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Ever splashed out on an expensive anti-ageing cream? Then beware, this news may give you wrinkles.
A Consumers' Institute report has confirmed what some people have long suspected - women are throwing good money away in their efforts to reduce crows feet and fine lines.
The international study, which tested nine top-selling products on women aged 30-70 over 12 weeks, found the inexpensive Olay Regenerist range worked best - but even then, most changes were microscopic.
No product worked on all women, and even normal moisturiser - used as a control in the US and French study - worked just as well as the products selling for up to $300 in some cases, the Consumers' Institute has reported.
Each of the nine products was tested "blind" on at least 17 women with fair skin, the type most susceptible to developing fine lines and wrinkles.
The two products the study recommended weren't the most expensive, in fact the top-rated product was from the Olay Regenerist range, a supermarket - rather than luxury department store - brand costing as little as $25 on special. The other brands tested were: Avon Anew, La Prairie, Lancome Renergie, L'Oreal Dermo-Expertise, L'Oreal Revitalift, Neutrogena Visibly Firm, Nivea Visage Q10 Plus, and StriVectin-SD.
La Prairie, which costs $360 for 50ml from a top Auckland department store was one of the most expensive brands in the test. It was also one of the least effective.
During the study, photographs were taken of the women's faces at the start of the test, after four weeks, and at the finish, and were assessed by a panel of experts using a high-tech optical device to measure changes in wrinkle depth and skin roughness.
After 12 weeks, the best performing products - Olay and Lancome - still only reduced the average depth of wrinkles by less than 10 per cent, a change barely visible to the naked eye.
Published online on August 31, and contained in the September issue of Consumer magazine, the report said products in the top-rated Olay Regenerist range usually cost about $33 in supermarkets, but could be bought for as little as $25 on special.
The Herald on Sunday found retailers bracing themselves for a rush of Olay sales.
Farmers' spokesperson Dean Cook said sales of the products were already up, just a few days after the report was released online, while a spokeswoman for Kmart reported an inexplicable 168 per cent increase in the week before the report even came out.
In London, in March, when a Boots No7 cream was recommended by university scientists, the company reported a 2000 per cent increase in sales after the publicity, and said women were literally fighting each other in their rush for the shelves.
The product later sold at greatly inflated prices on E-Bay.
Consumer research writer Belinda Allan said anecdotal evidence suggested a top-rated mascara in a previous test "sold out in many places" once it had been proven to be the most effective.
She advised women to be aware of the "puffery" in many of the cosmetic companies' claims.
Sunita Chauhan, a health and beauty salesperson at Farmers Queen St store, said the Olay Regenerist range wasn't particularly popular - yet.
The L'Oreal and Neutrogena products, which Consumer rated with only an "average" performance, were much more popular, she said.
"They are really good. We sell a lot."
Farmers did not stock the most expensive products tested by Consumer, but Chauhan said other top-of-the-range products, like Prevage by Elizabeth Arden, retailing for $270/50ml, flew out the door as did Clarins products selling for between $130 and $140.
Meanwhile, wealthy New Yorkers are turning to facial yoga as a natural way of getting a lift. The belief is facial muscles need regular workouts to keep in shape, just like the rest of the body. Yoga instructor and author Annelise Hagen's classes are gaining in popularity, teaching positions such as the Lion, with tongue hanging out and eyes rolled up, the Satchmo, in which the cheeks are blown out Louis Armstrong-style, and Marilyn, in which kisses are blown to strengthen mouth muscles for full and firm lips.
