Twiggy, who turns 60 in September, last fronted a TV ad campaign for the Procter & Gamble-owned beauty brand in 1985. At the time the range was known as Oil of Ulay. P&G has signed Twiggy, who most recently appeared in a TV campaign celebrating Marks & Spencer's 125th anniversary, in a one-year deal to promote the Olay Definity range that "goes beyond fighting the appearance of wrinkles".

*****

"Some of our consumers will remember Twiggy's first campaign," said Carla Berry, P&G beauty and grooming spokeswoman. "But what is most important is that she is a relevant role model for mature modern women today."

Cellulite is a telltale sign that life is a crapshoot. Most women get cellulite after puberty. But men usually don't, not even if they've got the girth to qualify for "The Biggest Loser." That's because the connective tissue bands under men's skin are crisscrossed like a net, keeping their fat more evenly restrained. By contrast, women's tissue bands are organized in vertical columns, so fat may bulge irregularly.

"At a normal weight your fat cells fall nicely into valleys of connective tissue," said Dr. Michael D. Jensen, a clinical professor of medicine at the Mayo Clinic, who has studied fat for 25 years. "When you get too many fat cells or too big of fat cells now they push up on the roof." Or, your skin. What's more, women don't have as thick a roof as men, all the better to show dimples. And thanks to estrogen, women have more fatty reserves.

It doesn't stop there. As we age, the connective tissue strands between our skin and muscle, which used to stretch to accommodate weight fluctuations, become inflexible. "Some of the bands tighten down and you get pockmarks with bulges next to them," said Dr. Brian M. Kinney, an assistant professor of plastic surgery at the Keck School of Medicine at University of Southern California. Voila, cottage cheese.

Nor do all women start with the same give in their connective tissue. One explanation for a slender woman with cellulite is thin skin and unusually tight connective tissue. By contrast, the neighbor we love to hate can gain 15 pounds but is blessed with stretchable bands that accommodate a fat uptick. No orange-peel bottom for her. Grrr.

*****

An anti-cellulite cream can offer a "temporary benefit simply because of swelling, but you have to keep using it," said Dr. Michael F. McGuire, a clinical associate professor at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles. (Most creams mildly irritate skin, causing a little swelling which camouflages dimpling for a bit.) That reapplication is a "benefit" for the makers of creams, he added, especially given that "realistically there is no cure for cellulite."

Sun exposure can cause sunburn, wrinkles, age spots and contribute to skin cancer. But despite that, 31% of Americans say they never wear sunscreen, even if they are outside for more than four hours, according to a poll of 1,000 adults, age 18 and older, conducted by Consumer Reports' National Research Center.

Only 27% of men and 48% of women usually put on sunscreen if they are planning to spend two to four hours in the sun. And 27% of parents with kids under 12 say they never or only sometimes apply sunscreen to their children when they are outside two to four hours. Fourteen percent don't apply sunscreen to their kids when they are outside for more than four hours.

Plus, Buettner says, "they have about 20 percent lower rates of cancer, 50 percent lower rates of heart disease and almost no dementia."

Our life spans are about 20 percent dictated by our genes, Buettner says. The rest is lifestyle. People in Icaria live in mountain villages that necessitate activity every day. "They have gardens," he says, for example. "If they go to church, if they go to their friends' house — it always occasions a small walk. But that ends up burning much more calories than going to a gym for 20 minutes a day."

"They also have a diet that's very interesting," Buettner continues. "It's very high in olive oil; it's very high in fruits and vegetables." It's also very high in greens; about 150 kinds of veggies grow wild on the island. "These greens have somewhere around 10 times the level of antioxidants in red wine."

Like Botox, Dysport is administered via an injection at the site of forehead wrinkles. According to Ipsen Biopharm Ltd., which makes Dysport, the FDA based its approval on clinical trials involving about 2,900 people at 80 study sites. One clinical trial showed 93%-95% of participants noticed an improvement in the appearance of forehead wrinkles within seven days after treatment, and multiple treatments produced effects that lasted for more than 13 months.

The most common side effects of Dysport are nose and throat irritation, headache, pain and skin reaction at the injection site, upper respiratory tract infection, eyelid swelling or drooping, sinus inflammation, and nausea. Yesterday, the FDA also announced that it will require a black box label for all botulism-based drugs, including Dysport and Botox, warning of a rare but potentially life-threatening complication when the effects of the toxin spread from the injection site.

The treatment involves replacing a layer of degenerated cells with new ones created from embryonic stem cells. It was pioneered by scientists and surgeons from the Institute of Ophthalmology at University College London and Moorfields eye hospital. This week Pfizer, the world's largest pharmaceutical research company, will announce its financial backing to bring the therapy to patients.

