This One Step Can Transform Your Face, Says Eve Lom

If you want to know about cleansing, just ask British facialist Eve Lom. She built an entire brand based on the idea that in order to receive the full benefits of your skincare products you have to get the first step right. “Would you apply polish on a dirty parquet floor?” Lom asks. She has a point.

This theory would become a catalyst for her namesake skincare line which she launched with a single product: this cleansing balm. There are of course other standouts in her collection, but none with a following quite like this cleanser. Why? It’s transformative. And four decades on from its debut, the hype is still as real as ever. (Just about every beauty editor in existence would agree.)

Here, Lom tells The MECCA Memo all about the product that started a cleansing revolution and exactly how to unlock its full potential.

“The universe has been good to me and attributed me with a lot of wonderful qualities. However, one was omitted: patience! This is how it all started. When I was taking beauty therapy classes in London, I grew impatient fiddling around with too many products to wash the face! There were cleansing milks, cleansing toners, face washes, cleansing pads and so on.

“Touching my clients’ faces after using these cleansers and makeup removers, their skin felt like dried-out prunes; tense, tight, like dehydrated leather. Having spent many years with my late husband [actor Herbert Lom] on film sets around the world, I constantly heard women and men talking about scouring their faces to remove the thick layers of makeup, powders and oils.

“You see, the skin is the largest organ in the body, blessed with the most sensitive nerve endings. You need to treat and handle it with respect and consideration.

So, I created a miracle cleansing balm.”

“The Cleanser is different because of the sublime combination of the oils, the scent, and the use of the special woven cloth. The formula immediately transforms with the warmth of the skin from a balm into a comfortable oil texture. It’s immediately soothing to the skin and – with the help of the signature essential oils – it creates a soothing atmosphere. It makes love to the skin!

“It's been such a worldwide success for the last 40 years because it’s a skin treatment on its own, not just a cleanser. Vogue called it ‘probably the best cleanser in the world’ and the customer keeps coming back because it really works.”

“After a full day’s events, you may find yourself feeling tight, rigid, stiff, narrow, shut, strained – all you can think of is to crawl to bed. Really? Or would you rather ease away the obstacles from the day by endorsing a fresh state of being – unbuckled, mellow, floppy, breezy, dilly-dally? Here is how to start yawning:

1. Open the lid and take in the Cleanser’s aroma.
2. Take a smidgen of the balm with your three middle fingers.
3. Spread onto your entire face and neck.
4. Close your eyes. Breathe in and out through the nose six times. Feel your muscles relaxing.
5. Massage the whole face in circular motions, with light pressure.
6. Warm the muslin cloth with hot water and hold over the entire face and neck. Repeat three times.
7. Scrub away the dead cells and other debris.
8. Rinse off any leftover balm and dry the skin.
9. Apply your serums and moisturisers.
10. Take a bow, you have just created your new self!”

“It depends on the state and the type of the skin. I recommend sometimes to do a thorough nightly cleanse, as mentioned before, and go to bed with ‘naked’ skin. It allows you to capture the real nature of your skin. If, after your nightly rest, your skin feels a little tight, use a serum, oil or moisturiser.

“The skin under the eyes and the front of the neck needs some TLC as these areas have open pores and no sebum. If you have breakout-prone skin the answer is cleanse, cleanse, cleanse, cleanse and use Dynaspot.”