Why this ‘miracle’ anti ageing serum may actually live up to the hype

SITTING in front of my dressing table mirror, I tilt my head this way and that in an attempt to catch the best l i ght to inspect the crows’ feet etched around my eyes. Like most middle-aged women, I usually prefer looking at my wrinkles in a softer, more flattering light, but I’ve been testing a new, top-secret product and want to be sure the results I’m seeing really are true.

Because, within just a few hours of applying it, it seems my fine lines are already not as pronounced, definitely softer and less visible.

As a beauty editor, it’s my job to test products that range in price from a few pounds to a few hundred pounds.

This product’s impressive results suggest it’s up with the big boys — the luxury brands such as Crème de la Mer or Chanel, both of which cost well over £200 for a pot.

In fact, at £24.95, it costs just a fraction of the price. It is, of course, No 7’s new Protect & Perfect Advanced Serum, which launches today. According to Boots, it’s the result of ‘the most rigorous and complex product development ever undertaken’ — and the most successful.

The company tested it on more than 2,600 volunteers and, after four weeks, 85 per cent of users said their fine lines were reduced and their skin looked younger.

In great secrecy, I was one of the few beauty writers given access to the serum before its launch. There was such terror of details leaking out that my tube wasn’t posted to me. I had to go to Boots’ PR offices to collect it in person.

There, I also had to sign a non-disclosure agreement that meant I was legally bound not to tell a soul what I was testing. I took it so seriously I didn’t even confide in my mother!

Seven years ago, the original No7 Protect & Perfect Serum sold out amid frenzied scenes never before witnessed over a face cream. It all happened in the spring of 2007 when a BBC2 Horizon programme set out to see if, behind all the hype and marketing, any commercial anti-ageing products actually worked.

In independent tests carried out for the show, scientists discovered that Protect & Perfect performed as well as creams available only on prescription from doctors. They were amazed because they had previously been convinced that no cosmetic concoction could be as effective.

It has now passed into beauty legend how desperate shoppers queued outside stores at 7am to get their hands on one of the precious glass bottles.

While the retail cost was £16.75, the serum was being bought on eBay for £65 by women desperate for some of its apparently-miraculous results. Not surprising when you learn the waiting list at Boots was said to be 50,000-strong.

Protect & Perfect revolutionised the skincare market in the UK. Suddenly serums, which had only been available to the wealthy, became accessible to all.

Women wrote to me and revealed how previously they’d only ever used soap and water, but were now converts to applying serums — which are intended to provide an anti-ageing boost to skin on top of the work of a moisturiser — to their faces.

AND in the past seven years, Protect & Perfect has built up a loyal fan base. No surprise it’s been the best- selling serum at Boots since its launch. The range has been extended to include day and night creams, as well as an eye cream. It’s also been a huge sales success in the US.

I have to confess, the original formulation wasn’t my favourite product; I found it very drying on my skin.

However, I thought the new Protect & Perfect Advanced Intense — I tested the one for over-35s for more than a month — was much more moisturising and felt silky smooth.

While it usually takes four weeks for results to be seen with anti-ageing products, within hours I could see changes. Like other testers of the new serum have reported, I too noticed a difference in the depth of my lines and overall smoothness.

This new super-serum has been in development for five years, so what exactly is new?

Well, for one it’s in a tube. According to dr Mike Bell, one of the scientists who worked on the serum, this is so women can get out every last drop, something that wasn’t always possible with the old pump-action glass bottle.

Most noticeably the formulation has been turbo-charged. The success of the original was down to a blend of peptides — a type of protein which is absorbed by the skin, where it works to restore collagen and reduce the appearance of wrinkles.

According to Boots, it was this blend, which they call Matrixyl 3000, which scientists identified as the ingredient that made the serum work so well as an anti-ageing product.

There was also white lupin extract, which reduces the breakdown of collagen by enzymes.

Finally, there was an antioxidant complex that was used in a number of Boots products — a combination of mulberry, vitamin C and ginseng, which has been shown to protect the skin from UV damage .

The new formula still relies on Matrixyl 3000, except it has now been boosted by the addition of a new highly-concentrated peptide called acetyl-dipeptide, which Boots say causes it to be even more effective.

Matrixyl is a common, inexpensive anti-ageing ingredient that’s used in face creams at all price points. It’s the high concentration in the new Protect & Perfect that’s believed to make it so effective, as the new formula has a total concentration of peptides more than 30 times greater than the original.

Protect & Perfect Advanced, which costs £23.95 and is designed for women between 25 and 35, also contains salicylic acid that, according to Boots, helps improve the complexion by encouraging the shedding of old skin cells to reveal fresher skin and enable the formula to penetrate better.

Then there’s Protect & Perfect Advanced Intense, £ 24.95 and intended for the over-35s, which contains hyaluronic acid for firming and moisturising. Both versions again contain Vitamin C, and extracts of ginseng and mulberry.

While the original Protect & Perfect cost £16.75 for 40ml, this new supercharged version is nearly £10 more for 10ml less. However, given the very high concentrations of active ingredients, I think it is worth the extra money.

And it’s still a snip compared to the competition. Yves Saint Laurent’s Forever Serum, which is said to be highly effective, is £80, while La Prairie’s serum is £164 and Chanel’s a staggering £270.

How do Boots stay so cheap? Some think it’s down to economies of scale. They keep the costs down because they produce millions of units.

Additionally, the advertising campaign is f ocused on the experiences of eight ‘real’ women aged 30 to 41 using the serum.

For four weeks these women applied it but were barred from looking in the mirror. It’s their astounded reactions on seeing themselves again that Boots are hoping will sell the new formula. There are no expensive models or celebrities to pay.

Expecting huge interest — there’s already a waiting list of 2,500 — Boots say they are prepared with more stocks than ever. They don’t plan on being caught out as they were in 2007. Still, I wouldn’t rely on those stocks being around for long.