From recreating makeup looks on her friends back in school to crafting a look that perfectly complemented Celine Dion’s Dior dress for her performance at the Eiffel Tower during this year’s Olympic Opening Ceremony, Sofia Tilbury has always believed that makeup is so much more than just slathering your face with beauty products. And we can all just wholeheartedly agree with it!
Sofia has been a powerhouse in the beauty industry for over a decade, creating breathtaking looks for runway shows, editorials and stars like Celine Dion, Salma Hayek, Sienna Miller, Penelope Cruz, Amal Clooney, Emma Roberts, Rita Ora, Sabrina Carpenter and more.
In fashion and entertainment, makeup has always played an essential role—from elevating runway shows, photo shoots, and performances by complementing clothing and embodying themes to bringing out characters in film and theatre and transforming actors into their roles. For many, it goes beyond enhancing physical features; it reflects personality, mood, and creativity, allowing individuals to present themselves in a way that aligns with how they feel or want to be perceived.
Dream Moment: A Look to Complement Celion Dion’s Dior Dress
For Sofia, niece of Charlotte Tilbury, working with celebrities has led to some memorable moments, but her favourite to date is with the legendary Celine Dion. “It was a dream come true,” she said.
The popular ‘My Heart Will Go On’ singer’s ethereal makeup look was all about her flawless, beautiful skin, with soft definition. Sofia created something that perfectly suited the monumental occasion. “It was an absolute honour and a truly magical night I will never forget,” Sofia said.
Are you a makeup newbie looking to level up your makeup game? Here is what Sofia has to say:
Sofia stressed the importance of understanding which formulas and techniques work best for each individual’s skin type and features. “For example, thick eyeliner can make small eyes look smaller and applying blush too low on your cheeks can drag the face down,” she said.
Setting makeup is another crucial step. “To level up your makeup game, never underestimate the power of setting your makeup,” Sofia said, adding that there is nothing worse than creating a beautiful makeup look that only ends up creasing, melting or fading.
So, as a makeup artist, Sofia makes sure she always carries a setting powder and a setting spray everywhere she goes. She loves to use a setting powder as it mattifies the t-zone and any oily areas but keeps the high points of the face powder-free to still get a dewy, glowing, healthy-looking complexion. “It smooths, blurs, sets and soft-focuses the appearance of fine lines and pores without being drying or looking cakey or dusty,” she said.
Makeup setting sprays, she said, are great because you can use it to prime your skin before applying makeup, set it afterwards and even between steps to lock in each layer.
Achieving a Red Carpet Look with Minimal Products: Sofia’s Expert Approach
An intense hydrating moisturiser is an absolute must-have to instantly hydrate, smooth and plump the look of skin. Go for the one which also primes your skin for makeup! Hydrating your skin as a first step softens and smooths the feel of skin and lifts the look of facial contours, creating the perfect canvas for makeup, which will glide on smoothly and look flawless for longer.
Again, a setting powder is Sofia’s other essential for a red carpet event for flawless, poreless skin. “It blurs, smooths and sets the complexion, reducing the appearance of fine lines and pores, without looking or feeling drying or cakey! You can use it to set makeup in specific areas, like under the eyes and around the nose and can easily reapply throughout the day,” she said.
For the eyes, Sofia’s favourite is a mascara that instantly makes your lashes bigger, thicker and longer. “A lash styler brush works in harmony with every lash type, whether they are sparse or thick, long or short, or curly or straight,” she said.
Coming to the lips, Sofia said lip liners are essential for creating the perfect pout. “They reshape, resize and define the look of your lips. Go for something that has a waterproof formula and does not feather or transfer, so your lip look will look perfect for longer,” she said.
How Passion and Early Experiences Shaped Sofia’s Path in Makeup
Growing up, Sofia said, she spent a lot of time in Ibiza, where she was surrounded by artists, musicians and writers. “At first, I wanted to be an artist like my grandfather, Lance, who taught me so much about colour, texture and light. I was obsessed with the magic of his brush strokes, and he still inspires me every day. And, of course, growing up around my aunt had a huge influence on me too! I used to recreate her makeup looks from the covers of prominent magazines on my friends back in school in England,” she shared.
When Sofia was a teenager, she interned with designer Alice Temperley and fell in love with how makeup was used to bring fashion to life and help tell a story. “I then started assisting my aunt, Charlotte, learning her techniques backstage and on photoshoots. I will always remember the first time I assisted her backstage at a show,” she said, adding that as soon they arrived, her aunt stood her in front of a model and told her to do her makeup. “I was thrown in the deep end, but I did it,” she exclaimed.
She would also work as a retail artist at one of Charlotte’s counters. “She’d ask me which of her products were selling well, what customers were asking for and what I thought was missing from the range. That was how I started working on the product development and brand side of things, and then I realised I wanted to make it my career,” Sofia said.
How Charlotte Tilbury’s Pillow Talk Became a Beauty Phenomenon
It has been a decade since Sofia’s aunt, Charlotte Tilbury, launched her original Pillow Talk range. On a mission to the perfect universally flattering shade for the lips that mimicked the tones that nature blesses us with, Charlotte studied countless shades, identifying the dominant pink undertones in everyone’s lips to find a shade that amplifies one’s natural beauty, then building in nude and yellow undertones to create a shade that has a beautifying effect on everyone.
“Once she perfected the shade, she launched her iconic Pillow Talk Lip Cheat Lip Liner, which is the key to creating defined, fuller-looking lips in the most beautifying nude-pink hue. Since then, Charlotte’s expanded to create a full Pillow Talk beauty wardrobe inspired by this shade, so that anyone can create a full face of Pillow Talk to amplify their natural beauty,” Sofia shared.
