Review - Touche Eclat by Yves Saint Laurent

Disclosure - PR sample

We were contacted recently with news about the iconic Touche Eclat, YSL's famous clicky golden highlighting pen. Touche Eclat has been around for years and is of course massively famous, and that's not news. The news is that Touche Eclat has gone a bit 2.0, with a dedicated website, Facebook page, downloadable content and Twitter account. You can view the making of the new TV ad via these channels too.

We were also sent some of the pens themselves to have a play with. At £24.00, Touche Eclat is not as hideously expensive as some of the high end items I've purchased. But it's always been something I've seen as unattainably "grown up" makeup, so it was quite interesting to meet it up close.



One of the biggest misconceptions about Touche Eclat is how it's intended to be used. Despite being the UK's number 1 luxury beauty product (according to YSL - I don't have the source or figures) it's surprising how many people find it puzzling and frustrating - because they are using it as a concealer.

It is *clears throat, lifts megaphone* NOT A CONCEALER.

It's a highlighter. Despite lacking the usual highlighter characteristics of shimmeryness, paleness and liquid/powder/cream format, Touche Eclat is primarily a reflective substance that you apply strategically to areas of your face that are shadowed, in order to brighten them up. "Light falls in love with the skin" says the delightfully overblown YSL marketing copy. That's basically it. The reflective substances in Touche Eclat cause light to bounce off the skin in a way that makes it look fresher, smoother and more youthful. It will work to some extent on under-eye shadows because of this, but it's not a "coverage" product.

It is light and creamy in texture, and does contain mineral oil (so watch out, those with an aversion to the substance), which means that it blends well even over dry skin. I wouldn't want to put it over a silicon-heavy foundation for fear of pilling, but on my bare skin it applies very well. I feel that it "wakes up" my eyes in particular, and have found it very satisfying to dot on and blend out anywhere my face looks lacklustre.

The packaging is well designed. The black bit on the end of the tube is a button that you press to dispense product, which is pumped out through the brush applicator. The lid clicks on securely. I'm not mad about the gold finish (I'm not a fan of gold in general) but if it were brushed metal or black I'd be full of praise.

Rummaging around online, I found this handy video which illustrates the various parts of the face that can benefit from Touche Eclat. NB it's all in French, but pretty self-explanatory.

NB: YSL (L'Oreal) is not currently a cruelty-free brand