I have never been much of an eye cream user. I get terribly excited about all kinds of newness, and then end up not sticking to the routine of actually applying the thing every day. My tired eye contours are probably paying the price for this neglect, yet in my thus far life I think I’ve only ever fully finished one tube of eye cream, and they do pack small, so there we are. This possibly says more about how fickle I am about products than about my commitment to my wrinkles, but anyway.

Traveling places has the advantage of getting one’s hands on things normally not available at home (though this is also becoming a useless argument because of the internet). However, even in the age of the good old webs, there’s still at least one label that will not ship, and that’s the American hyper-cool millennial brand Glossier. 

I’m not in their target group because I’m old, but they have good products that work also on a more mature skin. Their cleanser is very good, and I am close to finishing ​Stretch Concealer, their other bestseller. The latest addition to Glossier skincare line is Bubblewrap, an eye/lip contour cream. 

The following is not scientific advise or much based on forensic evidence either, as I have only using the cream for a week now. I am sure no miracles can be performed in such a short time, and indeed I have no such experiences to report. Bubblewrap is a very pleasant product to use – it’s both a lip balm and eye cream, but I have only used it to calm down the skin around my eyes – I prefer a more substantial lip balm.

It comes in a sizeable 22ml aluminium tube with a pump, has a very pleasant, almost unrecognisable scent and is non-irritating. This is especially helpful with my emerging bouts of rosacea. I have taken to a habit of adding Bubblewrap also in the afternoon (miraculously there’s the one hour every day when the insane craving for salt/sweet strikes, and as if my magic, one’s makeup starts peeling and kind of falling off at the same time). So it’s a nice epidermal afternoon pick-me-up, too. 

Bubblewrap gives nice plump and I use it in the evenings as well as under and over makeup during the day. While the main moisture-giving ingredient hyaluronic acid does not make it to the top 10 ingredients, the cream does disperse comfortable, long-lasting hydration.

In conclusion there’s nothing offensive about this product. As the Glossier -range overall, also Bubblewrap is decently priced at €27. Given its size of 22ml, it is very good value for money.

I had the possibility to visit the ​Glossier flagship in SoHo, and it was quite an experience. It was a bit like a subtler, more millennial version of the Met Camp: Notes on Fashion exhibition. Customers are invited to try out everything – there’s a specific bathroom area with huge mirrors, makeup remover, cotton wool, buds, sponges and applicators so that you can try out a proper ​lewk using their products. The place basically does not look like a shop, as there are no shelves for the products, the testers are laid out as in one’s bathroom. Pink overalls-clad staff circulate with iPads to take your order, which you then pay there and then (no cash accepted). Then one proceeds to checkout, where a small chain-lift brings down your order, already packed and labelled in a pink bag by Glossier –fairies in the back-room, and handed out by another staff member wearing a pink overall. 

I salute the Glossier-founder Emily Weiss who’s the brains behind this innovative label that keeps going from strength to strength. We have Weiss to thank for the beauty world’s top shelf and ​shelfie –craze – she came up with the idea when she started her blog ​Into the Gloss in her New York apartment years ago.

The New York and Los Angeles flagships are the only physical Glossier -stores, as the idea behind the brand is to keep it purely online. ​Glossier is expanding to Europe slowly, and currently ship in the UK, Ireland and France (with plans for Sweden and Denmark), but I know of many a creative person who’s come up with solutions to get their paws on Glossier –merch (P.O. Box -addresses and various postal arrangements, not forgetting the good old-fashioned exploitation of friends and relatives who live abroad in the right countries). The old saying about when there’s a will there’s a way…