Sunday, 28 June 2015

Charlotte Tilbury Launch Event at Holt Renfrew!

Hi, everyone! As I could not be more thrilled about the recent launch of Charlotte Tilbury cosmetics in Canada, today marks the start of Charlotte Tilbury Week here at Vibrant Beauty Blog! Since the brand landed at my local Holt Renfrew, I've been engaged in several ways- (finally) being able to test the products in-store, getting a makeover with one of Charlotte's iconic looks, snagging a bunch of products for my own, and- arguably most excitingly- meeting Ms. Tilbury herself! 

Today I'm bringing you details of the event that made the latter possible. While the line officially launched last Monday, it was Wednesday evening when the fanfare was in full-swing. When I heard Charlotte Tilbury was making an in-store appearance I could not have been more excited. But I had no idea of the grandeur the event would entail. In true British royal form, her arrival coincided with a luxurious amount of pomp and circumstance. 


I arrived at Holts about 45 minutes before Charlotte was slated to arrive and made a bee-line for the sign that said "Meet Charlotte Tilbury- Lineup Begins Here". Seemed like the place to be! I was quickly joined by Liz, Zubie, and Jenn, which made the wait much more enjoyable! There was also a DJ on hand, blasting dance music to get the energy up (though we didn't need it; we were all pretty pumped). The line formed behind us quite rapidly, so we all felt lucky to be near the front! 



Just after 6pm, the crowd began to stir and cameras were flung out and held steady at attention. Ms. Tilbury had arrived outside in her famous Tilbury taxi! 



She walked up the red carpet alongside the CEO of Holt Renfrew and was followed by pink robe-clad models painted up in her iconic makeup looks. They twirled pink feathered fans (some half-heartedly, but I digress) as they adorned the escalators with all of the glam you would expect from a Charlotte Tilbury entourage. 


The lovely models walked around before the arrival as well, some handing out little lipstick samples. Here are the "Vintage Vamp" and "The Rebel" kindly posing for a photo. 


Charlotte spoke to the crowd for about 15 minutes, touting the magic and innovation of her products and proclaiming that the Charlotte Tilbury counter launch at Holt Renfrew had been the most successful makeup launch of all time, outdoing the brand's inauguration at Bergdorf Goodman in the U.S. last year. Some serious evidence that us Torontonians are rabid makeup fanatics! 




Within 10 minutes of finishing her talk (during which she schmoozed with media), our "meet and greet" line began to move. Then it was my turn! Upon meeting Charlotte, she warmly greeted me with hug, then instantly began to inspect my makeup. I told her I was wearing the Dolce Vita palette and she quickly pinpointed the fact that I was not wearing the coinciding lipstick for the Dolce Vita look. If anyone would have an eagle eye for her makeup, it's her! 


She examined my colouring and suggested that I also try the "Golden Goddess" and "Rock Chick" looks. Who am I to argue? Here I am looking up to her as if she were my fairy godmother. I mean, can you blame me for being in awe of receiving advice from a makeup genius!?


Charlotte was kind enough to pose for a few photos before wishing me farewell. The event was quite well organized, which meant that I was subject to the "move along" motto after the meet and greet. But given that there were hundreds of other people waiting to see her, I could completely understand. 


After Jenn and I had savoured our moments with Ms. Tilbury, we lingered for a short while but, given that neither of us needed to get our makeup done or buy anymore products (I'd done plenty of that the previous day; more on that to come), we decided to dodge the crowd and head home. But not before rubbing elbows with another vital faction of the Tilbury entourage- Queen's guards! 


Overall, I deemed this event a huge success! While I would have loved to have seen a live makeup demo from Charlotte (a true icon in action), I totally appreciate that so much time was dedicated to meeting her fans. Charlotte Tilbury was clearly passionate about her brand and was warm, patient, and eager to share beauty advice with her fans. It was a thrill to meet such a beauty icon and to be part of an evening that felt like a true British invasion! 

Look out for more Charlotte Tilbury love on the blog later this week!

