Image via Boots

In the interest of testing as many products as possible, sometimes here at Product Fiend, we don't always get to try everything as long as we'd ultimately like to, so I'm telling you now that anytime I feel I haven't reported 100 percent as stringently as I feel I could (because as we all know, skin care products take time to really show their stuff), I try to rotate things and give them a good long haul evaluation as much as one face (and testing arm) can possibly handle.

Plus, after I picked up a tube of purported miracle worker and often sold out Boots No. 7 Protect and Perfect Beauty Serum overseas I promised that I'd report back after a good six weeks of rigorous testing. And the results are in: I think I'm finally seeing a difference, and the secret sauce that is Boots No. 7 (well, actually, not-so-secret blend of palmitoyl pentapeptide-3, a molecule consisting of five amino acids linked together and attached to a fatty acid to enhance skin penetration, and retinoids), just might be responsible. Overall clarity is the best way to describe it. The science is there, the product is totally benign in terms of being smooth and easy to apply and non-offensive from a fragrance standpoint. I'm gonna have to give it an ecstatic four (out of five) stars. If you can get your hands on the stuff (I hear Target is a good bet), then try it out. I have an extra one at my house so, uh, make me an offer.