Eve Lom Cleanser review and alternatives

In my work I very often come across clients using this "cult cleanser". I decided to try it for myself and see what the fuss was about. 

 

Eve Lom Claims:

With a powerful blend of Egyptian chamomile, hops, clove and eucalyptus oil, together with cocoa butter the Eve Lom Cleanser cleanses, tones, exfoliates all in one. Even the most stubborn make-up and eye make-up will be removed.
The specially woven muslin cloth (100% cotton) is used with the Cleanser to improve skin circulation while cleansing and exfoliating the skin in minutes.
The result is clean, perfectly balanced skin and a radiant complexion.
Suitable for all skin types.

My thoughts:

Price

Firstly, the price is shocking! I bought a 50ml size for £30 at Space NK. I only decided to get it because I had some gift vouchers. I would NEVER spend so much on a cleanser, product that you apply just to wash it off a minute later, so your money is literally going straight down the drain.

Smell

It has a very characteristic scent, mostly of clove essential oil. It reminds me of a dental surgery smell, not a nice association, when you're trying to unwind after a stressful day.

Texture and how to use

Rich and creamy with slightly grainy texture, that melts on contact with the skin. The product comes with a muslin cloth that is great at removing the cleanser from the skin and providing light exfoliation. It felt lovely on the face, but I had to use damp cotton pads around eye area, as it felt a bit to scratchy. According to Eve Lom instructions you should soak the cloth in hot (!) water and press onto face and neck (repeat three times), than soak the cloth in cool water and press again. This process is supposed to boost blood circulation. My advice is to just use warm water, rather than hot/cool to avoid causing unnecessary redness. As for boosting circulation - just make sure that you take your time massaging the product into the skin.

Packaging

The cleanser comes in  simple white plastic pot, not very luxurious, considering the price.

Ingredients

I was hoping that the ingredients would be the ones to justify the price tag, so I was very disappointed that it mostly consists of very cheap, basic ingredients: mineral oil, cetearyl alcohol and lanolin. That's not to say that they are bad for you. Contrary to popular belief, mineral oil and lanolin are the two of the most effective moisturising ingredients available. They are only problematic if you have oily skin, with lanolin being know to cause comedones. And sadly, it doesn't get any better after that. Apart from soothing antioxidant chamomile, it contains irritating clove and eucalyptus oils and a mixture of preservatives. The last two ingredients, although in small amounts, are the two most worrying. Eugenol has been shown to cause cell death and for that reason is being researched as a treatment for skin cancer (The Journal of Biological Chemistry 2005 Feb 18;280(7):5812-9. Epub 2004 Dec 1.).

  

Although it does a great job at removing even waterprooof make up, there's just to many negatives to recommend this cleanser to anyone.

There are two products that I tried in the past, that are quite similar in terms of texture, performance and use.

Luxurios option:

ESPA Nourishing Cleansing Balm 

Being a luxurios dupe, this is still very expensive for a cleanser (£45 for 60grams, £14.50 for 13grams). I found the packaging, texture and smell far more superior than the Eve Lom Cleanser. It's not without it's negatives, containing irritatins, like Citral, Citronellol and Geraniol.

  

Second, budget dupe:

                   POND'S Cold Cream Cleanser
Cold Cream Cleanser has been a classic beauty essential for over 100 years. It's a bargin at £4.49 for 50ml. Just as effective at removing waterproof make up as the more expensive products. It doesn't come with muslin cloth, so you would need to buy it seperately or use a face towel to remove it. Similarly to the product above it contains some irritating essential oils.