I can’t believe we’re already halfway through the advent time. I can’t believe soon I won’t have any more surprises to discover in the advent calendar. And I also can’t believe how much work I have to do in my free time, so today we’re going to have to throw another product review in the mix. I got the Eve Lom cleanser just Tuesday but I already used it each evening since then, so I think it’s safe to say I have made up my mind about it.

I’ve heard about Eve Lom and their cleanser especially because many people received it in subscription boxes. This is a British brand cosmetics brand and their cleanser is one of their most popular products if not the most popular. They use mainly “clean” ingredients in their products and that’s probably one of the reason why they’re so popular.

Packaging:

The packaging is very simple in elegant, like in the case of any expensive skin care brand. The cleanser comes in a white jar with golden writing on it. It’s easy to use, you just take the amount you want with your fingers and apply it on the face.

Texture:

I didn’t like this cleansing balm ever since I was it. It looks like yellow – green vaseline and it has a strong herbal scent. I can’t say that I enjoy the experience of using it, because it reminds me of those handmade ointments that people used to make on their own to treat various illnesses, not a high end skin care product.

Ingredients:

PARAFFINUM LIQUIDUM, PEG-30 LANOLIN, CETEARYL ALCOHOL, BIS-DIGLYCERYL POLYACYLADIPATE-2, ALUMINUM STEARATE, THEOBROMA CACAO (COCOA) SEED BUTTER, PEG-75 LANOLIN, PHENOXYETHANOL, CHAMOMILLA RECUTITA (MATRICARIA) FLOWER OIL, EUCALYPTUS GLOBULUS LEAF OIL, EUGENIA CARYOPHYLLUS (CLOVE) LEAF OIL, HUMULUS LUPULUS (HOPS) CONE OIL, BHT, EUGENOL, LIMONENE.

The key ingredients are clove oil, eucalyptus oil, hops oil, Egyptian chamomile oil and cocoa butter, but the first ingredient on the list is paraffinum liquidum, which is the petroleum jelly that is also the main ingredient in vaseline. So that’s why I don’t like how it feels.

Price and accessibility:

Eve Lom is sold here at Sephora and it can also be found in several online stores. However, it is quite expensive. I have the travel size of this cleansing balm and even just 20 ml retail for 22 euros (I calculated 101.70 lei on the Lookfantastic website). That’s too much, in my opinion, but I don’t claim to be a skin care expert. Who knows, maybe the formula is something special.

My overall opinion:

I don’t have much experience with cleansing balms. The only other one I ever used was one from Rodial and I loved that one because it felt so nice on the skin and it also smelled good. The Eve Lom one feels like slapping on grease on the face (I’m sorry but that’s how it feels) and it takes a while to take it off. I didn’t do the whole warm cloth thing applied for 5 minutes like it says on the packaging because I really don’t have the time and patience in the evening to play around with warm cloths and stuff like that.

I don’t wear heavy makeup so I don’t know how good of a job it does to melt everything away, but just from the experience of using it, I will finish this little jar but I will certainly won’t purchase this on my own. It’s a product that I really dislike, especially considering the high price tag, so I wouldn’t feel good recommending it to anyone.

At least, the surprise I got in drawer number 12 of the advent calendar was much nicer.

Illamasqua Loaded Lip Polish in the shade Vogue (1.5 ml)

I know we don’t have many opportunities to wear lip products but I love Illamasqua and the shade is actually beautiful on me. I did a swatch but I tried to do one on my lips and it didn’t show up how it was supposed to in the picture. It’s a rosewood shade, that’s how I would call it, like a darker pink shade or something. It looks gorgeous and I’m happy to have it. It’s like a creamy liquid lipstick with a little bit of shine in it, so it doesn’t make the lips look chapped or dry.

The full size product contains 5 ml and it retails on the Lookfantastic website for 85.88 lei, so the mini size is worth 25.70 lei. It’s not a high value, but I still love the product, so I’m happy I got it. Plus, I prefer mini lip products because it takes me a lot of time to actually finish something.

And finally, let’s end the day with a cup of tea, the last one I will show on the blog because starting from tomorrow, the tea varieties just repeat themselves for the last 12 days of the advent calendar.

Nighty Night Cupper Tea

This is the second exclusive tea variety for the advent calendar and honestly I don’t know what I drank. I’m certain it’s another herbal infusion and considering the name it probably contains some relaxing plants, but I couldn’t tell you which ones. I liked it, but it’s not one of my favorites. My favorite tea is the first one I drank, Be Happy and a couple of fruit infusions.

That’s it from me for today, see you tomorrow with the lucky number 13!