Review: Soap and Glory Make Yourself Youthful Serum and CC cream

 

Soap and Glory, I have seen the light. Despite the brand being so popular and well-loved, both by bloggers and ‘civilians’, historically I haven’t been very interested in the brand.

Although I'd tried a facewash or two, I just never fell for the line and although their new launches would draw my eyes, I wouldn’t go for them. I think it was the cutesy packaging and names. For some reason, it gave me the impression that their skincare wouldn’t be very good - not hard-hitting enough.

I like my skincare with science. Lots and lots of science. Complex, multi-syllable complexes with ten patents that you can’t pronounce. Shiny packaging. A serious outlook. So S&G’s whole tongue-in-cheek schtick has just never done it for me.

Until now. Recently, the line had a make-over, got a lot sleeker in packaging and seemed to be taking itself seriously. So I sat up and took notice. And the reviews I read online convinced me that the results would be there! I’ve been using a couple of products from the Make Yourself Youthful line recently (the packaging might be sleeker, but the pun-tastic names are still intact), and I’ve been getting really good results. Here’s the lowdown...

Soap and Glory Make Yourself Youthful Rejuvenating Facial Serum

 

As I battle the first signs of aging, a serum has become an indispensable part of my skincare regime. But I’ve never really found one to love. For a while, I repeat-bought Clinique’s Repairwear Laser Focus, but it didn’t blow me away. Then I moved onto Vichy Idealia Life, but although it made my skin look glowing and rested (and smelt of raspberries, always a bonus), it didn’t really tackle the fine lines that are my main concern. Looking for an alternative, I decided to give Make Yourself Youthful a try. And I’m really glad I did.

The product comes in a very smart and shiny chrome vacuum pump, which not only looks decent on your dressing table (a major consideration for a shallow mortal like me!) but is vital for preserving the stability of the active ingredients, as it keeps them away from the deteriorating effects of oxygen. This is much higher-end than the packaging I expected of them.

One pump gives you a white gel-textured blob of serum that will cover the whole face. This has that nice tangerine sort of scent that a lot of S&G products do. The first thing is how gorgeous and soft this makes your skin feel – any tightness or dryness instantly melts away. Its very hydrating and sinks in swiftly, so you can get on with popping your make-up on without any greasy residue. It feels very fresh and light on and gives a radiant glow that is noticeable. 

 

And for science lovers like me, here’s the lowdown: this stuff is jam-packed with pentapeptides – which any dermatologist worth their salt will tell you are the best anti-agers currently on the market. There’s a wrinkle ‘depth-reducing complex’ which I have to say I’ve seen working with my own eyes, a circulation-stimulating oxygen complex and ingredients to retain moisture.

But the best part is the cumulative effect of this on my skin’s texture and my fine lines. In under a month of use, its done way more to combat them that the other, pricier serums I had been using. Nothing short of Botox will ever eradicate my deep forehead lines completely, but I feel that this serum has made them much less noticeable and shallower, which I’m very happy about. If the benefit keeps increasing over time I’ll soon be flawless.

Since I’ve been using this I’ve had complements on my skin for the first time ever, and considering the price, that makes this product an absolutely top buy. At just £16 its outperformed stuff that’s more than double the price, and that’s pretty impressive. Considering S&G is pretty much always on 3 for 2 as well, it usually works out to be a massive bargain for the quality. The reviews of this on the Boots website are overwhelmingly positive and I can totally see why. If you haven’t tried this, I doubt you’d be disappointed with the quality.

Soap and Glory Make Yourself Youthful CC Superfluid

I didn’t know if the Serum would be moisturising enough to use on its own (answer -  it is unless you have very dry skin), so I purchased this CC Cream at the same time to use alongside it.

I love BB Creams and use them as a moisturiser/primer most days, but the new wave of CC (colour correcting) creams isn’t something I’ve delved into yet. This markets itself as a ‘super-lightweight, multi-action’ cream. Among the goodies lurking in there are:

• Hyperbright to help illuminate, lighten blemishes and even out skin tone
• Vitamin C for antioxidant protection
• Glycerin to keep skin soft and supple
• An energising complex featuring Ginseng
• SPF 15 to ward off those rays

And a ‘light scrambling, superblur micromesh’ (try saying that after a few glasses of wine!) that blurs fine lines and wrinkles.

That’s an impressive list, to rival the likes of my usual buy. The product comes in another chrome pump bottle -  I like the fact it matches the packaging for the serum in a slightly smaller bottle. Again, its very smart. You have to shake it up before use, and when it comes out its extremely runny and liquid. Normally, this texture tends to put me off, but since totally revising my opinion on the very runny Urban Decay Naked Skin foundation (see my glowing review of it here), I’ve been okay with that.

I absolutely love the finish this gives – first up, it really does help with my forehead lines which are my number one skin concern. It’s a very yellow fluid, so I don’t know how that would sit with cool-toned ladies, but it works well with my skin tone. Its quite a light coverage, so I would tend to layer foundation on top most of the time, but having said that, this makes my skin look so well rested I’d be happy to go without on a casual day. You can layer it up quite easily as well.

 

It goes on very smoothly and gives a lovely glow – when paired with the serum its really given my skin a boost. I think this combination has made my skin look amazing, and at only £14.00 for the CC cream, the quality you get is really good.

I can’t believe I haven’t tried Soap and Glory skincare before, I’m so in love with these. I’ve been using their Peaches and Clean face wash for a while now as well and I’m planning to pick up a few more items such as a night cream and a high factor SPF cream when my current one is used up, so before long pretty much all my skincare will be from the brand.

Affordable, results-driven, new sleek packaging and lots of added science – what’s not to love?