A tale of three Eve Lom products...

I've recently finished up three Eve Lom products - two eye creams and a serum - and as I only seem to have photographed them all together may as well review them together too.

They are (pictured l-r):

Intense Hydration serum 

Eye Cream

Eye Lift

The Intense Hydration Serum (£75, 30ml) comes in for a bit of criticism in some online reviews due to the relatively small number of ingredients (namely water, glycerin, phenoxyethanol, sodium hyaluronate, panethenol and ethylhexylglycerin) it contains.  I enjoyed using it, my skin felt somehow more comfortable and less stressed with it on, and it felt hydrating. It's very similar in texture to Nubo's Hydrating Lipids Complex - super light and silky, almost more like a hair serum. It applied very easily, I found it suitable for patting around the eyes before eye cream application and it was fine under moisturiser. However I couldn't discern any visible improvements to my skin.

I also liked both the Eye Cream (£48, 20ml) and the Eye Lift (£48, 15ml) but again neither have found their way into my must-haves. Of the two, my favourite is probably the Eye Lift, which comes in a tube with hygienic applicator as opposed to the Eye Cream which comes in a round pot. The Eye Lift, which is recommended for daytime and nightime use, contains retinol and vitamin C, along with hyaluronic acid for hydration. I found it sat comfortably on the skin and provided a good base for under eye concealer. The Eye Cream, also for morning and nighttime use, contains ingredients such as peptides to reduce puffiness, and shea butter and rosehip oil to combat fine lines. It also applied nicely and didn't cause any irritation to my eyes. Apparently it can be layered over the Eye Lift, though I never tried this and don't really like the idea of using more than one product on delicate undereye skin. I used both for around six months and I do think they did a good job defending my eye area against the ravages of new-motherhood-induced sleep deprivation. But again, I didn't notice any difference to my undereye area when using them (I find it so hard to rate eye creams though - they all seem to do a decent job but unlike face masks, oils and creams etc it's much harder to discern any visible improvements to the eye area).

In all, three decent products and I'd consider repurchasing the Eye Lift in the future, but in the meantime I'll keep searching for my holy grail eye treatments and serum (currently trialling Omorovicza's Rose Lifting Serum).  I still adore my Eve Lom cleanser; it's one of my most loved and repurchased beauty products. I'm keen to try out some items from the new make-up range too, particularly the translucent powder that Lisa Eldrige gave a big thumbs up to.

Would love to hear what serums and eye creams you rate...

Essential measures #10 - Eve Lom cleanser

Not an original choice, but I credit this cleanser with transforming my skin after months of battling troublesome acne on my cheeks. Since I started using it in Jan 13, my skin has been fantastically clear, with only one or two minor breakouts. After use, my skin looks and feels healthy, glowing, clean and balanced.

 The cleanser comes in a round pot and has a thick, paste-like consistency, so needs 'scooping' out. I enjoy the ritual of applying this to my dry skin, and removing with a warm, wet muslin. And whilst it is breathtakingly expensive - for a cleanser, at £85 for a 200ml tub - a little goes a very long way. I use it once a day, in the morning, and occasionally in the evening unless I’ve worn a lot of make up in which case I prefer a cheap cream cleanser to remove that - with careful use, a 200ml tub could easily last a year, and while the product info advises it has a nine month shelf life the girls at the Eve Lom counter advised me it would be fine for a good deal longer than that.

I also have a tube of the Eve Lom Morning Time Cleanser, essentially a slightly less thick version of the tub cleanser. I find this gives similar results (super clean, healthy looking skin), but my tube developed a fishy smell a few months after opening, and its hard to get the product out when you're nearing the end of the tube. I was delighted in the recent Liberty beauty gwp to receive a compact travel sized version tub cleanser, which will more than suffice for weekends or weeks away and into which I can decant product from the larger tub when needed.

I use Eve Lom’s muslins, or my smaller Liz Earle or Boots versions. The Eve Lom ones are very generously sized, allowing you to blanket your entire face and neck with the muslin as recommended in the detailed instructions! I’ve more or less abandoned my former holy grail cleanser, Liz Earle’s Cleanse and Polish, in favour of Eve Lom. While I like Cleanse and Polish, Eve Lom’s cleanser has made a visible and long-term difference to my skin. I never want to be without this product.

