Big brand names such as Avon Anew, RoC, Olay and Vichy – all costing less than $50 - were included in the six categories, which cover best brown spot fader, day cream with SPF, night cream, eye cream, skin peel, lip treatment and neck and chest cream.
The magazine enlisted seven dermatologists to test the claims of a total of 35 products on a group of 175 women aged 40-plus to see what visible effects the treatments had on the volunteers’ skin.
Multi-spectrum analysis used to test products
The dermatologists used equipment such as Visia multi-spectrum complexion analysis, to measure the before and after effects on the skin with the treatment.
The two most popular categories – day cream with SPF and night cream were awarded to HydroPeptide SPF 30 Anti-Wrinkle Skin Enhanching UV protection and Vichy LiftActiv Retinol HA Night, respectively.
The testing for the HydroPeptide product revealed that it hid blotchiness, provided long-lasting hydration and decreased sensitivity, while the Vichy product reported brighter skin with an improvement in both brown spots and wrinkles.
RoC, Olay, Skin Effects, Avon Anew, PC Skin Peptide...
Best brown spot fader went to RoC Multi Correxion Perfecting System, best eye cream to Avon Anew Reversalist Illuminating Eye System, best skin peel to Skin Effects by Dr. Jeffery Dover, best lip treatment to PC Skin Peptide Lip Therapy and Best Neck and Chest Cream to Olay Definity.
Earlier this month, UK consumer watchdog and magazine Which? found that one of the cheapest anti-wrinkle creams it tested was in fact the most effective.
Which? scientists set about testing some of the biggest European names in the anti-ageing category, comparing some of the most expensive products on the market with some of the cheapest.
In the UK Simple brand comes out on top
The results showed that a hydrating lotion marketed under the Simple brand name had the same ‘limited’ effect on reducing the visible signs of crow’s feet around the eyes as the more expensive products that were assessed.
The review panel studied the effects of a total of 13 leading anti-aging products marketed in the UK under brands including Nivea, Olay, RoC and Dr. Brandt.
The range was chosen to represent a broad spectrum of procuts, from the mass market Simple Hydrating lotion, marketed at under £3 ($4.50), right up to the premium-targeted Dr. Brandt Lineless eye cream, marketed at £48.93.