The new anti-ageing power players
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- Stylist Team
- Published

Forget spending half your wages on a pot of miracle cream. The latest skincare to hit the high street is just as hi-tech - if not more. Stylist cherry-picks 10 of the best.
Words: Anita Bhagwandas
EGF Serum, Bio Effect
This caused ripples among beauty editors when it first launched in Iceland thanks to its naturally derived 'Epidermal Growth Factor’. It increases cell turnover by encouraging skin to actually heal itself in a Terminator-like manner. £49, boots.com
Ultralift Swirl, Garnier
One pump of Garnier’s newest offering delivers a pea size dose of double-strength Pro-Retinol serum – a concentrated form of vitamin A – that protects skin cells from irritation. The Flump-like texture is also oddly pleasing. £11.99, boots.com
Snoxin
AHA Active Radiance Cleanser, Dr Darren McKeown
Anti-ageing always starts with a cleanser. Dr McKeown’s uses alpha hydroxy acid, a light peeling agent to help stimulate cell turnover for softer skin. It tingled at first but stopped as my skin became clearer. £12.99,superdrug.com
Youth Code Luminize Super Serum, L’Oreal Paris
Youth Code Luminize is the result of 10 years’ worth of stem cell research. While it’s seriously hi-tech, it glides on like a sea of liquid pearl and creates an even skintone, making foundation redundant. £24.99, loreal-paris.co.uk
Nivea pore refining day cream
No7 Protect and Perfect Intense Beauty Serum, N07
It would be remiss to omit Protect & Perfect from this rundown despite the fact it launched in 2010. After trying the serum for a week a colleague asked if I’d been on a spa break. That’s proof enough for me. £21, boots.com
Regenerist Wrinkle Relaxing Complex, OLAY
This magic potion mimics the light-reflective qualities of younger skin and fills in any expression lines so they don’t have the chance to become permanent. The even better news? It just melts into the skin. £29.99, boots.com
Optimum Super Antioxidant Grape Ultra Rejuvenating Night Cream, Superdrug
A bottle of this softening fluid is sold every five seconds in the UK, with good reason. Stylist thinks it should be renamed sleep in a bottle. Not bad for the price of a DVD. £12.99, superdrug.com
Nutriganics Drops of Youth, The Body Shop
Softer, plumper skin in seconds? I didn’t believe it either. But this fast-working, refreshing elixir is my new desk-side essential. It contains plant-based stem cells that act upon the first signs of ageing. £22, thebodyshop.co.uk