The 5 best No7 products of all time, chosen by our Beauty Editor

Choosing the five best No7 products isn’t exactly taxing work. This brand’s beauty counter is just about toppling over for all the appealing, brilliantly formulated and dare-I-say iconic skincare and makeup it’s packing. 

From the eminently recommendable Stay Perfect Foundation to the serum that finally convinced shoppers they actually needed to use serums (Protect & Perfect, naturally) No7 is not short of mega-selling beauty industry hits. 

In fact, the only challenge in creating this list was narrowing it down to five, so here’s how I’ve done it. Instead of including the high profile big hitters that I 100% rate but you’ve likely already heard of (if not used and loved) I’ve opted to go off the beaten path. These are my top five No7 products that may not get regular headlines but absolutely deserve them. 

These unsung heroes have come home with me from the woman&home beauty cupboard and lived in my beauty bag until the last little splodge has been squeezed out of the tube. They are smart, effective and a real joy to use. I love having them in my kit and I think you will too.

1.Lift & Luminate TRIPLE ACTION Night Cream

No7 Lift & Luminate TRIPLE ACTION Night Cream | RRP: £27.95

This excellent night cream is well worth your attention. Because guess what? It’s got Matrixyl 3000+™ (aka No7's secret sauce peptide complex) in spades. Within the rich-ish but decidedly unclaggy cream, you’ll also find bucketloads of hydration, which I can feel plumping me up in real time. Plus, a host of friendly antioxidants do their bit by nibbling away at reckless molecules called free radicals, which are generated by pollution and accelerate skin ageing. Anything else? Yes, actually. A newly recyclable glass jar and a pleasantly mild snooze-inducing aroma. Gorgeous.  

2. Moisture Drench Lipstick in Soft Paprika

No7 Moisture Drench Lipstick in Soft Paprika | RRP: £10

I have a theory that you’re either a red lipstick woman (the kind who can just slick it on and forget about it) or, like me, you're not. My lot try time and time again to become a red lipstick woman but then feel so self conscious that we have to wipe it off before leaving the house. This lipstick really turned things around though. It’s a warm true red that somehow doesn’t jar against my cool skin tone. It glides on nicely, doesn’t drag and has a sort of soft and fuzzy creaminess to it that makes it the most comfortable, forgiving and frankly least terrifying red I’ve ever tried. I can’t 100% guarantee this will solve your issues like it did mine, but I’m yet to recommend it to anyone who hasn’t got along with it.  

3. Makeup Brush Cleanser

No7 Makeup Brush Cleanser | RRP: £7.95

Level with me: how often do you wash your makeup brushes? Not often enough I’d guess. It’s one of life’s inexplicable mysteries that we are capable of overcoming great challenges yet giving our makeup brushes a quick shampoo on any kind of regular basis feels insurmountable. Anyway, there’s no need to let the guilt fester like bacteria on a bristle because this product makes the impossible possible. Why? Because instead of a lengthy lather, rinse, repeat, dry situation you merely soak this liquid onto a cloth or tissue (I find a reusable cotton pad best) give your brushes a little wipe around and hey presto! They are refreshed, dry almost instantly and as sparklingly clean as your conscience. You’re welcome.  

4. Hydraluminous Liquid Highlighter in Rose Gold

No7 Hydraluminous Liquid Highlighter in Rose Gold, £12.95

Highlighters can be a funny old business. Often a promised  ‘ethereal glow’ translates to grubby silver smudges or sparkly disco cheeks. But this one, to use the old cliche, really does what it says on the tin. As in, it highlights the bits you want to highlight, gently drawing attention to cheekbones or your cupid’s bow with a pleasant, soft-focus gleam. It looks not like glittery makeup but like glowing, radiant slightly too-good-to-be-true skin. It can be used neat for impact but also mixed with other products, like foundation or maybe your body lotion for lovely sheeny shins and collarbones. This particular shade is my favourite but there are also Bronze and Prosecco hues should those better suit your skin.   

5. Radiance+ 15% Vitamin C Serum

No7 Radiance+ 15% Vitamin C Serum| RRP: £19.95

It is notoriously difficult to formulate Vitamin C serums well, which is probably why some brands don’t bother and simply slap Vitamin C on a label without much care as to whether the product works. This, however, does so much more than pay lip service to the potent skin-brightening collagen-boosting ingredient. In fact it does everything right: It includes ascorbic acid (the most potent and stable form of Vit C) in a very respectable percentage (under 10% ‘aint worth your time) It also feels pleasant and smells nice, which helps you actually want to use it. Top marks all round.