Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Pen Light

I guess you could say YSL Touche Éclat is the only luxe beauty product I own. I believe it sells for $55 at Myer and David Jones, but I bought mine from Chemist Warehouse for $30. This "complexion highlighter" barely needs an introduction. It's a cult beauty product touted as "the secret of makeup artist and models", said to work miracles to inject life and light back to tired, dull-looking skin. The cylindrical pen feels sleek and luxurious, a shiny gold bullet inscribed with the elegant YSL logo. Removing the cap, you click the nub at the base to disperse product onto the brush. What I usually do is wipe the product off the brush onto my clean hand and then use my fingers to apply and blend. I have shade #2 (Luminous Ivory). It's significantly lighter than my natural skin tone, but looking at swatches of the other available shades, I think I made the right choice (that, and there weren't that many to choose from at Chemist Warehouse anyway).






l-r: natural skin, same area after applying Touche Éclat


When I first bought this, I was on the fence about it. I tried it mostly around where I have uneven pigmentation on my face (namely the sides of my nose and around my mouth), and I did notice that it brightened up those areas significantly, almost to an unnatural extent. A little goes a long way. Three clicks is sufficient to get quite a bit of product, and you only need a small amount, blended out, for a noticeable effect. However, I found the formula to be slightly on the dry side. It wasn't as emollient and creamy as I expected, though I didn't experience any major issues with blending or having it settle into fine lines.

Recently, I had the random urge to revisit my Touche Éclat, this time to see how it fared as an under eye concealer. As the second last photo shows, it somewhat helped to conceal the darkness under my eyes, but mostly what it did was lighten my overall complexion. I tried to take the side by side photos more or less at the same time with the same lighting and same camera settings, and I was surprised at just how much whiter and lighter my skin looked with the Touche Éclat. It doesn't specifically conceal dark circles, but rather just lightens the face in a powerful way. Even though #2 is much lighter than my skin tone, a thin layer carefully blended helps to perfect my skin by brightening the darker areas of my face, evening out the complexion and counteracting dullness. Having said that, this isn’t a product I reach for on a regular basis. It’s something I’d use on special occasions if I wanted a really flawless, highlighted face, or as a concealer for more laidback days when I still want a bit of coverage but not a full face of foundation.

37 comments:

  1. I saw this at Chemist Warehouse as well, but I wasn't sure if I wanted to grab it or not (also because I was with my bf and he would kill me if I bought anymore make-up! haha). I think I may have to give it a go now after reading this!

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  2. I have the CLARINS version of this pen and I love it! It was offered to me because otherwise I'd have the YSL checked out first, but I believe it's the same thing... I have to go compare both someday x)

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  3. It's good to have things you keep for special occasions, especially at that price.
    I love a good brightening product though, I find it really can do wonders for your complexion.

    Laura xoxo

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  4. Such a hyped-up product! I've never felt like I needed it. But glad to see that it delivers! x

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  5. Thanks for the review, it's always intrigued me... My go-to concealer is Maybelline's new age rewind one. I think it works quite well! :D

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  6. Thankyou for the review, I've always heard so much about this but I've never seen swatches before. ^^

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  7. I'm on my third one now, I've tried other concealers in between but somehow end up back at this one. Which is a bit bizarre because I don't really rate it to cover my dark eyes. My next one is Bourjois Healthy Mix :) x

    bluebutterfly80.blogspot.co.uk

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  8. Woah you bought the YSL highligher for really cheap! Damn..I tried it out for a bit and was really in love with it! Thanks for sharing your review, it was an interesting read :)

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  9. THank you for the honest review! I tried the dior version of this and I loved it to the last drop! I wonder how similar the Touch Eclat is to that one.

    xxo
    Courtney from Strawberree Swing

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  10. I was lucky enough to be given this by YSL but I haven't cracked it open yet, I've heard mixed reviews and am in general just so lazy when it comes to concealing of any description. The brightening effect looks great on you though, so I think I might see how I go :)

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  11. great review- I really want one of these because as you said, it is such a hyped up product! but I am turned off by the price tag.

    I am a new follower, love your blog!

    CHECK OUT MY CoverFX GIVEAWAY!

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  12. You photography very well. This looks more like a brightener to me than a concealer, like you said; id use it for special occasions too. :)

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  13. I've been wanting to try this one for such a long time. As I'm a fan of YSL make up. They never fail to impress me.
    Did you know that YSL is going to launch the touche eclat foundation this summer? (around July-August).I can barely wait! xD

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  14. WOW $55! I love reading your reviews because it gives me insight into probably a lot of products I couldn't buy without knowing that it would be worth it!

