Charlotte Tilbury's 'airbrush sandwich' hack is the answer to long-lasting, weatherproof makeup

'Flawless, poreless' makeup, right this way...

Charlotte Tilbury is pictured at The Fashion Awards 2025 presented by Pandora at the Royal Albert Hall on December 01, 2025 in London, England, and featured in a grey and white marble-effect template alongside two product shots of the Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush setting spray and powder, as well as a powder makeup swatch
(Image credit: Getty Images: Mike Marsland/WireImage | Products: Charlotte Tilbury)

If you've ever wondered how to achieve a similarly blurred and seamless look to the ones you've seen on the red carpet - or how to prevent the weather from ruining your perfectly blended makeup, Charlotte Tilbury has let us in on her ultimate 'airbrush sandwich hack' - and all you need is a setting spray and powder.

While the best foundations can work wonders in masking blemishes and evening the skin tone, often they need an extra helping hand to stay all day and not crease. A pressed powder, for one, can help to banish excess shine and fix your base in place, but another product can aid the longevity of your makeup even further: a setting spray. These lightweight mists are ideal for adding hydration back into your skin, post foundation, but together with a powder, a setting spray locks your products in place for hours - no matter the weather.

Charlotte Tilbury's hack to 'flawless, poreless' makeup for party season

For glamorous party makeup that won't budge this festive season, Charlotte Tilbury has gifted us with the ultimate blurring hack, and as it turns out, all you need is one of the best setting sprays, a pressed powder, and a brush.

Appearing on ITV's This Morning on Thursday, 4th of December, Charlotte Tilbury answered all our burning beauty questions, including how to get a flawless makeup base that lasts - no matter the winds or weather.

"This is something that the whole world needs to know about: setting sprays. If you’ve ever wondered why a celebrity, Cat, you know this," quipped Tilbury, addressing host, Cat Deeley, "from morning till night and their makeup will look flawless, poreless - it won’t sit in any lines, it will look blurred, it will look glowing - it’s because they’re using a setting spray."

If you're unsure of whether they're worth the investment, Tilbury notes that "Setting sprays lock in your makeup for up to 16 hours, and it will not budge."

As for how she applies one, Tilbury revealed that she actually layers the spray with a powder, and how she does so is very interesting (in fact, our whole beauty team was astounded. "This is called the 'airbrush sandwich hack,' so we’ll take a powder, and we’re just going to stipple - it’s really important to stipple."

Tilbury used a fluffy brush and demonstrated patting the brush across her model's face, focusing on the t-zone, explaining to viewers not to be afraid of powder, because, "if they’re finely milled and again, have lots of emollients in them, they are actually incredible smoothing and blurring."

She then proceeded to spray the Airbrush Flawless mist three times, and said to take your brush and powder, stippling it over those same areas as the spray is drying down. Don't wait for it to completely set.

"It just blurs, it gives you double the blur," Tilbury notes, before adding that it also "keeps you looking hydrated and glowing, but blurred, and it locks in your makeup." She adds that this way, it won't sit in fine lines or your pores.

Tilbury also shared that this powder and spray 'sandwich' hack is celebrity-approved, with both JLo and Celine Dion having worn it and proved its staying power. Tibury quipped that even when Celine Dion stood at the top of the Eiffel Tower during the Paris Olympics, in the pouring rain, her makeup didn't move.

Naomi Jamieson
Digital Beauty Writer

Naomi is a Digital Beauty Writer at woman&home, where she covers everything from makeup to skincare but specialises, particularly, in fragrance and nail trends. Through her work, Naomi shares her trend expertise and personal product recommendations. She is also a judge for woman&home's annual hair, skincare and beauty awards.

Previously, she worked as a Lifestyle News Writer for My Imperfect Life magazine, where she used her savvy for TikTok to bring readers the latest beauty buzzwords, fashion movements and must-have products.

Before that, Naomi split her time between both GoodTo and My Imperfect Life, whilst training for her Gold Standard diploma in Journalism with the NCTJ.

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