*****

Under the new treatment, embryonic stem cells are transformed into replicas of the missing cells. They are then placed on an artificial membrane which is inserted in the back of the retina.

Tom Bremridge, chief executive of the Macular Disease Society, said: "This is a huge step forward for patients. We are extremely pleased that the big guns have become involved, because, once this treatment is validated, it will be made available to a huge volume of patients."

The new acne segment, Blemishes No More, consists of five products designed to treat adult acne through blemish reduction and breakout prevention. Scheduled for an exclusive three-month launch at Sephora and Sephora inside J.C. Penney stores later this month, Blemishes No More consists of cleansing pads, a clarifying solution, an oil-free hydrator, redness relief cream and a travel kit. All products in the range contain Dr. Brandt's proprietary complex, Active Impurity Shield, which is intended to prohibit bacteria growth, remove impurities and dead skin cells, and regulate oil and sebum production.

*****

Dr. Brandt's other major initiative is the launch for summer of Time Arrest, a five-item skin care lineup geared towards Baby Boomers who want to lift, tighten and firm maturing skin. The collection, which is scheduled to launch in Henri Bendel, Sephora and medical offices in June, aims to counteract the loss of elasticity and firmness with Dr. Brandt's proprietary Age Reversing Platinum Technology. The nano particle platinum delivery system is designed to function like the skin's own GPS system, carrying active ingredients directly to targeted problem areas deep within the skin’s epidermis.

"Time Arrest represents a quantum leap in the way we're able to deliver active antiaging ingredients into the skin," said Brandt. The Time Arrest collection will include three new products and two reformulated items at launch: New Time Arrest creme, $100 for 1.7 oz.; eye serum, $85 for 0.5 oz., and face fluid, $90 for 1 oz. Reformulations include a 1.7-oz. V-Zone neck cream for $60 and a 1.25-oz. laser-tight formula for $85. Both products were top-selling freestanding items in the Dr. Brandt line that have now been reformulated with the platinum delivery system and incorporated into the Time Arrest range.

According to recent medical journals, physicians have used it to treat chewing problems, swallowing problems, pelvic muscle spasms, drooling, hair loss, anal fissures and pain from missing limbs.

"We see it as a molecule that keeps on giving. As we understand it more, it gives us new ideas of how to use it," says Dr. Mitchell F. Brin, a neurologist who is the chief scientific officer for Botox at Allergan, the drug’s maker. No other therapeutic agent "has so many demonstrated uses," he says.

*****

"It's trial and error with a nerve poison," says Dr. Sidney M. Wolfe, the director of the health research group at Public Citizen, a consumer advocacy group. Last year, the group petitioned the Food and Drug Administration to require a warning label for injectable toxins.

*****

The F.D.A. has approved Botox to treat four problems: eye muscle disorders, neck muscle disorders, excessive sweating -- and that deadly age giveaway, eyebrow furrows. But Allergan, a $14.5 billion specialty pharmaceutical company, owns or has applied for patents on more than 90 uses for the drug. Dr. Brin of Allergan says Botox has a long safety track record — backed by 30 years of favorable research, studies on 11,000 people worldwide and 17 million treatments in the United States since 1994.

A total of $10.3 billion was spent last year on cosmetic procedures, a category that excludes reconstructive surgeries. That's a 9 percent drop from 2007. Cosmetic surgeries fell 9 percent to 1.7 million compared with 2007, according to the Arlington Heights, Ill.-based society. Of that total, breast augmentation dropped 12 percent to 307,000 procedures, and liposuction fell 19 percent.

Tummy tucks tumbled 18 percent to 122,000. But society President Dr. John Canady said in a statement business will recover with the economy and as the children of baby boomers start to consider surgery. He said repeat patients and those who put off more extensive surgery likely bolstered the number of lower-impact, minimally invasive procedures. They grew 5 percent to 10.4 million. Botox injections grew 8 percent to 5 million, while laser hair removal fell 2 percent.

The drug has been sold for years under a different name, Dysport, as a muscle relaxer for medical conditions involving spasms. With global sales of $1.3 billion last year, Botox has a near monopoly on the market for cosmetic muscle relaxers. Both Botox and Azzalure are made from toxins produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum. Botox is made by Allergan Inc.

In a phone interview, Ipsen Chief Executive Jean-Luc Belingard said he was confident Azzalure would take "a significant share" of the market from Botox, "because today they are confronted with no competition and we have a very, very good product." He declined to comment on pricing or marketing strategy. The product won't be ready for sale in the U.K. until the end of June.

Ipsen says Azzalure has been recommended for approval by health authorities in 15 European countries and is now awaiting final marketing approval in those countries. Ipsen has hired Galderma, a joint venture between L'Oreal SA and Nestle SA, to market Azzalure in Europe.