Diffused Black
Charlotte Tilbury Diffused Black Matte Eyes to Mesmerise ($34.00 for 0.17 oz.) is a medium-dark black with neutral undertones and a matte finish. It had semi-sheer color coverage, which was in part due to the texture being terrible: dry, stiff, firm, and almost impossible to blend out as it set as soon as it came into contact with my skin.
The only real function it could perform that did not look atrocious was as a thin line applied with an eyelienr brush. It did not work applied with fingertips or as a cream eyeshadow on the lid. As a sheer, uneven (visually and in actual thickness) layer, it lasted around nine hours but if I layered it up, then it flaked sooner.
FURTHER READING:
Formula Overview
for details on general performance and characteristics (like scent).
- ColourPop Roll Around (PiP, $4.50) (100% similar).
- ColourPop Smoked Out (PiP, $4.50) is lighter (95% similar).
- Ciate Beauty (LE, ) is lighter, warmer (90% similar).
- NARS White Horse (LE, $19.00) is lighter (90% similar).
- NARS Fauna (DC, $25.00) is lighter (90% similar).
- Viseart Tuileries (PiP, ) is lighter (90% similar).
- LORAC Onyx (LE, $19.00) is more shimmery, lighter, glossier (90% similar).
- MAC Cinder (LE, $17.00) is lighter (85% similar).
- ColourPop Spy Glass (PiP, $4.50) is more shimmery, lighter (85% similar).
- Milani Black Tie Affair (PiP, $5.99) is more shimmery, lighter (85% similar).
Formula Overview
$34.00/0.17 oz. – $200.00 Per Ounce
The brand said that the formula combined the “long-lasting, smoothing powers of [their] iconic Eyes to Mesmerise cream shadows” with a matte formula that is supposed to be “long-lasting” and easy to “build, blend, and wear.” They actually specifically out that it should feel “smooth” to the touch and “doesn’t drag the skin on the eye lid.”
It’s an incredibly dry, draggy formula that feels more like an old cream eyeshadow that’s dried out and is on its last legs of usefulness. It was really quite at odds with how shiny/glossy the product looked in the pots, but if you looked closely at the center of each, you could see faint cracks that alluded to it being a drier product.
The texture was dry, thick, and quick to dry down, which was a recipe for uneven application that did not blend, did not build (layering was atrocious!), and really only was feasible to use as an eyeliner where sharper, precise motions were desired and no blending was wanted, but it still lacked the fluidity ideal for working around the curvature of the eye area.
I tried using fingertips and different brushes to apply, and for something all over, using a fluffy brush and diffusing during the initial application yielded less awful results but ultimately, still disappointing. They are nothing like the original Eyes to Mesmerise shades!
I found that they didn’t crease or fade, but they were more prone to flaking as an eyeshadow, so the wear was more like seven to nine hours.
Browse all of our Charlotte Tilbury Matte Eyes to Mesmerise swatches.
Ingredients
ISODODECANE, CERA CARNAUBA/COPERNICIA CERIFERA (CARNAUBA) WAX/CIRE DE CARNAUBA, ETHYLENE/PROPYLENE COPOLYMER, DIMETHICONE, TRIMETHYLSILOXYSILICATE, HYDROGENATED POLYCYCLOPENTADIENE, COCO-CAPRYLATE/CAPRATE, STEAROYL INULIN, DEXTRIN PALMITATE, METHICONE, LAUROYL LYSINE, ALOE BARBADENSIS (ALOE VERA) LEAF JUICE, RICINUS COMMUNIS (CASTOR) SEED OIL, SODIUM HYALURONATE, HYDROGENATED CASTOR OIL, MICA, LAVANDULA STOECHAS EXTRACT, CITRIC ACID, SODIUM BENZOATE, POTASSIUM SORBATE, [+/- IRON OXIDES (CI 77499)].
Disclaimer: Ingredient lists are as available by the brand (or retailer)
at the time of publishing. Please always check product packaging, if it exists, for the ingredient list applicable
to the product you’re purchasing, or the brand or retailer’s website for the most up-to-date ingredient list.