Do we like to hear about fab luxury products at Beaut.ie? Check! Do we love to get a real life review of such products? Double check! So here's Principessa's tale of how she discovered the wonders of the Temple Spa range.
"Sometimes the greatest discoveries happen by chance. Every time I visit London I go with a shopping list the length of my arm, half of which I could never afford, let alone be allowed to carry home on a low-budget flight. But hope springs eternal.
"On this particular visit I was determined to pick up some Eve Lom Cleanser. En route to the airport I decided to pay a quick visit to Harrods Beauty Rooms. Now if you've ever attempted a "quick" visit to Harrods you'll know it's a contradiction in terms. I frantically dashed from counter to counter screeching, "where's Eve Lom?" to ever dumber shop assistants. Why is it that beauty counter staff always view your enquiry about a competitor to be on a par with asking to eat their first born?
"I finally happened upon a male assistant who calmly explained exactly how to find Eve Lom and then asked me had I tried Temple Spa. He explained that their cleanser was similar to EL's but it contained no mineral oils. He was wasting his time, all I could hear was "blah, blah, blah". Since he had been so polite and helpful I took his brochure, stuffed it in my bag and thought no more of it. By the time we got two rooms further along and still no sign of Eve Lom, an ever-patient partner reminded me we had less than two hours to make our way to the airport, so I reluctantly departed for my flight home. It was on the flight that I flicked through the Temple Spa brochure. Boy was I sorry I didn't pay more attention to the nice man! This stuff was gorgeous: not only did I not get my Eve Lom, but I'd passed up the opportunity to get my hands on a range of divine preparations and treatments aimed at busy people, the overstressed and those that discern the very best. That's me! "
"Kicking myself, I resolved to think no more of Temple Spa, other than to add them to my ever-growing London wish list, until I spied their web address on the brochure. Worth a look I thought; Joy of Joys, not only did they sell on-line, delivery was free once you spent £35. So order I did. In The Beginning is the Eve Lom solid oil style cleanser, which comes with the ubiquitous muslin cloth. Some samples of other goodies brought me up to the magic £35 mark. It arrived in days with a couple of chocolates nestling in the tissue paper, all the better to add to the pleasant experience."
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Principessa ordered the In the Beginning Deep Cleansing Melt (£25 for 60ml). She fell head over heels in love with it.
"It's gorgeous, like a lot of other solid oil cleansers it has that slightly medicinal smell; it contains no added perfume so, good for sensitive types like me. The beads they mention are naturally occurring wax beads; on days when you feel like a little extra exfoliation you can apply it as it comes, on days when your skin might be needing a little extra TLC you can melt the balm in your hands and then apply to your face. They give you two cloths with each jar, although they are small. Another thing I love about Temple Spa is that they supply spatulas with all of their products, so no dirty fingers in the pot! Price wise gram for gram it's probably the same as Eve Lom, but it's in a smaller jar, so you don't have to shell out as much up front, it makes it seem slightly cheaper. Given that my 60 ml jar is only now nearing the end having been opened at Christmas, I wouldn't really fancy a larger jar hanging around my steamy bathroom.
"The test of a good product is whether you go back for more: well yes I have."
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Principessa has reviewed other sumptious Temple Spa products for us too, so we'll be hearing more. Visit the Temple Spa site but before you order Principessa adds "I checked out the site and it looks as if their free postage minimum order has gone up to £60 and they are quoting a different price now for European delivery. Worth checking before you order to see if they still do a free delivery to Rep of Ireland. Otherwise you just might have to visit Harrods!"
