'I tried Boots No7's under £15 range - it's the most fun I've had doing my skincare in years'

As a beauty writer who tries out dozens of skincare products each month, it takes a lot to impress me. But No7 has just released a brand new skincare line that combines ingredient-led formulas with playful textures, innovative packaging and an insanely affordable price point, making it easily one of the most exciting launches of the year.

As someone who’s been testing this range ahead of its release, I can confirm that this isn’t like the No7 products many of us have seen our mums use. While the brand has long held cult-favourite status for its results-driven, pharmacy-born formulas - often considered a hidden gem by anyone sub-35 discovering their efficacy, their latest collection, called Good Intent, skews a younger, social-savvy audience.

Designed with Gen Z and millennial skin in mind, the collection is joyfully sensorial, cleverly packaged, and every single product is under £15. Equal parts TikTok-worthy and results-driven, it’s as though the brand has taken everything they know about formula development, but have looked at how retailers like Sephora are generating a sense of virality, taking inspiration from Korean skincare brands for their textures, yet still manage to give it a Boots-friendly price-tag.

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The eight-piece lineup plays right into the trending ‘glass skin’ aesthetic, with customers craving that effortless glow. The mix-and-match edit boasts premium ingredients and trending formats including whipped creams and bouncy jelly masks that you’ll actually look forward to using. There’s a refreshing lack of fragrance which opens this collection up to a much wider audience, too.

With a soft matte tactile finish and pastel packaging, they look as good on your shelfie as they feel on the skin. Despite being budget-friendly, their features are innovative and elevated, from built-in tweezers and hidden applicators, to twist-to-dispense packaging - it’s the most fun I’ve had doing my skincare routine in years.

The first product I tried was the Glow Grind Cleansing Balm, which retails at £12.95. I have, for a long time, used the Elemis Pro-Collagen Cleansing Balm (more recently, the Black Cherry version) and while I love it, I recently found the fragrance beginning to irritate my skin. The packaging features a twist-and-dispense mechanism that churns the balm into silky ribbons - it feels a bit like a Play-Doh factory for skincare enthusiasts, bringing me a similar joy to when Drunk Elephant’s moisturisers come out in the shape of a flower, or at Disneyland when everything is Mickey shaped.

The nourishing balm deeply cleanses the skin by melting away makeup and impurities, and boy does it melt, effortlessly wreaking down makeup and spf with no tugging or stripping. Infused with Vitamin C and squalane, it’s designed to deliver a lit-from-within glow, and transforms into a creamy milky texture when water is added, giving a gorgeous dual texture that leaves skin glowy, not greasy.

For those who enjoy a double cleanse, this can be followed up with the Cloud Bounce Whipped Foam Cleanser. Alternatively, customers may prefer one over the other and just opt for a single cleanse, but the beauty of the mix and match range is that it can be tailored to the user.

Also £12.95, this fragrance-free whipped cleanser foams up for that sort of squeaky-clean, soapy kind of cleanse. It reminds me a little of the Tatcha Rice Wash, which comes in at more than three times the price at £41. The No7 cleanser lathers into a bubbly foam, with hyaluronic acid and black tea ferment making it feel more hydrating than most others in its price point. All of the products in the range are designed to be used either morning, evening or both - save for the am-only SPF. I personally love using the whipped foam cleanser alone in the morning, opting for a double cleanse at night to really sweep away the day.

There are then two different types of pre-soaked acid pads, the Pore Buff Clarifying Acid Pads and the Calm Fix Soothing Pads, both £14.95 each. The Pore Buff pads contain salicylic, glycolic, and lactic acids for gentle exfoliation making them a great alternative to liquid exfoliants like Paula’s Choice or Medik8, which then have to be applied to a cotton pad. The pads are designed to buff away pore clogging oil and impurities, and I must admit, my skin immediately felt clean and refreshed. These are pretty potent though, so they are only recommended to be used two or three times a week.

One of my favourite things about this product, beyond the pretty pink hue of the packaging, is the in-built tweezers for hygienic and effortless application. Though it’s worth noting that I did have to properly close the lid after using them or they can dry out.

