'Silaha' kupambana na UZEE

Can a pair of plastic lips help you kiss goodbye to your wrinkles?

Standing in front of the bathroom mirror, my mouth open as wide as it will go, I'm attempting to warble vowel sounds, like a singer warming up before a performance.

 

It's a good thing the door is locked - and not just because my tuneless caterwauling means I won't be appearing on The X Factor any time soon.

Rather it's because inside my mouth is a bizarre Japanese device that promises it will firm my face and reduce my wrinkles.

Normally, I'd welcome any chance to roll back the years. I'd love to erase the lines that have come with having two children and turning 40, and re-define a jawline that's starting to sag. And this device has been causing a buzz on the internet.

According to its manufacturers, the Face Slimmer Exercise Mouthpiece is all I require for a more youthful look.

'To get and maintain the perfect visage, you don't need the cosmetic surgeon's knife. All you need is the mouthpiece,' they claim in their blurb.

It's quite a promise. I am on tenterhooks as I wait for the parcel to arrive. But it's not just the cost of the mouthpiece - £49 - that gives me a shock.

This secret weapon in the battle against age is a malleable silicone rubber mould that fits in the mouth behind the teeth and which is attached to oversized sugar-pink lips. It looks as if it would be more at  home in a horror movie than in a family bathroom.

The makers blithely claim it's perfect for using 'in front of the mirror, in the bath or at any other convenient time every day'.

But while I'm happy to apply make-up and style my hair in my car as I wait at traffic lights, this is one aspect of my beauty routine that won't be put on public view. Never mind the ridicule, I'd be afraid of being arrested.

Daily Mail