Eve Lom Cleanser review

Eve Lom Cleanser is the most high-end and acclaimed product I bought in the entire 2013.  And also the most disappointing.

Encouraged by a sample of Eve Lom Morning Cleanser I went ahead and purchased a product which I thought I'd make a better use of, the iconic product of the brand, their regular cleanser.

The product arrived packed in an elegant white box and inside I found a nice white jar with a logo in gold print and a muslin cloth which is the recommended tool to wipe the product off the face. 

The first let down was even before I used the product first time. Just read the list of ingredients below:

Mineral oil is the first and most prominent ingredient of the product. I'm not sensitive or allergic to this ingredient, but it's simply cheap. When you pay £55 for a cleanser you expect the most refined, natural, eco-friendly, organic and what not kind of ingredients, whereas here the body of the product is made of one of the cheapest ingredients in the cosmetic market that even the cheapest drugstore brands try to stay away from.  What's more many people suffer skin irritations and breakouts when using mineral oil. 

When I opened a jar I immediately noticed that some crust formed on top of the product, which had to be removed, cause it was too dry to use and warming it in my hands didn't help. This means I threw away a couple of grams of product worth one or two pounds.

I have been using this cleanser for about two months now and I'm almost done with it. I must say that I am puzzled because it works differently each time I use it. One day it heats up and liquifies, the other day it's so hard that I can barely spread it and massage across my face. 

I use the cleanser as directed (see detailed instructions below), since it's so hard consistencywise I always warm it up with my fingers before transferring it onto my face. I can't explain this, but the trick not always works. I believe it's due to the fact that the product is made of mineral oil, which is not as heat sensitive as eg. shea butter or coconut oil. I also noticed that the less pressure to exert, the smoother the cream glides. Instead of massaging my face I just smooth it with the product, barely touching my face with my hands.

My biggest regret about Eve Lom cleanser is what, while it does away with face make-up successfully, and never caused a single break-out on my face, it does nothing to remove mascara. I don't use waterproof mascara and even after taking some time and effort to break the mascara formula by massaging my lashes with the cleanser, then wiping my lashes with muslin cloth my mascara still clings on to them like hell. And don't tell me i don't know how to use such products. I've used a cream cleanser by The Body Shop and a couple of others  and my impressions were utterly different.

On the more positive note, I must admit that at first I used this cleanser in combination with toners, gel cleansers, micellar solutions as I feared that this thick and heavy substance would clog my pores and eventually cause break-outs. However, I've recently been using it alone and my skin is as clear as ever.  

I'm also quite sceptical about the hot cloth cleansing method. I mean, it's nice, but time consuming and I don't feel it's doing anything spectacular to my face. Of course, a muslin cloth is necessary to wipe the product off the face as it doesn't emulsify upon contact with water, like other similar cleansers do, but I'm not sure whether this replaces exfoliators and toners.  

Whether you like the way this product works or not is a matter of personal preference. I don't, but I heard many people raving about this product, so it must have worked for them. For me this product is not effective enough as far as removing mascara is concerned, but otherwise it's all right.

The main objection of mine is that there's nothing, absolutely nothing, that could justify the price.


Disclaimer: I bought the product myself for my personal use and I am not affiliated with any company. I am not paid to do this review and everything I said here is my genuine opinion.