Have a wonderful Sunday :)

32 comments:

  1. You are so lucky to have met Charlotte! What a fun looking event!

    Cass | CassandraMyee

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  2. That's so amazing!! I love that last photo of both of you. ^_^

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  3. oh wow what a great event, ct is amazing!

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  4. It was so much fun! I still need to go back and pick up a couple of things, it was pretty crazy in there on the day so I decided to head out to dinner instead!

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    1. Good call! We took off quickly as well. Hope you pick up some goodies that you love :)

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  5. Aaaah, how FUN! Its' really cool that you got to be there, Jen!

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  6. Wow, love the pictures, sounds like an amazing day! I can't wait to try out some Charlotte Tilbury makeup :)

    RachelShuchatMakeup

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  7. I love your shots! She also told me the same thing re: lip colour as I was wearing the Vintage Vamp quad. I think I actually told her "I couldn't afford it yet!" lol ooops...

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    1. Hahaha, well, it's true! You wear the Vintage Vamp so well :)

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  8. Lucky you :) must be a fun and exciting event <3

    Follow for follow on Instagram, GFC, Bloglovin and Google+? :)
    Capturing Life Memoirs | http://aimeebustillo.blogspot.com

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  9. Nice pics :)))

    Federica
    http://www.thecutielicious.com
    The Cutielicious

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  10. what a great event ! great pictures !

    http://allornothing-blog.blogspot.co.uk

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  11. OMG!! another amazing blog post !!

    I love your blog :D

    Jadiee'sLittleBlog

    Have a wonderful day

    Jade

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  12. Wow fantastic pictures you both look amazing!

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    1. Thanks so much! She's extra fabulous in person :)

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  13. Whoaaaaa this looks amazing!!! I'd never tried anything from CT until very recently (like literally a couple of days ago). A friend passed her unloved Golden Goddess palette to me so that I could give it a go. I should blog about the result soon! I also laid my hands on her Mona Lisa Eyes to Mesmerize just today. Can't wait to give that a go! I'm hoping it's everything as fab as it's made out to be!

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  14. So awesome!!! I really wanted to go, but it was a 2 hour drive...

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  15. You are so lucky:) thanks for sharing hope you have a good day
    follow for follow?:)

    xoxo
    http://hilarynirvana.blogspot.com/

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  16. Haha this looks like such a fun event. She seems so sweet to everyone that came. I love that she gave you some suggestions too, tips from the pro herself! So fun!

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    1. She was super sweet and I will not argue with her recommendations :)

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  17. That selfie of you guys--I love how everyone is madly smiling except Zubie LOL (She's probs like, "You peasants")
    I would've totally loved to see her applying makeup/in action! I NEED TO KNOW HER SECRETS. ALL OF IT! And good lord, I succumbed to buying another product from her line today--I picked up one of the cream eyeshadows and I'll hopefully be testing that out tomorrow to see if it'll crease on me sans-primer!

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    1. I hope you're loving the shadows! And yeah, it would have been a dream to see her in action :)

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  18. So exciting! I would have loved to meet Charlotte x

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  19. That's so cute of her to ask you about the lipstick! Haha Looks like you had a lot of fun, Jen! Thanks for sharing this post! Hopefully one day I'll get to meet her, too!! <3

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  20. What was Charlotte like? She seems like a very kind woman :) Love her products that's for sure and she's a very talented artist. www.shehearts.net

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    1. She was very warm and friendly- was such a thrill to meet her! :)

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  21. EEEEEEKKK!!! I am so happy and excited that you could meet her! I love to watch her videos on youtube. Her makeup line has been on my wishlist since forever but I just can't decide what palette to go for. I have seen your last post and think I will just go at the counter and ask what they would recommend :) xx

    Alexandra | Glam O’Clock

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    1. Yeah, their makeup artists seem super knowledgeable and could definitely help you pick one! I'm obsessed with her videos too :)

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  22. OMG your pictures with her are AMAZING! You both look absolutely stunning.

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    1. Thanks so much, Melanie! It was a thrill to meet her :)

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All of your lovely comments make my day! Thanks for taking the time to share your musings, ideas, and opinions. Feel free to leave a link to your blog- I'd be happy to check it out :)