A FAMILY AFFAIR
We catch up with makeup artist and rising star Sofia Schwarzkopf-Tilbury
“Charlotte is a walking beauty bible,” Sofia Schwarzkopf-Tilbury gushes about her aunt, makeup artist and beauty entrepreneur Charlotte Tilbury. You’d be forgiven for thinking that having a makeup mogul in the family would open a number of doors in the industry, but Sofia still had to learn the ropes from the bottom.
As the daughter of Leah Tilbury, director of brand creative at Charlotte Tilbury, and the granddaughter of artist Lance Tilbury, Sofia says she always knew she’d end up in a creative pursuit.
“Growing up, I really wanted to be an artist. My grandfather is a painter and in Ibiza we were surrounded by artists, so I was constantly soaking up the creative passion of everyone around me,” Sofia says of her dual upbringing in the UK and Ibiza.
“I would go to London on the weekends to visit Charlotte and she’d always let me take some makeup back to school from her shoots and shows to play with. I’d gather all the girls in my dorm, and we’d spend hours doing makeup and taking photos, trying to copy Charlotte’s looks from magazine covers and shows,” she says.
Sofia cut her teeth as the lead artist at the Charlotte Tilbury makeup counter at London department store, Selfridges. Two years later, she began shadowing Charlotte backstage at runway shows, before assisting her creating looks for celebrity clientele bound for some of the world’s most glittering red-carpet affairs.
She’s since become a mainstay at London Fashion Week and is a regular contributor to magazines like Vogue and Cosmopolitan.
Like many other makeup artists, social media has cemented her presence on the celebrity circuit, with Sofia regularly serving her signature glow-giving looks to her 267,000-strong Instagram following.
Her feed reads like a who’s who of Hollywood — Kendall Jenner, Minnie Driver, Karolina Kurkova, Irina Shayk, Olivia Palermo and Romee Strijd, to name a few. It’s a dream realised for Sofia, who says she remains awed by the power of makeup to make people feel good.
“Whether I’m working on a celebrity client before a red-carpet event or filming a tutorial for people to follow on Instagram, it’s always so humbling to see how people transform when they feel like a more beautiful, confident version of themselves,” Sofia says.
Here, the makeup protege shares four makeup hacks that have propelled her prowess in the beauty industry.
HOW TO: CHEAT A GLOWING COMPLEXION
Glowing skin will always be in, and Sofia says the best way to cheat a faux glow is prepping with great skincare.
“I never do makeup without Charlotte’s Magic Cream. It’s the ultimate instant turnaround moisturiser for dull, tiredlooking skin and it gives the complexion a gorgeous, cushioned and dewy glow,” she says.
Another way to cheat glow is to use one of the brand’s best-selling complexion boosters as a primer, on its own, or over foundation to achieve a blurred, illuminated look.
“Hollywood Flawless Filter is literally like a social media filter in a bottle,” Sofia says.
HOW TO: CREATE A LIT-FROMWITHIN GLOW ON MATURE SKIN
If you expect Sofia’s social media to be filled with sub-30s models and celebrities, think again. Her top tip for lending a youthful glow to mature skin? “Take the time to prep and prime the complexion,” Sofia says. “So many people don’t realise that you truly can’t have a beautiful painting without a beautiful canvas.”
Sofia starts with a resurfacing fluid (like Super Radiance Resurfacing Facial) to exfoliate away dead skin cells and add glow, before layering on a serum and moisturiser (she loves the peptide- and polyglutamic acid-infused Charlotte’s Magic Serum Crystal Elixir with plenty of Charlotte’s Magic Cream on top).
For flawless, poreless skin, Sofia opts for a foundation loaded with skin-loving ingredients to nourish skin while it perfects.
“The Airbrush Makeup Collection is my go-to on mature skin. Everything is packed with skincare ingredients that perfect your skin whilst soft-focusing and blurring fine lines and imperfections,” she says.
HOW TO: LAYER DEWY SKINCARE WITH MATTE MAKEUP
Traditional matte formulas often receive a bad rep for looking heavy or cakey, but Sofia says modern mattes play well when layered with glowing skincare underneath (without looking shiny or oily).
“One of my favourite matte formulas is the Airbrush Flawless Foundation, a full-coverage, stay-all-day foundation with the skincare benefits of a serum. Whenever I use this, I’m blown away by how it perfects the complexion while still looking like skin,” Sofia says. She couples this with Airbrush Flawless Finish Powder — a finely milled powder which sets foundation in place without appearing patchy or dry.
“I have been known to turn my Uber around and head straight home if I leave the house without this!” she says.
HOW TO: MAKE YOUR PRODUCTS MULTI-PURPOSE
Any makeup artist worth their salt will tell you that when it comes to makeup, the only limitation is your imagination.
“I love to use the Airbrush Bronzer like an eyeshadow for a sun-kissed, beachy look. I nestle it into the crease of my lids and blend it out to add a contoured, sultry effect.”
Or why not try work your favourite lipstick shade in with a highlighter to create a dewy, creamy blush?
“A great trick one of our pro artists taught me was using Airbrush Flawless Setting Spray with our matte eyeshadow formulas to enhance colour payoff and control. It’s a great way to create unconventional eyeliner looks,” Sofia says.