Punkee Tries: The Body Shop Serum That Sells Every 25 Seconds

I did a dodgy thing during lockdown. I panic-bought a bunch of intense serums and slathered them all over my skin without looking at a single ingredient or instruction. 

While for a second it felt so luxurious, so boujie… it quickly got very hot and I was filled with serious regret. I had completely burnt through my precious skin barrier – leaving my face a big old blotchy mess. 

Since then I’ve been in damage control mode, trying to rectify my barrier and rebuild my skin health from scratch. While my face is nearly back to ‘normal’ I am now much more particular about what I put on my face in a mission to be kinder to skin I should have treated better from day dot.

Which is why I’m now drawn to brands that love the world a little more than most. Brands that champion natural, calming ingredients that won’t make my face burst into flames. In essence, I’ve upped my game and I’m looking for a brand that matches my vibe now – which is why I am a little a LOT into The Body Shop.

I’d been eyeing up their Edelweiss Daily Serum Concentrate for a while because of two key reasons. Firstly, a ‘daily serum’ usually means it’s a gentler formula which is kinder on my once-traumatised skin and secondly, ‘edelweiss’ reminds me of that cute lil lullaby in The Sound of Music and that song sooooothes me – so it must work the same for my skin, right? 

Anywho, I nabbed a bottle of the Edelweiss Daily Serum Concentrate and decided to put it to the test for three weeks to see how it worked for me in my post-barrier-rebuild era. Here is every single thought I had while trialling this best-selling serum.

What does it claim to do?

This adorable little serum has some fighting talk on the bottle, saying, “it only takes a few drops to leave skin looking smoother, fresher, stronger* and plumped with 24hr moisture”. 

It also name-drops its hero ingredient, edelweiss, saying that it is so resilient and powerful that its extract has – wait for it – 43% more antioxidant power than retinol>. WHAT?! Retinol is one of the spiciest ingredients in the skincare world, bringing skin insane results but also coming with a lot of warnings to use correctly to avoid any burning sensations or skin barrier screwing.

…Am I now nervous that this little bottle is more powerful than my face can handle? Maybe. But I’m committed to the test now so let’s see what happens!

My first impressions…

I don’t know about you, but when it comes to serums I hook a hell of a lot on the smell. Some serums legitimately smell like ham, so when I opened up this little bottle and took a whiff I was delighted to find out that this serum smells divine.

It’s like a soft, floral, delicate woodland fairy smell that I adore. 

The consistency is also beautiful – it’s somehow not sticky or slippery, but a perfectly runny goo that my skin slurped up the second it made contact with it. That likely means that I was dry as toast and my skin needed a tall drink of water, but I was genuinely impressed with how the edelweiss absorbed in and didn’t leave any tacky residue. 

In the thick of the road test…

Now I’ve woven this serum into my daily routine – slathering it on after cleansing each morning and night – and I’ve been doing this for two weeks, and I have started to see a few changes.

The first change was almost instant, and it had everything to do with the colour of my face. Sometimes when I use serums my face instantly goes a little pinker – not an alarming red, but a flushed pink around my nose and mouth. I thought this was the default reaction for my face with serums, but after using the Edelweiss Daily Serum Concentrate I saw something completely different. 

My face was juicy and hydrated, letting the serum sink in, but there wasn’t a single patch of pink. In fact, my skin tone was actually more even somehow. 

I see why one of these bottles sells every 25 seconds now. Because there’s WIZARDRY in every pipette. 

The verdict…

Now I’ve woven this serum into my daily routine, I’ve made up my mind about this little pot of goo. I LOVE IT.

The formula feels like it’s genuinely caring for my skin and building it up to a glowy, healthy and truly nourished version of its best self. 

And while I thought it was just me noticing my glow-up, I got a compliment in the wild this week! I was just brewing myself a cup of tea in the Punkee office and my new favourite colleague said my skin looked great. While this is my favourite compliment to get, I felt even more smug about it because I didn’t have a single stitch of makeup on. 

She asked me what my secret was and you can bet I told her immediately, cos I don’t gatekeep, girlies. “Oh, just Edelweiss Daily Serum Concentrate. You’d love it.”

* Skin that looks plump with moisture, with a smooth surface. Skin looks re-energised and refreshed.

> Retinol expressed as Retinol acetate.

This piece is an unbiased editorial piece, but we do have commercial partnerships with The Body Shop

Image credits: Supplied + Punkee