SERUM WITH A VIEW TO A MIRACLE? (Boots No.7 Protect & Perfect Beauty Serum)

Member Name: Skyedame

Product:	Boots No.7 Protect & Perfect Beauty Serum
Date:	31/03/07 (14877 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Prepares skin very well for foundation

Disadvantages: None that I'm aware of

No. 7’s Protect & Perfect Beauty Serum was given an airing on television’s science programme Horizon this week, confirming that independent study showed it reduces wrinkles. As a direct result, overnight, this product has taken the UK by storm! Suddenly, Boots No. 7 are in possession (well, they will be when new stock comes in) of a new miracle cream to combat ageing skin.

Briefly, if you haven’t seen the papers or the programme, the Daily Mail reported that Manchester University’s dermatologist Professor Chris Griffiths and his team have carried out independent research into cosmetic anti-ageing products. Their study compared the effect of No.7 Protect & Perfect on collagen production with the performance of retinoic-acid or Tretinoin, a vitamin A derivative available on prescription to treat acne and severe sun damage of the skin. The experts were convinced that no over-the-counter anti-ageing creams could match the effectiveness of Tretinoin.

Dramatically, they were surprised by the results achieved with the Protect & Perfect serum. Professor Griffiths said: “At both basic science and clinical levels Boots No.7 Protect & Perfect has been shown scientifically to repair photo-aged skin and improve the fine wrinkles associated with photo-ageing”. His team was actually able to see the serum begin to repair damage to the skin’s structure and female volunteers who tested the product found definite improvements in wrinkle depth which in itself minimised the appearance of fine lines.

Never mind paying £300 for a tiny pot of ‘Yoof Dew’, you will be able to turn back the clock for the sum of £16. Or £65, if you join in the stampede on ebay and start bidding ridiculous amounts for trial size (5ml and 7ml) versions of this serum.

When I read about it selling for nearly 70 quid on ebay, I fell over the cat in my rush to unearth the trial-sized tube which I knew lurked in my ‘ebay box’. This is a box in which I put all those trial sized cosmetics I haven’t used, and haven’t yet got round to selling them.

Eureka! I found it!

Quandry. Hmm. Do I put it on ebay or try it for myself? Apparently, it takes 4 weeks for this serum to show visible results. If I started using it now, by the end of April I would either find it a pleasure to look in the mirror again or be kicking myself that I hadn’t made a fast buck whilst I had the chance.

What makes it so special?

For a start, it contains silicone, which will cause ‘skin-firming and complexion-brightening’.

Furthermore, it contains antioxidants – vitamin C, mulberry and ginseng which, according to the experts, will mop up free-radical chemicals in the body which damage cells. I’m not sure exactly how free-radical chemicals in the BODY can be mopped up by applying this serum to your face, but then I’m not a scientist.

It also contains ‘lipo-pentapeptide, created from amino acids grown in laboratories. Amino acids are essential to the functioning of every cell in the body’. Actually, the more I read about the ingredients, the more I’m convinced I should be eating it three times a day.

Boots claims the particular lipo-pentapeptide used in the serum ‘actively promotes the production of fibrillin in the cells between the outer layer of skin and the supporting layer beneath. Fibrillin is a protein associated with the creation of elastin and collagen – the skin’s equivalent of the springs found in a mattress’.

The last element of the serum is an extract from the white lupin flower. Apparently, this slows down the production of collagenase, which is created by sun damage to the skin.

Well, after reading that endorsement the battle was won. I closed the curtains, locked the door and hid my tube of miracle serum in my knicker pocket. Nobody was getting their hands on my little miracle!

Obviously, I can’t vouch for the claims that I shall be rejuvenated beyond my wildest dreams if I use this stuff religiously for the next four weeks, but what I can say is that it is very good to use. However, it isn’t that much different to my Elizabeth Arden Good Morning Serum which contains Vitamin A and botanicals and is a fabulous base for makeup.

The Protect & Perfect serum is lightly perfumed and glides, rather than smoothes on easily. My skin felt slightly energised after I’d applied the serum and I was convinced that this must be the magic (or fibrillin) at work. See, I’m a woman, easily seduced by hype, and I can talk myself into believing anything.

My skin did feel smooth afterwards, and makeup was very easy to apply. The same can be said of my Arden Morning Serum which is much the same price.

I shall continue to use the Protect & Perfect Serum to see if there really is any difference in my little wrinkles at the end of 4 weeks. Professor Griffith’s team was actually able to see the serum begin to repair damage to the skin’s structure on the volunteers in the study and I do hope I am not going to be an exception.

Available from Boots (although out of stock at present) for £16

www.boots.com

Summary: Pleasant to use, may help reduce wrinkles but only time will tell.