No7 Early Defence Skincare Range

I've had the new No 7 Early Defence range since the launch a couple of months ago but couldn't use them straight away as I was trialling something else at the time so for the last month now I've been using the Day Cream, Night Cream and Eye Cream and I can officially say that I am loving them. 

I will admit, I wasn't expecting much for the very fact that this is aimed at younger women- I am 31 years old and was fearful I was on the wrong side of 30 for these to work. I copped myself on though and realised that I actually have very good skin- I don't smoke and I've always looked after it well with a good skincare routine so I said I may as well give it a go. 

That plus on further inspection of the press release did I realise that it's aimed at 20-35 year olds! I can still tick that box! Hurrah!

Early Defence was developed with younger women in mind. 

No 7 did their research and found that these women (including me, yay!) put their health and wellbeing at the forefront of their beauty agendas- in other words, we're concerned about our physical and mental wellbeing and so spend more time on fitness, eating well, getting more sleep and focusing on relaxing our minds with yoga, knitting and mindfulness. What this age group aren't overly concerned with is ageing, so the scientist types at No 7 have come up with a stepping stone to transition from your everyday skincare to proactively delaying the signs of ageing. 

To do this they're using something called 'double defence technology'. This is basically a combination of prevention of sun/environmental damage and an antioxidant that keeps your skin looking younger for longer. 

To break that down a bit further, you've got:

Ginseng and Mulberry- rich in polyphenols which are effective against superoxides produced in skin when exposed to sunlight or pollution.

Vitamin C- effective against ultraviolet light and atmospheric electrical discharges.

Lipochroman and Vitamin E- effective against singlet oxygen, an incredibly damaging free radical produced by UVA exposure.

Rice peptides & Alfalfa- enzyme inhibitors of age accelerating enzymes in the skin. These enzymes become hyperactive as you age and break down healthy skin components, like collagen. Hence why you need something to inhibit those dudes!

OK, that was a lot of science talk and for sure, you probably skipped most of that or did a bit of eye glazing- I understand. All you really need to know is this stuff has other stuff in it to help prevent the damage that is unfortunately associated with ageing. 

The Early Defence Day Cream is a super light moisturiser with 5* UVA protection and an SPF 15. Because the formula is so light you don't need a whole lot of down time before putting this on and applying your foundation and because it's not greasy, it means it's a great base for your make up. I understood from the launch of this product that they're trying to make skincare more convenient for busy women and I think they've most definitely achieved that here. This is €24.95.

The Early Defence Night Cream is more hydrating as it's a night cream but somehow is still a very light formula and doesn't take that long to absorb. Designed to give your skin a boost and help recover while you sleep, it's a rather lovely moisturiser that smells pleasantly floral. This is also €24.95. 

Lastly is the Early Defence Eye Cream. This again is very light. Possibly the lightest eye cream I've ever used and what I really love about it is the complete lack of stickiness. You know what I'm talking about; way too many eye creams/gels leave an unpleasant sticky residue that seems to take forever to sink in. Not with this- similar to the day cream, it's a great base and is ready for make up straight away. This is enriched with Vitamin C to help puffiness and dark circles and is priced at €17.50. 

All three are currently available in Boots stores nationwide and online. 

If you're wondering whether or not you should be starting to use anti-ageing skincare then I can definitely recommend this range- it's  not as full on as a lot of similar products on the market which makes it better suited for younger women and it still does all the things you expect from a moisturiser- provide sun protection, keep your skin soft and hydrated and compliment your foundation. Definitely worth using your No 7 vouchers on, eh?!

Do you use anti-ageing skincare? What do you think of Early Defence? 

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