Shelley Carter revisits The Body Shop after 25 years and finds it’s all grown up. And so is she…

I last shopped in The Body Shop in 1990 when slathering on body butter in various ‘flavours’ and drenching yourself in fruity dewberry spray was de rigueur. So when the ethical brand invited me to take up their 28 day challenge I was slightly surprised, but it seems The Body Shop has grown up and sadly, so have I. Officially mature – in body at least, I’m the prime target for the brand’s new Drops of Youth range which has its roots firmly based in nature.

SCIENCE BIT

Having been a sucker for beauty marketing guff many times in the past I tend to switch off. As long as the ingredients sound fairly natural and ethical I’m not too concerned with how my moisturiser is made just whether it works or not. So in a minute nutshell here’s the science bit. Based on three potent stem cells from three resilient plants thriving in some of the harshest environments on the planet – Edelweiss, Sea Holly and Criste Marine, the constantly regenerating plant stem cells have been worked into a range of products that claim to have the same renewing effect on the skin. That’s the idea.

YOUTH OF TODAY

In the interest of integrity, I think it’s important to point out that I have been given the products, but it won’t affect what I write. The package of goodies I’m armed with includes Youth Essence Lotion, a Youth Concentrate, Youth Cream, Youth Eye Concentrate and Youth Bouncy Sleeping Mask.

DAY ONE

It’s day one and other than my cleanser – Indeed Laboratories facial powdered exfoliator and Simple toner, I’ve swapped the rest of my skincare routine for Drops of Youth. This morning took a bit longer as my sleepy brain got to grips with which order to use the products in. I also spent a while rolling the metal ball of the eye concentrate around each peeper. It’s cold and refreshing and woke me up a treat. Puffy eyes along with open pores are my issues, so I’m hoping this cool little ball might banish the bags.

The evening routine is simpler – cleanse and tone as usual and apply a small dollop of Youth Bouncy Sleep Mask and leave on overnight. Easy enough.

Apart from the fact that the products smell delicious, the serum is thicker than I’m used to and my skin feels good, there’s not much to report so far. I reckon five days in will be a good marker, so I’ll report back then. I’m saving the scary before shot to team with a more palatable after shot…hopefully.

Follow me on Twitter for progress in the meantime @shelleyrc1 and @brum_living