I never thought I’d be writing this in a million years but over the last 2 years, The Body Shop seems to be undergoing some kind of renaissance, hitting it out the park with almost every-single launch. Their skin care is becoming unrecognisable – in a very good way. For a historical introduction to some of this skin care, check out my rave review of their Vitamin C Glow Boosting Moisturiser and Glow Enhancer from last Summer.

Drops of Youth Serum

The Body Shop’s premier anti-ageing line started to be phased-out around 10 years ago with Wise-Woman, a collection designed by Anita Roddick herself. Not too long after, Nutriganics reared up; an anti-ageing range with around 95%+ organic ingredients but unfortunately the core products were/are very rich, which seemed daft as ageing skin can be oily, normal and/or dry!

Then the Nutriganics Drops of Youth Serum was launched about 4 years ago and was/is amazing. Designed for all skin types featuring red algae, aloe and regenerating plant stem cells. You can read my original review here from 2012.

The serum has continued to be an amazing seller for the brand and has been the jumping off point for the newly expanded collection, Nutriganics Drops of Youth. The Body Shop Drops of Youth Serum is available here from £25.

Drops of Youth / Youth Cream Moisturiser

Designed for a younger, 20-something skin, this is a daytime powerhouse product. With a rich feel formulated in a gel-formulation (so none-greasy), it sinks into the skin without leaving residue whilst immediately restoring the water in the skin.

Before I start, there is fragrance in this but it’s almost undetectable, and for someone that reacts to fragrance more often than not, this is absolutely fine.

Youth Cream Ingredients

After water, there’s dimethicone. I’ve mentioned this countless times but dimethocone is used not only to give a silky feel, but acts as a delivery agent, allowing ingredients to penetrate further into the skin than they otherwise would.

There’s Salicylic Acid in there, my favourite chemical exfoliant that will help to loosen and prevent the build up of dead skin cells throughout the day to brighten and clarify the skin’s surface. Caffeine acts as an anti-inflammatory to calm the skin’s surface along with Eryngium Maritimum Extract and Edelweiss which also work to help skin cell regeneration. Sea Fennel stem-cell extract has been found to aid the skin’s collagen regeneration properties. Finally Babassu Oil gives a non-greasy shot of oil-balancing moisture.

In Conclusion

I love it and despite the fact there is alcohol in there, my skin responds to Youth Cream very, very well. The texture is gorgeous and although there is dimethicone as mentioned, it doesn’t have that kind of horrible, makeup-y feeling (you may or may not know this feeling but I can’t think of any other way to describe it). I found my skin didn’t need more hydration by the middle of the day, nor was I a total oil slick. For normal-combination skin, this is a definite thumbs up!

The Body Shop Drops of Youth, Youth Cream is available here for £20.

Ingredients Listing

Aqua, Dimethicone, Glycerin, Alcohol Denat., Nylon-66, Hydrogenated Polyisobutene, Ammonium Acryloyldimethyltaurate/VP Copolymer, Phenoxyethanol, Caprylyl Glycol, Cetyl Alcohol, Salicylic Acid, Caffeine, Tocopherol, Glyceryl Stearate, PEG-100 Stearate, Sodium Hydroxide, Parfum, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Disodium EDTA, Adenosine, t-Butyl Alcohol, Linalool, Eryngium Maritimum Extract, Leontopodium Alpinum Callus Culture Extract, Citronellol, Crithmum Maritimum Callus Culture Filtrate, Orbignya Oleifera Seed Oil, Myristyl Alcohol, Stearyl Alcohol, Limonene, Citric Acid, Xanthan Gum.

Drops of Youth / Youth Essence Lotion

Maybe it’s because I’ve been having a glass of Freixenet whilst writing this (it was my Birthday yesterday) but I feel like shouting from the window both how good this product is and how it’s going to be a key to the saviour of the brand (IMHO). Following the principle of La Mer The Treatment Lotion (never thought I’d be comparing these two brands) it is the all important secret 4th step that’s been making its way over from Asia – L’Occitane Divine Lotion is another good example.

How to Apply Youth Essence Lotion

To be applied after cleansing and toning (I don’t tone; it’s pointless, but if you like the feeling of it, do it) then apply a small amount of this and work it into the skin (avoiding the eye area). It hydrates and prepares the skin for moisture, pulling anything applied afterwards (such as the Drops of Youth Serum) deeper down into the skin.

In Conclusion

The texture is gorgeous and really cool, turning from a gel to water as you massage in. There’s Aloe Leaf Juice, Cinnamon Bark extract (fragrant and brightening), Sanguisorba officinalis (clarifies), brightening ginger as well as the three plant stem cell extracts found in the Youth Cream.

The Body Shop Drops of Youth, Youth Essence Lotion is available here for just £14.

Ingredients Listing

Aqua/Water (Solvent), Propanediol (Viscosity Controlling Agent), Alcohol Denat. (Solvent), Phenoxyethanol (Preservative), Betaine (Hair Conditioning Agent), Polyacrylate Crosspolymer-6 (Emulsion Stabilizer), Polysorbate 20 (Emulsifying Agent), Butylene Glycol (Humectant), Caprylhydroxamic Acid (Chelating Agent), Methylpropanediol (Solvent), Parfum/Fragrance (Fragrance Ingredient), Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice Powder (Skin Conditioning Agent – Humectant), Disodium EDTA (Chelating Agent), Linalool (Fragrance Ingredient), Sodium Hyaluronate (Humectant), Citronellol (Fragrance Ingredient), Crithmum Maritimum Callus Culture Filtrate (Skin Protectant), Eryngium Maritimum Extract (Natural Extract), Sodium Hydroxide (pH Adjuster), Glycerin (Humectant), Cinnamomum Cassia Bark Extract (Fragrance Ingredient), Poterium Officinale Extract/Poterium Officinale Root Extract (Skin Conditioning Agent), Zingiber Officinale Root Extract/Zingiber Officinale (Ginger) Root Extract (Natural Additive), Limonene (Fragrance Ingredient), Leontopodium Alpinum Meristem Cell Culture (Skin Conditioning Agent), Citric Acid (pH Adjuster), Xanthan Gum (Viscosity Controlling Agent).