It’s a rare thing, isn’t it, for a brand to completely rename a skin care collection? But, that’s what The Body Shop have done – Edelweiss is an improved version of Drops Of Youth with a couple of new additions too. I have always avoided Drops Of Youth – I didn’t like the name one bit and as it turns out, nor did The Body Shop’s global brand development director, Laura Keane (of course there’s a woman behind this!), who felt a strong stance was needed in an industry that can play havoc with the confidence of older women. As an activist brand, The Body Shop is used to going against the norm but what’s important here is that it’s a global brand – this change is messaging across the world that beauty is many things and your inner resilience is as important as your skin’s resilience. Both need nurturing.
I’ve said countless times that beauty isn’t something you can lose. Your beauty changes as you do, but it’s never gone. It’s not always an easy journey – I sometimes wonder if the beauty narrative we grew up with had been more positive, less reductive, and youthful looks not so revered and prized, whether we’d feel entirely different about ourselves in mid-life and beyond.
You don’t have to be a big brand to be a voice for change – use your words wisely around girls and young women in your life, don’t criticise your face or skin, don’t look in the mirror and sigh, use positive language about your features, take pleasure in your creams and serums as products that nurture your skin and soul rather than turn back time or prevent lines. It’s important that boys don’t turn into men that evaluate beauty on youthful grounds so those wise words have a lot to do – and they can.
The new products, as mentioned, are improved versions of the original – a Drops of Youth best-seller was the Concentrate, now the Edelweiss Daily Serum Concentrate (£30) with two additional products, Edelweiss Cleansing Concentrate (£12) and Edelweiss Intense Smoothing Cream (£28). They’ve all got exceptional antioxidant properties for improved barrier function which are boosted with natural origin peptides (taken from rice). The main antioxidant ingredient to note is Leontopodic acid – 60% stronger than ferulic acid and taken from organically farmed Edelweiss. Skin that is well protected from aggressors is naturally more glowy and radiant which is beautiful at every age, as is suppleness from hydration. It’s news to me that Edelweiss extract has 43% more antioxidant power than retinol but that’s a punchy stat right there that skin can only benefit from.
You’ll also find under the Edelweiss umbrella Eye Serum Concentrate (£22), Serum Concentrate Sheet Mask (£6), Bouncy Jelly Mist (£18), Liquid Peel (£18), Bouncy Sleeping Mask (£28), and Bouncy Eye Mask (£22). Choose Intense Smoothing Cream if your skin veers to dry (I’ve used this and it’s gorgeous) over Daily Serum Concentrate (£30) and you will soon see it flourish. It’s a bold step that has read the room correctly in understanding that women don’t want their beauty measured by how young they look. You can find the new Edelweiss range HERE.
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