5 minutes with makeup guru Charlotte Tilbury

How did you get your start in the industry?

Charlotte Tilbury: I discovered the transformative power of makeup as a teenager. I loved making up all my school friends and realized that the right makeup could give everyone confidence. After going to makeup school and working as an assistant, I started managing my own team.

The 1990's was an incredibly exciting time to launch my career. I worked backstage at countless fashion shows with supermodels such as Claudia Schiffer, Cindy Crawford, Linda Evangelista, Naomi Campbell, Christy Turlington and of course my beautiful friend and beauty muse, Kate Moss. I have also created red carpet looks for celebrities such as Penelope Cruz, Jennifer Aniston, Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Lopez, Sofia Vergara and Salma Hayek.

What prompted you to start your own brand?

I wasn't happy with the quality of beauty products at the time. The concepts, formulas, quality and efficacy left a lot to be desired. People were constantly asking how they could get smoky smokey like Kate Moss, movie star cheekbones or a gorgeous golden glow. I realized I had to "bottle" this stellar DNA and share my tips, tricks and secrets with the world so everyone could get the glow of Hollywood stars and the flawless finish of supermodels. The beauty industry needed a radical change!

How did you go about creating your beauty community?

I started building my YouTube community before the brand even launched. My incredible team and I would make videos showing how to recreate a particular look step by step. I strived to make them both simple and fun, taking all the guesswork out of the application process so that anyone could do it!

Recent advances in technology have allowed us to continue to grow our community with a digital approach through our Easy Beauty for You app, which is like putting me in your pocket.

And of course, social media has played a huge role in communicating directly with our clients. I quickly realized the power of social media, which became as important to my vision as creating the products themselves.

Which celebrities do you most enjoy working with?

I have worked with some amazing women over the years, including supermodels such as Kate Moss, Claudia Schiffer, Cindy Crawford, Linda Evangelista, Naomi Campbell and Christy Turlington, as well as stars such as Penelope Cruz, Jennifer Aniston, Amal Clooney, Kim Kardashian, Jennifer Lopez, Nicole Kidman, Sofia Vergara and Salma Hayek.

All of them have been an integral part of my career path over the years and some have become my close friends. We all share a common value. Like me, they all understand the power of beauty to make them feel confident and change the energy in a room.

Tell us about a career accomplishment that you are particularly proud of.

There have been many! One of the most significant, of course, was the launch of my eponymous brand. When I started 11 years ago as a female entrepreneur, my competitors largely underestimated me. By the time they took notice of me, there was already so much momentum around what I was doing that there was nothing they could do about it!

Today, I'm proud to be a British businesswoman who has taken her brand global, leading a company founded by a woman that is creating meaningful jobs for women around the world. Having visible role models is very important and I am proud that our executive team today is 80% female.