It’s no secret that I am a fan of The Body Shop so I tend to keep an eye on their website and always tempted to browse around their stores whenever I spot one. When the cold air of the winter crept in this year, for the first time in a number of years, my skin’s needs also changed with the weather. Suddenly I experienced drier, rougher skin even though I was exfoliating regularly and applying a good moisturiser on a daily basis. Now, this of course is not uncommon and it is widely known that the cold, harsh winter weather can cause havoc with your skin. Icy, cold spells and central heating leave many of us with skin that feels dry, tight and uncomfortable so after talking to some people about it, a fellow blogger suggested instead of changing my entire skin care routine, I should investigate a good moisturising serum to provide extra moisture instead of replacing any of my current products.
Winter weather can cause havoc with your skin.
After spending time doing some research online and in various beauty departments of some major retailers, I decided during one of my random ‘pop-ins’ to a Body Shop store early December to pick up their Vitamin E Moisture Serum and put it through its paces in the Lab. This is what I found:
First Impressions
The serum is part of their Vitamin E skin care range and comes in a tube-like container which is first of all, easy to handle and a brilliant size for travelling as it won’t take up much space in your luggage. The serum comes in one size only, 30ml, and has got a rather pink label slapped on it with the details of its ingredients and how to use it. So far so good.
The Test
I started using it the very next day after I purchased it. I had my usual shower and used a pore unclogging exfoliator to get rid of any dead skin cells. By exfoliating regularly you will remove dead, dry skin cells and reveal healthy skin underneath it and will promote the effectiveness of products you apply afterwards. After I washed my face and used my usual toner my skin felt dry and tight so was really looking forward to applying my new serum. As per instructions, I used a small amount (two pumps) and applied it liberally all over my face. The very first thing that puts your senses into overdrive is the extremely sweet smell of roses which was a bit overpowering for my liking however the fragrance very quickly subsided after I applied it. Upon application I could really feel how my skin was soaking in the moisture so I was rather impressed with how much better my skin felt and this was before even applying moisturiser! The key ingredient in the serum is Shea butter sourced from Ghana and widely well-known for its fantastic moisturising qualities but the thing is, a serum is not a moisturiser, so my skin still felt slightly dry and tight. Naturally the next step was to complete the process and apply my usual moisturiser which strangely enough felt a lot better as well. Unfortunately after a short spell of intense moisture heaven, my skin started feeling dry again and it went back to the normal tight, dry feeling with a bit of blotchy redness. My heavenly moisture extravaganza was over.
The serum contains Shea butter, made from nuts from African shea trees in Ghana.
Yay or Nay?
Sadly I will probably not buy this serum again. The label promises “intensive, continuous hydration and protection” however I did not experience this. I continued to use the serum for another 14 days, just to make sure, but it did not provide my ‘suddenly-needy’ skin what it wanted and I was forced to top up my moisturiser as the day went on. Needless to say I had to get an alternative solution for my wintery skin but more about that in another post.
It’s important to remember that we all have different skin types and care needs. Just because this serum did not work for me does not mean it won’t work for you. As a man it is important that you ‘listen’ to what your skin wants and provide the right solutions to ensure you have good, healthy skin. If you are keen on some extra TLC for your skin this winter and you want to try this serum, I highly recommend you visit a Body Shop store and ask for a sample first to try at home.
Give your skin wat it needs!
The Vitamin E Moisture Serum is available from The Body Shop stores nationwide or online and retails at £11.00 for 30 ml.
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