Weaving Charlotte’s web: The makeup maestro has officially launched her debut scent

On the unveiling of her first fragrance, Emma Akbareian explains the magic behind makeup artist Charlotte Tilbury’s brand.

Kate Moss is the face of Charlotte Tilbury’s debut fragrance, Scent of a Dream

If there’s one person who can be trusted to know a good beauty product it’s a makeup artist, and they don’t come much better then Charlotte Tilbury, widely credited as the world’s best. Three years ago she launched her eponymous beauty line, now she hopes to make the leap into the heady world of fragrances with the launch of her debut scent.

Ms Tilbury’s clientele reads like a who’s who of A-list stars and her CV includes creating the makeup looks for the biggest fashion shows and magazine covers in the business. And if that isn’t enough to emphasise her credentials, when her line dropped into Selfridges back in 2013 it was the biggest makeup launch ever seen at the London department store, going on to break records, spark waiting lists and win industry awards.

For her makeup range, Ms Tilbury opted to implement an innovative new approach in which products are sold specifically with the intention of creating a certain beauty look; think Dolce Vita a la Penelope Cruz or Kate Moss’ Rock Chick, with the help of a fully integrated digital experience including video tutorials and playlists to help channel your chosen muse. Her debut fragrance also hopes to break the mould with an equally groundbreaking formulation.

Scent of a Dream £68 (charlottetilbury.com)

Scent of a Dream is the first of its kind, a chypre-floral scent that utilises alchemy to mind-altering effect. All sounds a little scary? Basically Ms Tilbury has gone beyond simply creating a pretty scent, she has used neuroscientists to concoct a smell that speaks directly to the subconscious, activating the animalistic parts of the brain. “Working with visionary experts within the fields of neuroscience and fragrance, I have created an original magic scent,” she explains. “I believe you can use Scent of a Dream to create an emotional pathway with someone else’s energy centres: their brain, heart and sex receptors, igniting the senses.”

As for the scent itself, there is a fresh burst of lemon and peach underpinned by heady florals jasmine and violet that give it an almost vintage feel, despite its techy beginnings. Ever the perfectionist, Ms Tilbury even leaves application tips; forget a simple spritz to the neck, she advises spraying behind the ears, wrists and ankles to encourage the scent to rise in spirals up the body and finish with a spray around the neck, head and hair for a halo-like effect.