14 DAY TRIAL // We’ve often been told that, if we want undeniable quality, we must not make any compromises, even if that means paying more than we could afford on a single beauty product. As a matter of fact, as a new study by UK consumer watchdog Which? reveals, this is precisely the one thing on which the cosmetics industry relies, since most costly anti-wrinkle creams on the market are outperformed by budget versions in terms of visible, lasting results.
Which? performed the six-week blind study on a group of women aged 35 to 65 in a bid to determine whether more expensive products also meant they returned better results than their cheaper counterparts, ThisIsMoney says. As the findings reveal, they don’t: in fact, it’s precisely the other way around, as the Simple Kind to Skin Replenishing Rich Moisturiser, coming from a budget brand, came on top, with the most visible results in terms of banishing wrinkles.
“It’s not just Hollywood stars who want to look younger, we all do, but it’s unlikely that spending a fortune on the latest miracle product will get rid of wrinkles. Our tests show that anti-wrinkle eye creams have limited success, whatever they cost.” Jess Ross, editor of Which?, says in a press statement. So, while more costly products have more luxurious ingredients and come in a better and more appealing package, they offer little in return for their ridiculously high price tags, the study has revealed.
This is a serious blow to the cosmetics industry, ThisIsMoney points out, especially since the blind study included some of the most popular products and brands now available on the market. As a side note, all volunteers who agreed to take part in the study, as well as the five experts who compared the results at the end of the trial period, did not know what products they used. The results were compared by means of high-definition photographs taken of the volunteers at the beginning and the end of the study.
“The results showed that the Simple Kind to Skin Replenishing Rich Moisturiser face cream worth just £3.21 outperformed the most expensive product tested, the StriVectin–SD, which costs £47.” ThisIsMoney says of the findings. Boots No7 Protect & Perfect Beauty Serum, £16.75, the “miracle” anti-wrinkle cream that literally flew off the shelves after it was reviewed by BBC and proclaimed “scientifically proven” to eliminate wrinkles, came in second, falling in the “Moderate Wrinkle Reduction” category. Even more surprisingly, the much-hyped pharmacy brand RoC Retin-Ox Intensive Eye Cream (£19.95) came in last, being the only product of the 12 tested to fall in the “Least Effective” category, despite the positive media it had garnered since release.