Holy Grail: YSL Touche Éclat

To this day, one Yves Saint Laurent’s Touche Éclat it is sold every ten seconds somewhere in the world – not bad for a product nobody understands. I assures you it is not only an under-eye concealer, yet you can hardly be the only one who’s used it as such for years – and very successfully too, I like to think.

Yves Saint Laurent’s most iconic product, and a true Holy Grail under make-up artists, is without a doubt the Touche Éclat which has won many, many awards in the twenty years since it launched. The YSL Touche Éclat contains tiny light particles and mineral extracts to create an healthy, natural glow, light and luminosity with the click of the pen.

Touche Éclat is also not strictly a highlighter; it’s a ‘complexion enhancer that delicately places invisible ribbons of light’. YSL describe their iconic Touche Éclat as being eight hours of sleep in a magic wand, as it promises to banish shadows and tired-looking eyes by adding light, and creating instant lift. The Touche Éclat is packaged within a golden, metal pen with a black button on the base which you click to dispense the concealer through the white bristles of the brush applicator. When you use it for the first time: don’t click to quickly many times. Give it a little time to come out into the brush: so click slowly…. otherwise much will come out, and that would be a pitty…

There are ten different shades available. There are many ways in which the Yves Saint Laurent Touche Éclat can be used; under the eyes to cover dark circles, along the brow bones as a highlighter, blended over the eyelids to even out the skintone, as an eyeshadow primer, on the cheekbones as an highlighter, or used on the cupids bow of the lips for a plumping effect.

Face of YSL Beauty since 2013, Cara Delevingne has appeared in multiple campaigns for the brand. Her three latest advertisements for the brand focus on the Volupte Tine-In-Oil lip line, Mascara Volume Effect Luxurious Mascara range as well as the Touche Eclat concealer where she poses alongside Cindy Bruna.

Touche Éclat N° 1 Rose Lumière is particularly effective under the eyes due to its ‘pink ivory’ tone as it helps to cancel out any darkness under the eyes and give a more illuminated effect to disguise any signs of tiredness. It has a lovely, vèry lightweight formula which blends into the skin easily without clinging to any dryness or looking cakey.

I thought I’d list a few wonderful and correct uses for the much-loved clicky pen.

1. Mattify your makeup: To turn a satin eye shadow into a matte one, mix a little powder shadow (you’ll need an ultra-fine textured one, so you’re safest with a fancy brand like YSL, Guerlain, Clarins or Dior) with a dollop of Touche Éclat on the back of your hand, and apply with a brush.
2. Contour your face: Blended onto on the bridge of the nose, between the brows, on the tops of cheekbones and on the tip of the chin, it will sharpen your features. No matter your skin color!
3. Make your skin pop with brightness: Dabbed onto darker areas of your face (undereyes, corners of your mouth, the hollow between your bottom lip and chin, and the corners of your nose), it will make you look brighter and less tired.(it does work to blur minor under eye circles, but is not good on pronounced ones).
4. Make your eyeshadow last longer: Touche Éclat can be used as an eyeshadow primer: simply apply all over the lids to anchor any eye shadow. It can be a lip base as well.
5. Light up tired eyes: Applied in the inner eye corners, this stuff will really brighten tired eyes and enhance their Whites.
6. Arch your eyebrows: A quick trick for more defined brows is to blend a line of Touche Éclat below and above them.
7. Highlight your cheekbones: The pen comes in seven shades (above); if you’re pale-skinned, no5 can be used to contour the cheeks, while no6 works as a warm cream bronzer (this could come in handy if a well-meaning boyfriend gives you the entirely wrong shade).
8. Enhance your pout: Create the illusion of fuller lips by applying and blending Touche Éclat around the lip line and in two inverted triangles below the outer corners of the lower lip, before putting on lipstick. Then dab a tiny bit over your lip colour in the middle of your bottom lip, and soften.
9. Show off your nail art: You can even dab Touche Éclat around your cuticle to make your manicure pop. Probably best to make sure you have well-hydrated hands and cuticles before you try this

The Touche Éclat ‘Rock Lace’ comes in the original shade, N° 1 Rose Lumière. The perfect balance of allure and elegance, Collector Rock Lace is a must-have for up-close and bold seduction. The ultimate accessory for eyes, available in a limited edition.

I like that it’s such a versatile product. Jolanda, a colleague, who worked for Yves Saint Laurent Beauty in the time it was launched, introduced it to me, and sinds then I use it standard in my work. I tried some others, but in my opinion, nothing compares to the results it gives.

Touche Éclat is so widely used that I don’t really need to spread the word about it. Of course there are cheaper highlighters. Sleek does a nice highlighting palate for next to nothing, but the packaging and ease of this product make it stand out… and all the celebrities they use to advertise it doesn’t hurt its popularity either.

You may ask any respected make-up artist, they all would admit: it’s a Holy Grail!