It's the latest example of a beauty company pushing it just a tad too far.

An advertisement for Tri-Aktiline Instant Deep Wrinkle Filler, created by the Beauty Bank, a division of Estee Lauder, has been banned in the UK. The wrinkle filler, which is sold at Kohls in the US for $39.50, was recently investigated by Britian's Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), who ruled that its ad campaign cannot appear again in its current form.

So where, exactly, did Estee Lauder go wrong?

Tri-Aktiline touts to help eliminate the appearance of wrinkles, frown lines, brow lines and under-eye lines on contact, using a combination of Kombuchka, Gatuline and Argireline. "Through a series of stringent tests, this powerful treatment was proven effective," says the product write-up on Goodskindermcare.com, which links to Kohls to sell the product.

But the testing and the resulting claims are misleading.

According to the company, 68% of subjects reported a noticeable visible filling of wrinkles. After 4 weeks, 83% of subjects demonstrated improvement in the appearance of lines. And after 8 weeks, clinical studies measured a 45% visible reduction in wrinkle depth and length.

When the ASA investigated the veracity of these tests, they found that the claims were based on clinical tests with just 25 women and the effect was judged with before and after photographs. "It constituted an open, non-randomised trial on 25 women, was not blinded, and did not include a control group," reported the ASA.

They also found that, although the imaging technique showed an effect on lines and wrinkles, it was not clear whether the same optical effect could be detected by a human observer. Also, the ad stated "Start to see your wrinkles disappear instantly" which implies the product can reduce the wrinkles themselves, not merely reduce the appearance of the wrinkles.

Prognosis: "We considered that a consumer evaluation study was not sufficient to support a claim for the reduction of wrinkles. We concluded that the clinical study and excerpts from the consumer evaluation study were not sufficient to substantiate the claim and therefore that Estée Lauder had not justified it,"said the ASA.



This isn't the first time a beauty company has come under scutiny for a misleading ad. In 2008, a Rimmell mascara ad featuring Kate Moss was banned in the UK because Moss was obviously wearing false eyelashes.