True story. I have a friend I meet every week for a coffee: we call it our weekly therapy. We download seven days of gripes, peppered with laughs, tears, what we’re watching on telly, and any particularly notable recipes or dishes we’ve eaten that week. Lucky me, right? Obviously, on top of that we discuss clothes, beauty, skincare, and other pressing matters.
A few weeks ago, she decided she was due a spring reset and asked my advice on which products I could recommend. I remembered I had recently received an email from the PR for ESK Evidence Skincare with an invitation to test their latest launch, Enlighten Gold: “the gold standard of pigmentation serums”. The email included such incredible before-and-after images that I had gladly accepted, determined to see for myself if this product was, as suggested, an actual miracle worker.
The formula contains three active ingredients which combine to target excess melanin production (4-n-butylresorcinol), support cell turnover and improve clarity (gluconolactone) and strengthen the skin’s barrier while improving uneven tone (our old friend, niacinamide). A heady cocktail indeed, but gentle enough to use every day, with the only caveat being that SPF is essential – not least because results are best realised when it is used in tandem with ESK ‘s Ultimate A Gold retinal-based night serum (£83), which I was also sent.
Hold up, I said, don’t buy anything, I have something for you at home, and I’ll bring it next week.
Two weeks later we met again for coffee. I looked at her, and then I looked again. She looked great. It took me a couple of minutes but then I remembered that she’d been my guinea pig for the past fortnight. Had a miracle been wrought? Come on, we’re intelligent women, hyperbole is not for us. Did she look like she’d had been getting at least eight hours sleep a night? Yes. Was the light bouncing from her skin? Indeed it was. And, critically, was the overall look of her face more even and smooth? Again, affirmative. A gold standard, indeed.
Enlighten Gold, £77 eskcare.com
