Tried and tested: Rituals Magic Touch Organic Cherry & Rice Milk Ultra Rich Whipped Body Cream

Verdict: Rituals is a Dutch brand with spa-inspired products at drugstore prices. Rituals Magic Touch Organic Cherry & Rice Milk Ultra Rich Whipped Body Cream is a body cream with antioxidants and vitamin E, which is supposed to enrich and strengthen skin.

The texture is a little bit like Chantilly cream or The Body Shop’s famous Body Butter and you just scoop up the product up with your fingers - which I don’t think is very hygienic.

The fragrance is a little bit sweet and fresh at the same time and you get just a hint of cherries. Very pleasant. The only downside is that when if you massage it into your skin, rather than smearing it on and letting it be absorbed, the cream becomes flaky and scaly. However, when you figure that out and use it correctly, this is a lovely product.

Rated: 4 out of 5

Tried and tested: Beauté Pacifique Puffy Eyes Gel

Verdict: Despite its French name Beauté Pacifique is really Danish and this Scandinavian eye gel claims to tighten the skin around the eyes and minimise fine lines, wrinkles and puffiness.

I am 50+ and after six weeks of using this I can really see that my fine lines have become less deep and my skin feels softer and smoother. My eyes look less puffy, too. The only effect I don’t see is the tightening of skin, but I still feel this is one of the best eye products I have ever tried.

However, after six weeks almost all the product is finished, so this quickly becomes an expensive product. But if money isn’t an issue, this is a really great anti-ageing eye gel.

Rated: 5 out of 5

Tried and tested: Decléor Aroma White C- Brightening Spot Corrector

From Decléor’s range of brightening, whitening products comes this spot treatment for pigmentations with Decleór’s White Focus Complex, vitamin C, peony extract and extract from Saxifrage.

You can expect clear, bright skin with less dark spots after just 28 days.

I am 39 years old and have two very small pigmentations on my forehead, which I suspect is the result of too much sun indulgence in my youth. After using the product as a serum before my regular skin cream for six weeks I notice a healthy glow to my skin and a more even skin tone. However, the pigmentations looked just the same so I am not at all happy with the claimed brightening effects of this so-called spot corrector. It’s a good serum for an even skintone, but that’s it.

Rated: 3 out of 5