European beauty secrets

Maybe not as well as we'd hope.

A recent U.S. study found that when it comes to fighting wrinkles, the most expensive luxury skin creams don't work as well as the cheaper versions. And even these don't work so well, according to the study by Consumer Reports magazine.

Olay Regenerist, priced at about US $19, was the most effective in reducing wrinkles, the study said. This was in comparison to a sampling of more expensive products, including a skin cream costing $355.

As reported by Reuters, researchers studied the effects of a sampling of top-selling mass-market lines on 17-23 women, aged between 30 and 70. Participants used a test product on one side of their face and the lab's standard moisturizer on the other side for comparison. A high-tech optical device was used to detect changes in wrinkle depth and skin roughness.

The study, published by nonprofit consumer research group Consumer Union, found that after 12 weeks the top-rated products smoothed out some fine lines and wrinkles, but even the best performers reduced the average depth of wrinkles by less than 10 percent – a change barely visible to the naked eye.

"The tests revealed that, on average, these products made little difference in the skin's appearance and there's no correlation between price and effectiveness," a spokeswoman for the magazine said.

To enhance beauty, many European women look to their pantry
If you want to skip spending tons of money on expensive skin-care regimens (that may or may not work, depending on the study), you may want to take a closer look in your own pantry. Honey, flour and olive oil are just a few items that many European women use to enhance their beauty. In her book Passport to Beauty, expert Shalini Vadhera reveals some of these European beauty secrets. Here is a sampling: