The new London flagship store in Covent Garden is the brand’s largest one yet, where I felt like both Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady and Alice in Wonderland
I’ve always thought that casting Audrey Hepburn as a poor, ordinary woman selling flowers in the street in My Fair Lady was an odd choice. From the first notes of “Wouldn’t It Be Loverly” in the bustling flower market at Covent Garden, I assumed that life must have already been lovely for someone with such a simple, natural complexion and a fitted green coat.
Just across from that same market, although with fewer songs and flowers but just as much London charm, the new Charlotte Tilbury shop has recently opened. Under the vision of its eponymous founder, the brand is known for promoting the “simple look’” with its celebrated face creams and Pillow Talk lip shades—those quintessential nude-pink hues (editor’s note).
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Now, in my mind, I envision the scene where Hepburn wears a Lolita nightgown, slightly moisturising her skin as she rests her head on a pillow, wishing she could still dance.
Indeed, this image beautifully captures the atmosphere and services at the new Charlotte Tilbury flagship store in London, which is the brand’s largest to date. The store has relocated from a smaller boutique that opened in 2015 to a more prominent and spacious site at the corner of Royal Opera House Arcade and James Street. As the Puig-owned brand’s “biggest Beauty Wonderland globally,” it also houses the first Charlotte Tilbury Skin Spa, featuring a premium service menu of benefit-driven, results-oriented facial treatments. Here, you can indulge in a moment of relaxation and rejuvenate your skin after a night out. The spa’s formulas promise to hydrate, lift, and brighten your complexion, allowing you to aspire to a Hepburn-like complexion. The formulas behind this magical skin transformation are kept hidden, much like a cherished secret.
The new flagship store in the UK is a “playground for beauty and skincare lovers”. Courtesy of Charlotte Tilbury
The new flagship store in the UK, spanning 4,300 square feet, is a “playground for beauty and skincare lovers”. It exuberantly features pink hues, from its window display and makeup booths to the floor, where customers walk on a dreamy pink carpet. More than just the makeup itself, there is a strong sense that walking into the shop provides a confidence boost; everyone becomes a glam celeb and can pose in front of the giant wings installation.
As Charlotte Tilbury herself puts it, the boutique is a “Beauty Wonderland,” with different areas where customers can step into a world reminiscent of Alice from Lewis Carroll’s classic tale. Every corner is filled with surprises, such as the Tweedledee and Tweedledum spot, which offers the perfect lipstick and lipliner combo, and the Mad Hatter’s “unbirthday,” providing an excellent excuse to indulge in trendy bronzers and highlighters. And, of course, the packaging is decadently golden and luxurious!
Charlotte Tilbury’s essence is so deeply embedded in the place that you will hear a mental “Darling!” at every corner. The space is also much more airy than the previous shop, which is a welcome improvement.
Spanning 4,300 square feet, the London boutique is exuberantly adorned in pink hues. Courtesy of Charlotte Tilbury
The shop celebrates the joys of girlhood with a cosy private room downstairs where bachelorettes can chat and gossip. I chose my lipliner from Charlotte, “Hot Gossip,” and I’ll admit I picked it primarily for the intriguing name—after all, it’s part of the brand’s trademark lineup.
The newly opened flagship also hosts makeup sessions in a larger room, with private masterclasses where customers can learn Charlotte Tilbury’s beauty secrets or where celebrities will make their glam before walking on the red carpet just across the Waterloo Bridge at the BFI.
Founder Charlotte Tilbury told the press, “This really is the beauty store of the future: it has education, futuristic tech, instagrammable moments, themed worlds and bookable areas. Everyone will walk out of this beauty universe feeling like the most beautiful and confident version of themselves.”
Inside Charlotte Tilbury’s biggest-ever flagship in Covent Garden. Courtesy of Charlotte Tilbury
As I walked out of the shop, I imagined finding my own Rex Harrison—the charming professor who transformed Audrey Hepburn’s Eliza Doolittle from a poor flower girl into a poised lady in My Fair Lady (editor’s note). I strolled through the market, humming a familiar tune with glitters on my cheeks, feeling like I, too, was on the cusp of a transformation. A white rabbit followed me with a clock, reminding me that time had passed and I had to return to university. But I have always believed that I can study much better with a confident face. The new Charlotte Tilbury shop offers more than just smooth skin and a lovely glow from exfoliators, toners, and eye creams. It is about seeing yourself in the mirror, illuminated by the warm light from the booth’s bulbs and thinking: “I can ace this exam; just watch me.” And you really do.
Meri-Li Mercier
Editor, London