The Body Shop’s edelweiss collection is here and we’re singing its praises

Fans of Drops of Youth, this one’s for you

It’s an old range re-imagined to make a statement, and we love it (The Independent)

The Body Shop has long been a high street stalwart, bringing beauty buys at bargain prices while never scrimping on quality, always looking after its people and doing its bit to help the planet.

B-Corp certified, the brand holds itself in high regard in everything that it does, regularly putting up political protests such as its current #votesat16 campaign, working to reduce the voting age in the UK and around the world to put young people at the forefront of change.

But don’t go thinking this change-making charisma doesn’t trickle down to the products themselves. Taking a stand against the beauty industry’s issue with ageing, the bestselling Drops of Youth collection – which we already gave a rave review – has been rebranded to Edelweiss, bringing with it a new formula, new products and all of our favourites from before.

While you may now be singing the Sound of Music lyrics (us too) the products aren’t all too different from their musical counterpart – small and white on the inside, and promising clean and bright skin on the outside.

For centuries the flower has been used in folk medicine, and coming straight from The Alps (responsibly sourced, of course) to our bathroom cabinets, we reviewed the eye serum, liquid peel, daily serum and more. Keep reading below to see what we thought.

How we tested

With a cleanser, eye serum, liquid peel, face serum, face mask and smoothing cream, the new range has everything you need (and more) for a complete skincare range. Swapping our regular routine for the new Edelweiss range, our tester put the products through their paces to see just how well they worked on combination skin.

The Body Shop edelweiss cleansing concentrate: £12, Thebodyshop.com

(The Body Shop)

One of the two new products in the range, this cleanser is suitable for all skin types and is made with 95 per cent ingredients of natural origin. Slickly tacky, it doesn’t dry the skin but slightly foams up on initial application meaning you can easily spot any missed patches when rinsing it off which our tester loved, along with the fact that it was nearly fragrance-free.

While edelweiss is of course the standout star, it has been enriched with leontopodic acid, a strong antioxidant found in the flower, which helps to strengthen the skin’s barrier and reduce signs of sensitivity. At £12 it’s sure to last you a good six weeks if used twice a day, which really isn’t too bad when broken down.

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The Body Shop edelweiss daily serum concentrate: £30, Thebodyshop.com

(The Body Shop)

An updated version of the fan-favourite Drops of Youth daily serum concentrate, this serum has been enriched again with leontopodic acid, meaning it now has 43 per cent more antioxidant power than retinol, according to The Body Shop. In a deep green glass bottle with a handy pipette, it’s incredibly easy to use, and the serum instantly absorbs into the skin within seconds leaving just a slightly tacky finish that goes after a few seconds.

Again, there isn’t a strong scent which is ideal for those with fussy noses and our tester loved how it seemed to quench thirsty skin on even the most stressful of days. We haven’t quite tested it for long enough to see the glow yet, but if our love for the old formula is met – which we’re sure it will be – then we’re sure to be radiant in no time.

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The Body Shop edelweiss eye concentrate: £22, Thebodyshop.com

(The Body Shop)

In a handy pipette and glass jar casing similar to the daily serum concentrate, this eye gel makes a nice change from the classic rollerballs we often see – after all, on tired, sore-eyed mornings it’s not always enjoyable to push those balls across your eyes.

Light, non-greasy and translucent, it instantly absorbed into the skin and gave our tester a feeling of immediate tightness and cooling that wasn’t in any way uncomfortable. The same benefits of edelweiss and leontopodic acid are carried through as with the other products while olive oil, oat extract and rice protein are just a handful of ingredients helping to improve skin elasticity and hydration.

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The Body Shop edelweiss intense smoothing day cream: £28, Thebodyshop.com

(The Body Shop)

The second of the two new products in the range, this intense smoothing day cream has gained a lot of attention from Drops of Youth lovers. Working to tackle pollution, something we could all do with in the current world, shea butter, sunflower seed oil and tapioca starch nourish the skin, reduce excess oil and fight inflammation and irritation.

Best for dry skin, our combination-skinned tester only needed a tiny half-pea-sized amount to secure bouncy, silky-soft skin in the morning. Unless you have incredibly thirsty skin or quite like the added sheen, we’d reccommend keeping this to evening use only.

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The Body Shop edelweiss liquid peel: £18, Thebodyshop.com

(The Body Shop)

Only to be used once or twice a week, a liquid peel is one of the best things to use to get your glow back once we step into cooler climes. Without any of the harsh abrasiveness of physical exfoliants, chemical peels are an often gentler alternative that requires less effort with often better results. This one works instantly with dull grey clumps (how appetising) immediately visible on the skin after just a short while of massaging in.

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The verdict: The Body Shop Edelweiss collection

Drops of Youth was a fan favourite for a reason, and the updated version is sure to be the same. With science-backed formulas and high-quality ingredients stemming from the edelweiss flower (if you pardon the pun), the range focuses on affordable products that work.

Our tester loved the simplicity of the design, the weightless feel of the formulas and the near scentless smell. Although we have just started our journey swapping our skincare to this select set, some results have already been shown. We’ve seen a reduction in fine lines around the eyes with the eye serum and the immediate visible results of the dead skin cells that are whisked away with the liquid peel. And we’re sure these results will only improve with time.

We love the notion to destigmatise ageing in the beauty industry and wish other brands would follow suit. So, to The Body Shop, we take our hats off to you for this bold move.

Still on a quest for brighter skin this autumn? Take a look at our guide to the best vitamin C serums