I purchase my Eve Lom cleanser from online stores such as Beauty Expert, or Liberty of London. Liberty often has special beauty events for Eve Lom and other brands such as Sisley and Aromatherapy Associates, where you can enjoy a  facial or other treatment and the cost is redeemed against a minimum spend on products in the range. I tend to wait for these sorts of events before purchasing these more expensive products – if you’re going to splurge, why not treat yourself in the process at no extra cost!

£85/200ml

Eve Lom moisturiser SPF 15

This could (whisper it) be my holy grail moisturiser. It's thick without being heavy, it has a pleasant, non-overpowering fragrance, sinks in beautifully to a matt but glowy finish, makes my make-up look about a million times better and most of all makes my skin look and feel soft and healthy, and perhaps (again, whisper it) even a bit younger! Plus it has an SPF - what is not to love?

I've been using this for a couple of weeks now and couldn't wait any longer to report - will update this review if anything changes but at the moment, my skin and I just love this stuff.

At £40 for 50ml it is by no means cheap, but for me it's worth every penny, and has inspired me to investigate some other items from the Eve Lom range. So far I've only tried the Rescue Mask which I wasn't blown away by despite the rave reviews it seems to get, however I do like the sound of the TLC Radiance cream and the Kiss Mix and have been meaning to try the cleanser as well for some time.

Do you have any Eve Lom recommendations?

Blog woes, Beauty Expert and Becca! (and Zuneta)

Hi all, the lack of my digital camera charger (now traced to a hotel in Surrey!) combined with being away last week and ill with tonsillitis most of this week has led to a woeful lack of blogging of late, so apologies for that. I've enjoyed keeping up to date with everyone else's beauty adventures though, and to cheer myself up I today placed my first order on beautyexpert.co.uk as I had a 15% off code after making a purchase from Figleaves (see end).

I bought a few pieces from Becca (a brand which I've never tried before) - the cream blush in Turkish Rose which seems to be a cult shade (I know London Make Up Girl is a fan of this one), eye tint in Vicuna and a sheer lip tint in Estella which I understand to be a pinky nude. I don't usually get on with matt nudes but I like the idea of a sheer one so I'm looking forward to trying that.

Other things in the Becca line I liked the look of were the lipgloss in Bellini, the Beach Tint in the new shade, Raspberry, and another cream blush in Frangipani. Also was tempted by the lip sheer in Milla but I have a lot of sheer berry shades so I passed on that. I might have to go back for a second look next month though as the code is valid til the end of March. Anyone have any other Becca must-haves (or must-avoids?). Incidentally there are some great videos from Zuneta*, which I guess is a rival to Beauty Expert, on You Tube, showing how to apply various Becca products.

I also bought Eve Lom's Rescue Mask which I've been meaning to try for a while and my skin certainly needs rescuing at the min! I was tempted by the Ren Enzymatic Skin Soothing mask which gets great reviews on the site and is £10 cheaper but I've been curious about the Eve Lom for a while so that won.

Less than an hour after I placed the order I received an email saying it had been dispatched, which is surely some sort of a world record! I will blog when I've had a chance to test out (and photograph!) my 'haul'.

The code for 15% off at beautyexpert.co.uk is FIG15 and it's valid until the end of March. Okay it's only intended from those who've purchased from Figleaves but it's already on several of the 'vouchercode' sites so I see no harm in sharing it here!

*Zuneta: I received an email from Zuneta a couple of days ago telling me about a 20% discount code 'Zunelle' but it didn't say when it expires. On two ocassions I've tried to make purchases from the Zuneta website only to receive an error message saying 'please enable cookies in your browser to continue'. Despite disabling virtually all cookies on my laptop I've never been able to actually buy anything, so I've kind of given up on Zuneta for a while as I can't be bothered to look into it at the mo - but hopefully someone else can make use of this!