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Eve Lom
Who and What are Eve Lom?
Eve Lom is, according to her website, that most fabulous-sounding of things, "a world-renowned facialist". After studying massage techniques, nutrition and acupuncture, Eve opened her first salon in London in 1984.
Eve Lom's cult cleanser, described by Vogue as "probably the best cleanser in the world", is a firm celebrity favourite. Her skincare philosophy is best described as "less is more" - she believes that women do too much to their skins with over-complex beauty routines. Deep cleansing, decongesting and exfoliation form the heart of her beauty philosophy, and a concise range of moisturisers, masks and hand treatments have been developed to be used in conjunction with her legendary cleanser.
They say:
"The Eve Lom skincare range is based on the holistic belief that skin reflects the body's physical and emotional states, is subject to dietary and environmental factors, and must be treated as a whole. Eve doesn't believe in miracle cures, or that fine lines can be erased. Eve Lom products will, however, provide the very best in maintenance and encourage the skin to function at its optimum level."
We say:
The legendary Eve Lom cleanser thoroughly deserves its must-have status - the rest of the range didn't quite live up to the cleanser. We loved the brand's elegant white packaging which will sit well on any minimalist boudoir shelf. And it's a shame that some of the products include mineral oil - not very spa!
Eve Lom products - What have we tried?
Eve Lom Cleanser 100ml, RRP £48
Oh, how they laughed in the Good Spa Guide office as I made my way home with this cream. "With a little effort and discipline," the literature promised, "you can acquire a beautiful, glowing complexion." As the effort and discipline normally invested in my morning cleansing routine is zero -- assuming you can dignify a quick flannel-swipe with the word "routine" -- this was going to be tough. But I did hanker after being both beautiful and glowing.
Within the elegant white packaging nestled an elegant white pot, a fairly elegant white muslin cloth, and positively prescriptive instructions: seven steps for a beautiful skin. Step 1 involves putting the green cleanser all over your face and neck and massaging from behind your ears to your collar bone. The cream scoops up easily, doesn't drip, and has a pleasant, aromatic smell, slightly medicinal and definitely not at all flowery. I loved it. It's a tactile mix of soothing oils and exfoliants, which never once irritated my sometimes sensitive skin.
Step 2 involved massaging my forehead for a count of 5, step 3 doing the same to the area under my eyes, step 4 my upper lip, step 5 my cheeks, and step 6 my chin. Then you soak the muslin cloth in hot water and hold it over your entire face for a count of 5, to soften the skin and activate the essential oils, apparently. (By this stage of the ritual, usually at least one child had wandered into the bathroom to enquire as to the whereabouts of a sock.) Then you do the hot water thing again another three times. Follow this up with circular movements to exfoliate, and top it all off by rinsing the cloth in cold water and holding it over your face to close the pores.
Phew. So, was all this time and energy worth it?
I began to suspect it might be when one of my friends said, unprompted, "O, your skin looks good." I had noticed it feeling softer, which I was enjoying, but hadn't detected any improvement in appearance, but I think this is hard to see yourself as changes are small and cumulative. That compliment sent me back to my routine with renewed determination. I admit, I had been skimping on the holding the cloth over my face for the required length of time, as generally I could smell something in the kitchen burning by that bit.
My one small niggle was that I found the muslin cloth quite hard to rinse out, and it felt best if I remembered to wash it in the machine.
But I'm addicted. I don't think I can ever go back to cleaning my face with anything else. Whether it's the oils or the massage or the muslin, I love the way my skin feels.
Eve Lom Moisturiser SPF15 50ml, RRP £38
Single Spy:
I also tried the Eve Lom Moisturiser SPF15. This also arrives in elegant white packaging with gold writing and an elegant white pot, but it just didn't do it for me the way the yummy cleanser did. It's white, not overly creamy, so doesn't give your skin that "kissed" feeling that some of the rich creams do. It contains a dazzling array of ingredients -- red, green and white tea, chestnut and rosemary, as well as UV filters and beeswax -- but none stood out to give the cream a distinctive smell. But did I tell you about the cleanser...?
Eve Lom TLC Cream 50ml, RRP £48
Sybaritic Spy:
Eve Lom's TLC Cream is very thick. You do need to put it on your hands and warm it by holding your hands together for a minute or so before you can apply it to your face, and even then you can't rub it in without dragging the skin.
I ended up pressing it into a small area of my face and then moving my hands to the next area and pressing it in again. It took a while to soak in and felt sticky on the skin. I started using it at night but found it very unsexy to get into bed with my face looking rather greasy! It smells slightly medicinal as well.
So I changed to using it in the morning, putting it on before breakfast, letting it soak in and then applying my make-up. It does form a really good base and I found that my make-up lasted much better.
But I can't say I have noticed a huge improvement in my skin. I used it mostly on my neck as the richness seems to suit my very dehydrated skin there. Not my favourite ever product I'm afraid... and I have used other Eve Lom products in the past, and loved them.
Eve Lom Rescue Mask 100ml, RRP £48
Shy Spy:
This kaolin mask is designed to combat congested skin, reducing blotchiness, irritations and "eruptions" as part of a weekly deep-cleanse or a last minute emergency treatment. As my combination skin is prone to the odd off-day with "eruptions" (although I'm not sure I like describing my spots as volcanic "blemishes" seems far better) I tested to see whether the mask really would rescue me from the abyss of bad skin!
Skin needs to be a little moist to apply the mask, otherwise the fairly dry paste doesn't smooth over evenly, which I discovered after the first go. Squeezing the mask from the tube you are hit with a waft of camphor (which disappears after a few minutes). The consistency was fairly easy to spread evenly, and as it dried, it didn't feel too drying (I could still wiggle my face, which cracks some clay masks). After 15-20 minutes the mask can be removed, and although I hadn't miraculously gained the clear milky-white skin of a child, it had calmed the red patches, and left my skin feeling smooth and taut. My skin hadn't been dried out by the "rescue" ingredients as I had thought they might, and I was pleasantly surprised at how supple my skin felt.
Where can I try Eve Lom products?
You can try Eve Lom products at these spas:
Agua at Sanderson, London
The Treatment Rooms, Brighton and London
Spa NK, Knightsbridge and Notting Hill
Signature treatment:
The Eve Lom facial: A combination of deep cleansing and lymphatic drainage and acupressure techniques.
Clare Rogers from The Treatment Rooms describes an Eve Lom Facial
Where can I buy Eve Lom products?
See also:
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