    Evani

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  15. I see scandalous on your nails! hahaha ;) Anyways, love your review - I had that urge a while back to splurge on this but instead I got the Bobbi Brown corrector just cause I wanted full coverage and it was a $20-30 difference. This looks great but like you said, it's something that you'd use here and there for special occasions, so I'm glad I got the other one instead for everyday use :P

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    1. I LOVE that you spotted the polish ;) Makes me happy haha. I heard terrific things about Bobbi Brown, it would definitely be a better investment if you're after more coverage :)

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  16. Love the honest review. You'd expect for that price range that the formula would be creamier - but it does look like it does a lovely job at brightening.

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  17. this product looks so luxe, great review

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  18. I quite like the Touche Eclat, but like you said I just use it on days where I just want a bit of extra highlight where I need it. I have a bit of a soft spot for this product because I was proposed to in March with the Touch Eclat and a ring at the bottom of the box ;-)

    It's here if you're interested: http://www.cosmeticproof.com/2012/04/review-ysl-touche-eclat-and-surprise.html

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  19. Great review! I bought this years ago, in shade 1, but didn't really like it. Like you said, it doesn't really conceal, just brightens. So that's why I wasn't too thrilled with it, as I was hoping to use it as a concealer. I think I might give this another try in the future though :)

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  20. thanks for the helpful review! i've never invested in the product, but it seems like a great highlighter. xoxo jess
    www.stylizedluxe.blogspot.com

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  21. I've been using the Maybelline Dream Lumi Touch concealer which has been compared to the YSL touche eclat. I find it works well enough for something that's 1/5th the price of the YSL so I don't think I'll bother with spending my money on something so expensive!

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  22. Great review! I've always been curious about this product but have never gotten around to purchasing it. I'm just not quite sure what to use it for- a concealer or highlighter? One of my all time favorite concealers, Clinique's Airbrush Concealer I think might be modeled after the YSL pen. It also comes in a click up pen & is slightly light reflective, but it has more coverage & works great under the eyes :)

    xx Louise
    A Little Beauty Luxury

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  23. nice review, i think it really works for you, I've never tried it though. thank you for the comment too :)

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  24. Wow, looks like it does a great job! I might have to check this out :) Thanks for sharing.

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  25. stunning photos as always, and looks like a great product, but i am biased and love ysl. what kind of camera and lens do you shoot with, by the way?

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    1. Thanks Rae :) I don't have many YSL products (in fact, pretty sure it's just this Touche Eclat), but I'd love to have one of their lipsticks :p I take my pictures with a Nikon D40. I'm not sure about the lens, it's just the default lens that came with it. I bought it several years ago and it's not discontinued, it's a very entry-level DSLR but I love it anyway :)

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    3. wow i am really impressed with the quality of the pictures even on an entry-level camera. :) although the person behind the camera is just as important when it comes to taking nice photos xx

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  26. Great review! I remember trying out the Touche Eclat a while back, but wasn't too impressed with the product on my skin. It merely worked as a highlighter for me versus a concealer that I was hoping it would be!

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  27. Wow, you can definitely see the difference between the before and after shots. It looks to be a great highlighter! :-)

    ~ Yun

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  28. ahhh yesss ysl is DEFINITELY luxe...i recently treated myself to a ysl lip balm color and it's soooo amazing but it cost me $30 as well. T_T but anyway -- thanks for the review! this highlighter looks great! (as expected by ysl!) it's awesome that it does it's job well (too well, haha). i'll definitely look into this product when my wallet permits me to splurge on another ysl product!

    alex @ carouselstreet.com

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  29. thank you for your ysl's concealer review! I think I have to buy that one ;)
    anw, nice blog you have dear!

    xoxo,
    Missing Bee

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  30. yeah, it's so expensive here in SA and I've read the same amount of on-the-fence reviews as those that love it :/

    http://completedisbelief.co.za

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  31. I saw this a while ago in the Chemist Warehouse catalogue too and was pondering on whether to get it. I find that most concealers cover up my dark circles but look too cakey and settle in my wrinkles. Sometimes, I just need something to apply under the eyes to brighten at the same time even out the skintone which the Touch Eclat seems to do. Not sure how the formula would work with my dry under eyes though :(

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  32. I've always been curious about this product but I went ahead and got the byterry version of it and for the price, I'm really not impressed.. It says it's a full coverage concealer but it's really not..Does good job at brightening just like the Touche Eclat I presume.. But I'm glad I tried it at least..

    Great review.. Very helpful.. Thanks!

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  33. Wow there is quite a difference in that picture! I have heard a lot about this product.. not sure I can justify the price though but it sure is pretty :)

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