The Icon

Charlotte Tilbury The Icon 12-Pan Eye Palette is a new, limited edition palette featuring nine shimmer shades and three more satin-matte shades. The formula can be used wet or dry, though using them wet achieves a “silk-veil effect,” which seems like something Charlotte Tilbury would say, but I’m not entirely sure what that translates to with respect to specific claims. The palette itself is supposed to be “intensely pigmented,” which really depended on the shade–the more shimmery, sparkly shades needed to be applied wet to achieve semi-opaque to opaque pigmentation and to minimize fallout while improving application.

In general, the formula was inconsistent, and the best application depended on the particular shade, so my results were all over the place and made for a fairly frustrating experience. Instead of being easy-to-use, it was a puzzle that I had to play around with and figure out. Shimmery eyeshadows tend to be easier to blend out and use but in this case, it took me twice as long to get a decent result out of the palette.

Charlotte Tilbury Icon Day Eyes #1 Eyeshadow

Icon Day Eyes #1

Icon Day Eyes #1 is a bright, pink-peach with a cooler, pink base and warmer, golden shimmer. It had semi-opaque pigmentation applied wet as well as dry, and the finish didn’t seem to get much more intense when I used it wet. The pigmentation was buildable to opaque coverage with two layers. The texture was smooth to the touch, firmer in the pan but still a thinner consistency overall. It wore nicely for seven and a half hours on me before fading noticeably.

Charlotte Tilbury Icon Day Eyes #2 Eyeshadow

Icon Day Eyes #2

Icon Day Eyes #2 is a medium-dark, rosy copper with subtle, warm undertones and a sparkling finish. It had good color coverage applied dry but yielded opaque color payoff when used with a wet brush, though the finish seemed about the same either way. The texture was more firmly-pressed in the pan, though it had moderate slip when I touched it, which seemed to help it blend out on my skin. It lasted well for seven hours on me before I noticed fading.

Charlotte Tilbury Icon Day Eyes #3 Eyeshadow

Icon Day Eyes #3

Icon Day Eyes #3 is a muted, medium-dark red with subtle, warm undertones and a satin sheen. Applied dry, it had nearly opaque pigmentation but appeared more faded and lighter compared to the wet application. The texture was more firmly-pressed in the pan, but it wasn’t too difficult to pick up with a brush, though I noticed it had a tendency to look more faded after I blended it out a bit–like it was hard to retain the depth in practice. It stayed on well for seven and a half hours on me before it started to fade.

Charlotte Tilbury Icon Date Eyes #1 Eyeshadow

Icon Date Eyes #1

Icon Date Eyes #1 is a bright, medium-dark gold with warm undertones and a sparkling finish. It had sheer coverage applied dry, which was hard to build up with having at least as much under my eye as on it, and it continued to yield fallout while worn–it was pretty unusable dry (with a brush). This was a shade that had to be used with a dampened brush in order to achieve opaque coverage that adhered evenly and sat more smoothly on my lid without raining down fallout. The texture was drier but still managed to have some slip–like my fingertip detected a “smooth” feel to the product but it acted and looked dry in practice. It wore well for seven hours on me before creasing noticeably.

Charlotte Tilbury Icon Date Eyes #2 Eyeshadow

Icon Date Eyes #2

Icon Date Eyes #2 is a muted, medium-dark coppery red with warm undertones and a pearly sheen. It had good pigmentation applied dry and had a more low-level pearl sheen, while wet application yielded opaque coverage with a soft, metallic sheen. The texture was smooth, lightly creamy, and blendable on my skin. It stayed on well for seven and a half hours on me before fading noticeably.

Charlotte Tilbury Icon Date Eyes #3 Eyeshadow

Icon Date Eyes #3

Icon Date Eyes #3 is a bright, medium copper with warm, orange undertones and a sparkling, metallic finish. It had more of a frosted finish and less depth when applied dry, whereas the wet application was more sparkly, brighter, and deeper in hue (though actual coverage level remained about the same). It lasted nicely for seven and a half hours on me but had a touch of fallout over time.

Charlotte Tilbury Icon Diva Eyes #1 Eyeshadow

Icon Diva Eyes #1

Icon Diva Eyes #1 is a bright, medium gold with strong, warm orange undertones and a glittering, metallic finish. Applied dry, it had sheer coverage, did not build up, gave me more fallout than product on my lid, and blended out poorly as little adhered to my lid. Applied wet, it was tolerable as it had opaque coverage but was hard to finesse and diffuse along the edge without getting a bit of patchiness, and it emphasized the texture of my skin. It wore well for almost zero hours dry (though very little was there to judge) and seven hours wet (with a bit of fallout over time).

Charlotte Tilbury Icon Diva Eyes #2 Eyeshadow

Icon Diva Eyes #2

Icon Diva Eyes #2 is a light-medium, golden copper with warm, brown undertones and a frosted sheen. Applied dry, it was prone to emphasizing lid texture as it was difficult to really smooth and even out the edge, though it had opaque coverage. Applied wet, it was deeper, more metallic, and opaque but applied more evenly and looked smoother on my skin overall. The texture was firmer, lightly emollient, and needed a moderate-to-heavy hand to pick up decently on a brush. It stayed well for seven hours before I noticed some fading.

Charlotte Tilbury Icon Diva Eyes #3 Eyeshadow

Icon Diva Eyes #3

Icon Diva Eyes #3 is a light-medium brown with strong, warm orange undertones and a satiny sheen. It had semi-opaque color payoff applied dry, which was hard to build up, while it had full color payoff applied with a wet brush (that also made it appear deeper applied than in the pan). The texture was denser, firmer, though not thick, and a little stiff to work with. The edges blended out decently on my skin but took longer than I would have expected. It lasted decently for seven hours on my skin before there were signs of wear.

Charlotte Tilbury Icon Disco Eyes #1 Eyeshadow

Icon Disco Eyes #1

Icon Disco Eyes #1 is a blackened, forest green with subtle, warm undertones and a sparkling finish. The consistency was stiffer in the pan, drier (both in feel and how it appeared on my skin), and had a tendency to look uneven and patchy on my skin. The more I tried to fuss with it and diffuse the edges or even out the application, the more it wanted to lift away, which was especially noticeable when I worked with the shade dry. It had semi-opaque pigmentation that wasn’t very buildable when used dry, and it was more opaque when applied wet, though it still didn’t improve blendability with a wet application. This shade wore well for seven and a half hours before I noticed fading.

Charlotte Tilbury Icon Disco Eyes #2 Eyeshadow

Icon Disco Eyes #2

Icon Disco Eyes #2 is a blackened, navy blue with cool undertones and a metallic sheen. It appeared more faded–more blackened–with a softer sheen when I used it dry, though it had still good pigmentation. When I used it with a wet brush, it had opaque coverage and a stronger sheen. The texture was thin, a little drier, especially when applied to my lid as it looked patchy and couldn’t be diffused evenly no matter how much effort I gave it. The color stayed on nicely for seven and a half hours before I started to see signs of fading.

Charlotte Tilbury Icon Disco Eyes #3 Eyeshadow

Icon Disco Eyes #3

Icon Disco Eyes #3 is a deep black with neutral-to-warm undertones and a satin sheen. It had good pigmentation applied dry, though it appeared lighter than the color in the pan and was more prone to sheering out. When applied with a wet brush, it had deeper color and more opaque coverage but was a bit harder to diffuse and blend out without getting drier, more ragged-looking edges. It lasted well for seven hours on me before it started to fade visibly.