Review: Eve Lom cleanser

I was able to pick up one of the Eve Lom travel sets during the Space NK January sale at half price (£25 as opposed to £50). Brassic though I was after Christmas, I decided (with my messed-up product addict logic) that this was a great opportunity. I had been curious about the cult Eve Lom cleanser for some time, so was especially happy to see that a 30ml jar of it is part of the set, along with the famed muslin cloth.

It's likely if you're reading this that you already know how this sort of cleanser is applied and removed; the cleanser is massaged onto dry skin, then the cloth is dampened with warm water and used to remove the cleanser. Along with it comes any dirt and excess oil/dead skin cells/general face-entropy.

Eve Lom's cleanser comes in a screw-top jar, into which you must dig your fingers to remove product. (Often a mode of packaging that people think of as unhygenic. Provided hands are clean, I don't personally mind it.)

The cleanser is thick, golden in colour and has a slightly gritty exfoliant-like feel to it. Once applied and massaged in, the gritty particles seem to dissolve. The texture generally is quite oily. I have read a few reviews that complain of the high price of the cleanser (around£50 for 100ml) being unjustified since the chief ingredient is mineral oil, which is quite cheap to produce. I'm not someone who automatically balks at the presence of mineral oil in a product, but I think this may be a fair criticism.

The cleanser also contains four aromatherapy oils; hops, clove, eucalyptus and chamomile. After the cleanser has been applied, the instruction leaflet suggests leaving the warm cloth on the face for a short period to activate the oils on the skin and let them take effect.

Which brings us to the smell. Personally, I find the scent of this product very unusual, and I'm not sure if I like it or not. My first thought was that it smells like a dentist's surgery (probably the clove oil to blame for that - it's frequently used to ease tooth sensitivity). Combine the idea of that smell with the notion of fresh, almost minty eucalyptus, and beery hops, and you may be able to imagine it slightly.

The hot cloth process is very satisfying indeed. The weft of the muslin cloth is just right for removing every bit of cleanser and giving the skin a bit of gentle exfoliation at the same time. As a final step, dipping the cloth into cold water and then applying again gives an astringent effect that feels wonderful on the newly clean skin.

Overally I have very much enjoyed using this product so far and it has left my skin very clean and soft. It feels like a product I could rely on to perk up my skin at any given time, as well as remove makeup thoroughly. There is also a very enjoyable ritual quality to the hot cloth process. The leaflet enclosed with the kit outlines a facial massage you can do while the cleanser is on the skin, which added to the experience and is probably quite good for the skin and facial tissues as well.

My only qualm (besides the odd smell, which I think I could learn to like) is the price. If it were £15 per tub instead of £50, I would certainly buy it again. However at this price I'm unlikely to repurchase, unless I find another great bargain like I did this time around.