We wanted to write about this when it landed on our desks a couple of months ago. But it says it all that This Is Silk Power Up Barrier Booster – from a brand that has done well in recent Beauty Bible Awards – was an instant sell-out, so we’ve had to wait for a restock to sing its praises.

First up, a little paean of praise for This Is Silk, whose signature is… silk! Pillowcases, eye masks, super-caring scrunchies – and most recently, skincare. The original Radiance Renewed Silk Overnight Oil is Jo’s favourite, for its rich-but-not-greasy texture and divine scent of rose, neroli and jasmine.

And now, this. First off, we applaud its promotion as a ‘barrier booster’. The layers of skin were put on our faces for protection, but for the past decade the beauty industry has been on a mission to remove them, both gently and harshly, to ‘reveal brighter skin beneath.’ Which is all very well when done judiciously and occasionally, but not the sort of blitzing that’s been massively encouraged, more recently.

A healthy barrier function keeps moisture in the skin, and – yes – protects it. And this product is formulated (with ingredients that include niacinamide and hyaluronic acid) to turbo-charge it still further: an almost unctuously-textured liquid, designed to be droppered into to your regular serum or moisturiser, with just a few drops mixed in, in the palm of your hand.

Now, we don’t normally EVER lift a brand’s description wholesale from their website (the ultimate in lazy journalism!) but this is so interesting – written by This Is Silk’s founder, Sonal Keay – that on this occasion, we thought we’d share.

Product History from the Founder:

‘This is one of the most remarkable products that I have ever seen and more than any other product, demonstrates the pure power of Silk.

I am writing this in the first person, which is unusual for product descriptions, but it is a very unusual product, so I'd like you to know the full story behind it.

In 2021 I began working on a moisturiser with my scientist, and in 2022 I became impatient because I wanted to add silk to all aspects of my skincare. So we began making a very concentrated silk active which could be added to existing moisturisers or serums. 

The reason I want to add Silk is because it really is a super-ingredient that does a lot, very well. Silk is very well known in the medical world as a wound-healing ingredient. The silk peptides are excellent for everything barrier (ie skin) related, because silk is primarily a barrier in nature. Silk in skincare is good for signs of ageing, for brightening, for hydrating, for hyperpigmentation...it's a miraculous little molecule.

Silk is tricky to formulate with because at therapeutic doses, which is what we use, it is very sticky. It is a potent active at therapeutic doses. 

So...come 2023..

After a few submissions and lots of tweaking, I approved a really viscous serum, designed to be added to other products. 

We began testing it on our hands, and then our faces. We would put a tiny amount of hand cream on both hands, and to one hand, apply a couple of drop of the Power Up. 

For our faces, we applied a pea-sized amount of moisturiser for one half of the face, 

That was rubbed in, and 2-3 drops were added to one half.

Within 10 minutes we saw serious plumping and smoothing, and skin felt really, really soft. I was quite taken aback at the results. When we saw the photos I asked for the photos to be taken again, because the results seemed unreal.’

We’re equally taken with the plumping action, even in tiny doses. (And – as per our own Beauty Bible testing protocols – gave it a go on half the face, seeing improvements that encouraged us to use it all over.

So, well done, This Is Silk.

This Is Fabulous.

£19 for 3ml – buy here

Prize Draws