British skincare brand Elemis may be celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, but it won't be resting on its laurels. In fact, it's branching out into the lucrative teen market this spring with the launch of Elemis freshskin, a range of nine products for teens to twentysomethings. Still falling within the latter age group, I was tasked to test the products and find out what Elemis had to offer to a younger market.
Following mother's mantra of cleanse, tone and moisturise, Elemis's new range includes daily face wash, exfoliator and night and day moisturisers, along with a fun facemask duo that's perfect for a girly sleepover pamper session.
The fuchsia-pink packaging is fun and vibrant and appeals to the inner princess, with names such as dreamy sleep (night-time moisturiser, £22) and peachy perfect (gentle face wash, £12). And these products smell as good as they sound, with a myriad of exotic natural ingredients, from passionflower and arctic cranberry seed oil to butcher's broom. More importantly, in line with the Elemis philosophy of combining active raw ingredients and the latest technology, there's not an evil paraben in sight.
The daily face wash, with a delicious scent of lemon and elderflower, promised to condition and awaken my skin. Owner of an oily complexion, I was happy to see 'for all skin types' on the label and, after washing it off, was pleased to reveal a soft and rosy-cheeked reflection in the mirror. The loving lips lip balm with peppermint and sweet almond oil left my mouth tingling and silky to the touch, and I enthusiastically dabbed on the cream for tired eyes.
Until now the darling of the luxe spa crowd, Elemis has spotted a gap in the market and has taken a more holistic approach to young skincare, with application directions as well as suggestions for promoting sleep and exercise. Fun beauty tips appear on the packaging as well as stark warnings to wayward teenagers, such as, 'fine lines appear around lips later in life, pursing lips when smoking can exaggerate these lines.'
Teens are always looking for affordable, effective and easy-to-use products. Elemis ticks the latter two boxes but, with cleansing wipes priced at £8 compared to the supermarket equivalent at £3-4, it surely remains a luxury brand. That said, for a quality product that's natural and not tested on animals, it's worth it if you can afford it and, for the record, my skin does feel cleaner, softer and fresher.
Elemis freshskin is available exclusively online from the 14 April, elemis.com/freshskin, 01278 727830. Now you can also feel fresh when you fly: treat yourself to a pre-flight pamper at the new Elemis travel spa, Heathrow Terminal 5, britishairways.com/travel/elemis-travel-spa.
