I’ve written before about how I have been at war with my skin for years now.  Honestly, anyone who laughs, shouldn’t.  How you feel about your outsides can really affect your insides, and vice versa.  When my skin looks bad, I feel bad.  When I stress out, my skin responds in a most inflammatory way.  It is endless.

BUT, there may be hope for me yet.  In addition to a new prescription, which is slowly but surely doin’ werk, I splurged on what is one of the most holiest of skincare grails: Eve Lom Cleanser.  This stuff is expensive guys, I’m not going to lie.  It’s not quite on La Mer’s level, but the smallest jar goes for $55, so it is a lot on a college budget, even if your parents are crazy generous like mine.  But I have tried everything, and desperate am I, so money I spend.  Do I sound like Yoda yet?

Now, I am not crazy enough to buy a tub of this stuff without test-driving it first.  Luckily, I am friendly with the girl at the Space NK counter in my Bloomingdale’s, and she hooks me up with great samples.  Thanks to her, my hair has been treated to Oribe and my skin to Dr. Lancer’s The Method: Polish exfoliator.  I am a lucky girl indeed.  My biggest issue with skincare samples, however, is that usually it takes at least a few weeks to see results, but a sample size never lasts more than two days.  How are you supposed to know if something works?!  Luckily, Eve Lom actually takes this into consideration.  A sample from her is a medium packet of the cleanser with a mini of the muslin cloth that comes with it.  I was assured that the packet would last me at least three uses, and that I’d see results immediately.  Many brands claim fast-acting products, but I figured that since Vogue calls it ‘probably the best cleanser in the world,’ this one might hold water.  Let the skin battle begin…

Step 1: Massage onto dry skin over the day’s makeup.  I actually use a makeup wipe first, just because it feels wonderful to see the day’s grime come off your face.  The cleanser has kind of the consistency of Aquaphor or Vaseline, so it feels really good being massaged onto the skin.  It smells like what I imagine aromatic oils of ancient Egypt were like, which is probably because it has Eucalyptus, flower oils, and other natural wonders.  Even my thickest, toughest mascara ends up in big black circles around my eyes.  Nothing can withstand Eve Lom!  So far, impressive, therapeutic and fun.

Step 2: Soak the muslin cloth that comes with the cleanser in hot water, wring out, and lay the hot cloth over your face for about five seconds.  Repeat at least three times.  This opens the pores to let the cleanser in and the nasty stuff out.  My mom taught me how to steam my face with a washcloth years ago, and it is always very refreshing.  The muslin cloth is even better, not as heavy, and magical on top of the cleanser.  Maybe it is a placebo effect, but I can feel myself getting cleaner with every second under the hot cloth. 

Step 3: Can I just say that it is really hard to dry my hands off to take these pics between steps?  I do it for you guys.  Anyway.  Rinse the cloth to make sure any makeup washes off of it, then begin cleaning your face by rubbing the muslin in small circular motions.   Finish with a splash of cold water to close the pores.  Unless you used an absurdly large amount of cleanser (and trust me, you only need a little), this final step should be fairly quick and simple. 

Final Result: Clean, glowing skin, and blemishes shrinking.  For all you ladies (and gents) who think you can get the job done with only a makeup wipe, try the Eve Lom sample size.  The amount of stuff wipes don’t manage to get is horrifying.

So that’s almost all for now!  My clean face and I are feeling pretty good.  Also, in preparation for a post about fall skincare and beauty, I just bought SO much stuff at Peach and Lily, the number 1 online destination for all things Korean beauty.  Use this link to get $10 off your first order!

Live beautifully and have a great weekend!  

XX, Gabrielle