No7 Prime Forever: 2 buys we really rate from the new blockbuster range at Boots

After breaking the internet (in old-world speak, hogging the headlines) with age-defying ranges for boomers and Gen X featuring retinoids (Protect and Perfect) and peptides (Future Renew), No7 now has 30-somethings in its sights. Prime Forever is the newest blockbuster range in Boots (on the first day of launch, they tell us, one Prime Forever product sold every three seconds) aimed at ‘skin preservation’ – or what used to be called ‘addressing the first signs of ageing’.

And from what we can see, you don’t have to be in the late-millennial demographic to benefit, as the range has two major ingredients that we should all be using at any age – a really good SPF and potent antioxidants.

The name Prime Forever may be rather contrived (we thought it was skincare for the over-70s), but it references the fact that the hero product is a primer, something you can wear every day for life to keep your skin in its youthful prime (see what they did there?). It’s not just any primer, of course, it’s a broad-spectrum SPF50 Primer, £24.95 with a new and clinically validated antioxidant blend.

There’s no arguing with this well-known power combo. Broad-spectrum UVA/UVB protection is our most powerful weapon against the destruction (and therefore accelerated ageing) of skin cells of any colour, and a wide spectrum of antioxidants comes in as a close second. It’s something dermatologists and beauty editors like myself (alongside every 50-something former sun worshipper who knows what’ll happen if you don’t) have been advocating since the dawn of time as the one skincare step even young skin should be committed to.

The ‘best supporting’ hero of the range is the No7 Prime Forever Serum, £37.95, which has concentrated levels of antioxidants. The wider the range of powerful antioxidants, the more environmental stresses – pollution, stress, alcohol, blue light, ozone – will be neutralised before they can do serious damage in the shape of brown spots and wrinkles, which lie in wait under the skin for years before rearing their heads in your 40s.

To top it all off, No7 have also thrown in the damage-reversing peptides made famous by the Future Renew range.

The launch discounts

As ever, No7 is launching the new range with chunky incentives to drive sales: a three-for-two offer or a ‘NO7SAVE10’ £10 off code . Aside from the two heroes ( SPF50 Primer, £24.95 and Serum, £37.95), there are three further products in the range, for those who like to snap up whole skincare systems: a Weightless Moisturiser, £37.95, a Gel-Oil-Milk Cleanser, £19.15 and some nifty Reusable Silicone Eye Patches, £17.95, designed presumably for use with the moisturiser, as the serum is not suitable for the eye area.

Why would you buy Prime Forever as a 30-something?

Having asked over 22,000 people what they wanted in skincare, No7 found that skin health-conscious early-thirtysomethings felt there was a lack of products created just for them – and Prime Forever is their answer. The range is built on two fundamental skincare truths that anyone who wants their skin looking as youthful as possible for as long as possible should hold to: protection and prevention (or ‘skin preservation’, as the brand will have it) are key. And you need to practice them from an early age.

What’s different about Prime Forever?

The range is, to an extent, reinventing the wheel – there are plenty of antioxidant-rich daily SPFs out there, many of them ideal for younger skins. But Prime Forever has a few noteworthy unique selling points, not least of which is the abundant clinical proof.

• Potent antioxidants proven to work IRL

In collaboration with the University of Liverpool, No7 tested 500 antioxidant blends for potency. The winning complex, featuring vitamins C and E, camellia, myrtle leaf and more, is clinically shown (in vivo, so in living skin) to reduce oxidative stress (ie ageing activity) in 30 minutes, and by a factor of seven over 24 hours, while also boosting skin’s ability to make its own antioxidants.

• 5-star UVA protection

The sun protection in the hero product, No7 Prime Forever SPF50 Primer, is five star UVA rated, which means it features the highest possible protection against UVA rays (the ageing ones, as opposed to UVB, the burning ones). The rating means it stops more than 90% of UVA rays; in the case of this primer, it’s actually a whopping 97%. It’s something a surprising number of daily SPFs do not have, making do instead with four stars (blocking up to 89% of UVA) or three (up to 79%). The Primer has the backing of consultant dermatologist Dr Emma Wedgeworth, who says it’s a “real achievement, effectively addressing the persistent clinical demand for cosmetically elegant yet highly efficacious photoprotection.”

• Powerful peptides

The range boasts the same peptide found in the age-busting Future Renew franchise. Clinically proven, it tackles the damage to collagen and elasticity-giving fibrillin springs that starts in our 20s, and actively helps repair it. Added rice peptides work alongside to neutralise collagen-gobbling enzymes.

• Healthier gene expression

As a whole, the formula ‘influences the expression of hundreds of genes,’ says Dr Ellie Bradley, No7’s scientific credentialing manager, allowing skin to be kept in a healthier, more youthful state.

• Tested on 1400 women

The range as a whole was tested on 1400 women (66 per cent of which with skin of colour) across 22 different studies with, among others, the Universities of Manchester and Liverpool – that’s quite a lot of dedication to science.

Swatching No 7 Prime Forever Serum and SPF50 Primer

What would we buy?

As always, No7 is dropping a whole franchise where they could arguably have launched just one hero product comprising all the newness and goodness. That one product is the scent-free SPF50 Primer, £24.95, which is the only one that features the much-praised SPF alongside the antioxidant and peptide complexes.

We found it hydrated all day without heaviness, its silky, white-cast-free texture not feeling too tacky. It doubles as a primer and instant radiance-giver, and makes wearing sun protection every day – and preserving your skin every day  – a pleasure and, hopefully, a lifetime habit.

That said, the evidence around the antioxidant complex was based on tests done with the No7 Prime Forever Serum, £37.95, which presumably has higher levels of it – although the blend is definitely found in the Primer as well. Fresh-feeling and freshly scented, the serum is the ‘luxury’ option in the range, and comes in two sizes (30 or 50ml).

What would we buy? The Serum and particularly the Primer make total sense for skin from your late twenties onwards – this type of consistent, preventative care is the secret to good skin for life. But if you can get past the slightly befuddling name, Prime Forever is a great buy at frankly any age.