Yves Saint Laurent Touche Eclat (Radiant Touch)

As beauty products go, this ones been done to death. It’s more talked about and hyped than the entire Lush shop put together. But what is this magical wonder product and why the hype?
Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you Yves Saint Laurent Touché Éclat…(Sounds posh doesn’t it? Believe me, it is!!)

I have been hearing about Touché Éclat (that’s Radiant Touch to the likes of you and me, although you can see why YSL stick with the Touché Éclat label worldwide – Radiant Touch sounds like cheap and nasty hair colorant) for many years now (it was launched in 1992) It’s a celebrity favourite, but I was never sure exactly what it was. It appeared to be some sort of concealer. What it actually is is a fluid highlighter that contains light reflecting pigments, to disguise dark circles and give the face…well a radiant touch. But does it do exactly what it says on the tin?

With a complexion in desperate need of some luminosity and radiance (or failing that a facelift!!) I thought I’d give it a go.

The first (and main) problem with this product is the price. Radiance doesn’t come cheap (unless you are going to do it the painful way and drink gallons of water and gets lots of fresh air every day, but that’s not for me, I’m a quick fix kinda girl!!)
One little tube of this stuff will set you back anything from £15 - £25, expect to pay about £20 for 2.5ml (a little goes a long way, if that makes you feel a bit better.)
So armed with the philosophy that millions of woman can’t be wrong (and trying to put from my mind that by finding George Clooney attractive millions of women have been known to be wrong on occasion) I parted with my pennies.

It certainly looks the part. It comes in a long slender gold tube and just feels classy. It actually makes you feel good before you even apply it and it certainly makes you feel smug touching your face up with it in the ladies on a night out.
It has a click button on the end, which you press to release the liquid, which you then apply using the little built in brush applicator.

I chose shade one (it comes in 3 shades, shade one is the most popular.) The fluid itself is alarmingly pink – like some sort of radioactive foundation. I couldn’t imagine for a moment it was going to do anything apart from make me look like I’d applied lipstick under my eyes.

The idea of this product is not as a cover for blemishes, the consistency is far too thin – if applied to blemishes it does tend to just draw attention to then (it’s a highlighter – the clues in the name!!) It is designed to disguise dark circles and shadows (at can’t do anything about bags under the eyes – it’s a cosmetic product not a miracle worker)

I initially applied it to just one eye and was spectacularly disappointed with the results. It seemed no different to the effect I get from my regular concealer.
Despondent I wandered off to make a coffee (because caffeine is great for making a dull complexion look all shiny and glowing don’t ya know!) and I encountered my boyfriend who was quite alarmed and wanted to know what I’d done to my eye! Except he was pointing at the wrong one!! So much for a magic wand, it seemed I looked better without it.
Until I realised he thought I’d banged my eye and given myself a black eye!! Hooray! This stuff must be good – even blokes notice!

Feeling somewhat better after this minor victory I completed my application – under both eyes, along my cheekbones and in the creases along my nose and mouth. (In the instruction leaflet YSL also advise you can apply a little to your lips to give a more even finish (like polyfilla for lips) but I tried it and found it felt really uncomfortable and left my lips feeling very dry and unpleasant.)

I still didn’t think it looked any different, and personally I still don’t but other people’s reaction has been enough to convince me that it works. When I wear it people tell me I’m looking well/shiny (in a good way, not fight with a chip pan shiny), healthy (sadly though, no-one has ever said “You look like Catherine Zeta Jones today”) When I don’t wear it people say I look tired/ill/like the Bride of a Swamp monster. Once applied it stays on pretty well and I rarely touch it up during the day (only if someone say “You are looking tired Swamp Monster!”)

Speaks for itself really, thumbs up all round from me. I would certainly buy it again and recommend it. (It loses one star for the price which it can't be denied is a tad on the expensive side, unless you happen to be Catherine Zeta Jones!!)

NB – Whilst researching this op I happened upon the YSL web site, which is the most pointless but flashy site I have EVER seen. Well worth having a look at if you ever really do have too much time on your hands or you are looking for ideas about how to make a flashy and pointless site!!