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...

Ren - Lipovector Smoothing Eye Contour Cream (and other nice things)

I purchased this eye cream recently when my previous eye cream, Kiehl's Abysinne (decent but not exactly earth shattering) was running out. I hadn't tried anything in the Ren line previously, despite having hankered after the Moroccan Rose Bath Oil for about the last decade, so thought I'd give this a try despite the lack of reviews online.

And I really like it! Whereas the Kiehl's felt nice but I didn't really notice any improvements to the eye area, I actually feel my undereye area looks better with this cream, which I've been using for about a month now.

Active ingredients are yeast collagen, which apparently increases moisture retention, vitamin A from rosehip oil, which apparently encourages collagen to fill wrinkles (well this is what the Ren website says anyway!) and wheat peptides which reduce the depth of expression lines and wrinkles. Although I don't normally pay much attention to these sorts of product claims, I have to say that I have definitely noticed effects in these areas. I don't have a lot of lines around my eyes yet but I do get dry looking creases under my eyes particularly when smiling and laughing, and I notice these are visibly lessened after i apply the cream.

It has a good consistency (not too runny or too thick), feels nice to apply and make up goes smoothly on top. The only thing I don't like is the packaging - the pump tends to squirt out more than you need unless you happen to have extreme control of your index finger, which I do not. It also tends to squirt anywhere except on to your finger tip, so I now pump it into the cupped palm of my hand where it can't do any damage to fabrics!

Packaging quibble aside, I'd definitely recommend giving this a go if you're on the search for a new eye cream, particularly one with natural ingredients.

If you place an order on the Ren website at the moment you will currently receive two winter skincare trial size products, and delivery is a reasonable £3. This week I also purchased (not from the Ren website but from the North Wood Clinic in South London) this gorgeous mini skincare set as a Christmas present for my friend, which contains four Moroccan Rose and Grapefruit and Neroli shower gels and moisturisers, and which cost a reasonable £15.


















(pic: Ren website)


Quite some time ago, I also purchased the Ren Guerande Salt Scrub from Beauty Expert. It looks amazing and gets great reviews, and I am super excited about using it but before I try it I first have to use up my old standby L'Oreal Exfotonic. Couldn't resist opening the lid to have a quick look though!

Ren Lipovector Smoothing Eye Contour Cream costs £25 for 15ml, and the Guerande Salt Scrub costs £19.50 for 330ml. Ren is available from Renskincare.com, Beauty Expert and some department stores including Liberty of London.