The Lom message is threefold: luxury, multi-tasking and making the best of your skin. Their most famous offering, the Eve Lom Cleanser, is testament to this – it is the original make-up remover, cleanser and toner in one that spawned a thousand balmy cleansers in its wake. Unsurprising, then, that Eve Lom should choose to fuse skincare and make-up in an attempt to make things a bit easier for we busy women.
On Monday I had the fortune of attending the launch event in Space NK on Broadwick Street for Eve Lom’s foray into make-up where I had a chance to grill the brains behind the new range.
Over raspberry cocktails and macaroons the product director at Eve Lom, Amandine Isnard, explained that the range is an extension to skincare: ‘these products are advanced skincare to which we added colour.’ The idea is to make skin look better when the make-up is on and to improve it through wear (hence the name: radiance perfected). The hero ingredient? BerryFlux Vita, a botanical stem cell that helps rejuvenate and hydrate skin. Like skincare, most the products contain sun protection, though this is capped at SPF15 so as not to affect the efficacy of the make-up.
Below are my thoughts on some of the individual products but, as a line on the whole, I’m very impressed (though this may well be in part due to the fact that I found the exact colour of my skin in the mineral powder). It isn’t cheap, but the skincare promises hold true and the products perform well over time. As one who’s obsessed with luminosity and perfect skin (the holy grail!), I’d personally always spend more money on base products than colour ones (lipstick, eyeshadow etc). These would have my money.:
– Flawless Radiance Primer, £40 at Liberty.co.uk
They say: A flawless base for make-up. Contains moisturising BerryFlux Vita, brightening sand lily extract and strengthening niacinamide. Brightening actives reduce pigment areas, while potent plant extracts and sodium hyaluronate deliver moisture deep down to restore suppleness and elasticity. With Vitamins A and E, skin is firmed, nourished and protected against antioxidants and UV damage.
I say: This is lightweight and doesn’t feel oily in the slightest, while still remaining moisturising. It would be ideal for dry/older skin, as it minimises the dry/caked appearance of foundation. If you already have a foundation you like, this is a good way to dip your toe in – it will lend your chosen base luminosity without any shimmer or unsightly shine.
As someone with an oily t-zone, I was expecting this to be a little too moisture-heavy but was amazed to find it kept my skin moist and smooth without contributing to the oil that collects above my brows. This is massively impressive – oily skin is notoriously hard to prime and drying products just lead to excess oil production and a host of problems.
– Natural Radiance Mineral Powder Foundation, £45 at Liberty.co.uk
They say: A flawless, zero-powder finish. Containing amethyst, ruby and quartz extracts, mattifying rice silk and omitting talc, expect fine lines and pores to appear instantly minimised.
I say: A beautiful, finely-milled powder that is a sheer and light base when used alone, but that works equally as well as a light powder over a tinted moisturiser. Though slightly mattifying, it leaves skin glowing. I was Ivory 2, which matched my pale skin perfectly. It hasn’t left my make-up bag since I got it and my skin garners compliments with every wear. If you are a fan of mineral powder, this will be a welcome, luxury addition to your make-up regime to perhaps wear on special occasions.
A little note on the packaging of this one: it could be improved. Though it looks beautiful, the mineral powder has a tendency to fly around when you’re dispensing unless you’re careful with it (which I was, naturally, but still…).
– Brilliant Cover Concealer SPF15, £30 at Liberty.co.uk
They say: Disguises imperfections, blemishes and signs of ageing. Contains sea fennel to encourage cellular renewal, moisturising BerryFlux Vita and provides UVA/UVB antioxidant protection. Available in 6 shades.
I say: This offers light to medium coverage and works best under eyes. Extremely creamy so, again, a really good one for older or dry skin. It also doesn’t fall into lines easily and blends into the skin exceptionally well (see above). As it mimics skin so well, it is also a good buy if you like to highlight high points of your face (the bridge of your nose, for example). I’ve massively fallen for packaging on this one – it comes in a little gold compact with a mirror in the lid and just feels enormously decadent for a concealer.
– Radiance Lift Foundation SPF15, £50 at Liberty.co.uk
They say: Full, weightless coverage with a flawless matte finish. Contains moisturising BerryFlux Vita and lifting paracress extract. Available in 15 shades.
I say: Oh, expensive. But, I’m sorry to say, I think it’s really good and, as I said above, I’d sooner pay more for a skincare/make-up foundation hybrid than any other make-up product. This is a heavier foundation that doesn’t, as stated above, mattify skin. It settles to a creamy finish that covers and blurs simultaneously. This won’t cover proper blemishes, but will even out skin and cover minor scars/blemishes. If I were having a very bad skin day, I’d pop on a thin layer of this and follow it with a dusting of the mineral foundation for coverage that’ll last all day.