Of the two types of pre-soaked pads, the Calm Fix Soothing Pads were my favourite. They contain CICA Extract and Niacinamide, designed to refresh and soothe skin. Cooling, calming, and perfect for sensitive or reactive skin types, they make a great follow-up to actives, or a quick swipe of hydration when you’re short on time.

Like the exfoliating pads, they should be used two or three times a week. You only need to use one pad per treatment, and so, the box of 80 should last at least six months. And if like me you love statistics, they work out at less than 19p per pad.

Hydration lovers will no doubt be excited by the Bouncy Jelly Mask, which genuinely saw me squeal with joy. There’s a small and tactile plastic section on the lid which, when pushed, reveals a hidden spoon with which to apply the product. Inside the pink mask, packed with Hyaluronic Acid and Rice Ferment is super cooling on the skin. It glides on easily with no sticky feeling and once applied, is lightweight and soothing. You can leave it on for 10 minutes or overnight, and after removing my skin felt silky soft, plump and looked dewy.

This product immediately reminded me of Laneige’s Bouncy and Firm sleeping mask, which costs £32. It has a really similar texture but different ingredients, like Peony and Collagen Complex to soften the look of fine lines. It has a sweet-floral Sleepscent, which smells beautiful, but for those looking for something to deliver equally pillow-y skin without the fragrance and for half the price, the Boots mask is a worthy alternative.

On to moisturisers, there’s options here too with one again seemingly heavily influenced by K-beauty favourite Laneige. I rarely get through one moisturiser before opening another, but the Laneige Water Bank is one of the first products I hit pan on in a long time, and have gone on to repurchase it over and over. But enter the No7 Good Intent Dew Bank Water Cream, which could potentially be a game-changer.

Powered by hyaluronic acid and camelia oil, it’s a feather-light water cream that’s like a cool drink of water for the skin, ideal for hot days, oily skin, or layering under SPF. I found it to work really well under makeup without pilling, and what struck me most was the size of the bottle for the price. You get a whopping 100ml for £14.95, compared to £34 for 50ml of Laneige. I do prefer the pump dispenser for hygiene reasons, however it does make it more difficult to know when you’re nearing the end of the product.

According to Boots, Google searches for ‘Milk Toner’ have been up more than 1,000% year-on-year. There are plenty already on the market from the £15.50 Beauty of Joseon Glow Replenishing Rice Milk Toner (another K-beauty hero), to Kylie Cosmetics’ vanilla milk toner, coming in at £28. But No7 has thrown their hat into the ring with the Skin Sip Moisture Milk (£14.95), and if the ‘glass skin’ trend had a mascot, it would be this product.

The Skin Sip Moisture Milk is packed with Hyaluronic Acid and Squalane, leaving a sheer, dewy finish. Ideal for dull, dry skin, it gives the skin a gorgeous, glowy glaze, delivering both immediate and longer-term benefits. The texture is utterly addictive - I think if any product is going to be a sell out, it’ll be this one.

Last but by no means least, there’s the No7 Good Intent Glow Guard SPF30 50ml - the most affordable product in the range at £7.95. Glow Guard is a feather-light lotion with aloe vera and hyaluronic acid, delivering hydration and protection without the dreaded white cast or greasy feel. It layers seamlessly under makeup and brings that radiant finish everyone wants from their daily SPF. With SPF 30, it helps shield against UVA and UVB in sunlight, making it a daily essential that won’t break the bank.

For some other, very different options, Merit's The Uniform Tinted Mineral SPF 50, £34, launched with a waitlist of over 20,000, while beauty editors have been raving about Ultra Violette Future Fluid SPF 50+ Superlight Mineral Skinscreen, £38. Designed to be make-up-friendly, Olay Brighten and Glow Vitamin C Moisturising Fluid SPF 50+, £26, is another top high street choice – and you can often find it on sale, too.

No7’s Good Intent line is exactly what the next generation of skincare lovers has been asking for. It’s results-driven, joyful to use, and beautifully packaged without the premium price tag. It’s the kind of range that proves we don’t need to spend a fortune to build a modern, hydrating routine. So for an everyday routine that actually makes me want to do my skincare, Good Intent delivers in full.