An eager crowd gathered outside Boots in Nottingham's Victoria Centre for the launch of a new skincare range hailed a world first. More than 70 women, and men, waited outside the store ready for the 9am opening today (Wednesday April 12).
And it wasn't just queuing in person as online shoppers were placed in a virtual queue as so many people tried to snap up the 'game-changing' products, priced £24.95 to £34.95, on Boots' website.
The new No7 Future Renew collection comprises four products: a serum, an eye serum, day cream and night cream with the tagline 'Don't' regret, reverse'. The products are said to be a game changer in the beauty world by reversing the appearance of signs of skin damage, including fine lines, wrinkles, lack of luminosity, dryness, uneven skin tone and loss of firmness - with visible results within four weeks.
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The range contains a new 'super peptide' and has been 15 years in the making in terms of peptide technology, based on how the skin gets damaged.
First in the queue was student nurse Vee Kaur, of Wollaton, who arrived at 7.40am. The 24-year-old said: "I've come for the big reveal to see what it's all about. You need to take care of your skin. I think I'm getting to that kind of age where I need to use it now, some kind of anti-aging product, but I will probably be passing it down to my mum."
Nurse Anita Cornish, who had come over from Lincolnshire with her daughter Sage, 15, said they'd heard that something big was happening at the store after a visit last week. The 52-year-old said: "They told us there was going to be a launch of something here so we decided to come along and see what all the fuss was about. It was all shrouded in a bit of secrecy but we were told it might be worth coming in.
"It looks like it could be quite helpful for someone with more mature skin, which is why I'm here. I'm in my 50s now and I've been doing the same thing for about 20 years now.
"It's important to develop these sort of products and help your skin weather the storm. First of all we need to teach the younger generation to care for their skin in a better way. I never had any of that."
There were glasses of fizz, cupcakes and goody bags containing £100 worth of No7 goodies for the shoppers who had patiently queued. Sally Francis, general manager at the Victoria Centre store, has worked for Boots for 24 years. "This is new to the worldwide market which makes it on a scale I have never known before," she said. "This is the biggest thing I can ever remember so it's wildly exciting. The product is absolutely amazing - I had a sneak preview so that was fabulous and I've really seen the benefit of it already.
"The energy the launch has brought to the whole store has been phenomenal. We have these events being replicated up and down the country. I've worked at different stores but I'm proud to be back in Nottingham. I really feel like being in Nottingham we are the heart of Boots so we have an important role to play."
Last time Boots saw such a huge demand was in 2007 at the launch of the No 7 Protect & Perfect Serum, which sold out after an independent scientific study revealed it dramatically reduced wrinkles.
Sally added: "This will be bigger as it's a world first this time. It just targets so much damage. It doesn't matter how that damage was caused whether it's people who have gone to bed in their make-up over the years or not worn the right SPF. We're in a world where since Covid and a lot of mask-wearing we are seeing a lot more customers buying into skincare, so for all of those reasons combined I see this as being the biggest ever."
More than 4,200 women took part in trials, with 97 percent reporting improvements in the appearance of their skin. It has also been No 7's most diverse testing programme in terms of both skin colour and age range, from 30 up to 75 years.
A team of more than 50 scientists were involved in the revolutionary innovation which used Artificial Intelligence, computer algorithms, machine learning, robotics and computer modelling. The global collaboration involved expertise from the University of Liverpool, Nottingham and Manchester.
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