WHEN the blurb landed on my desk, it sounded too good to be true – a new cream that can blast your wrinkles by 15 per cent.

Offered by DestinationSkin in Birmingham’s Pavilions shopping centre, the DermaQuest Stem 3D Complex Cream is aiming to iron out the rough spots.

But it comes at a price – £195 to be exact.

If that sounds a bit steep, there’s a way to indulge in the miracle elixir without blowing the bank by indulging in a Stem Cell facial.

So a few days later I found myself lying on a treatment bed in the capable hands of assistant manager and practitioner Cheryl Bond.

The success of Stem Cell 3D is apparently its powerful cocktail of natural ingredients including brown algae, goji berry and sea fennel, which combine to improve skin tone and elasticity.

The first stages of the facial are to blitz the skin with a series of three exfoliators. An antioxidant cleanser mixed with algae scrub cleans the surface dirt before another go with algae scrub takes the cleansing deeper.

This is followed by a firming enzyme mask to draw out any remaining impurities. The mask takes ten minutes to set rock solid so I’m left to my own devices to relax and try not to move my facial muscles. There’s a slight tingling but no discomfort.

Poor old Cheryl then has the job of washing off the now-set mask, which takes more than a few wipes, before another vitamin C mask is carefully applied. This time the C-Lipoic moisturising mask is packed full of citrus antioxidants which aim to fight off environmental and sun damage and strengthen the skin.

After another pause while this mask goes to work, Cheryl is back to rehydrate the skin with Advanced B5 Serum which multitasks by injecting moisture, fighting lines, fending off sun damage and promoting skin cell generation. And then comes the wonder product Stem Cell 3D Complex Cream before a final touch of sun protection factor and I’m ready to go.

Let’s be frank here – this facial is more clinical than pampering.

A good deal of time is spent lying there waiting for the masks to dry so if you are the kind of person who expects foot and head massages while treatments take effect, this may not be the one for you. However, it does target skin with a rich blend of antioxidants which do make the face feel fresher and plumper.

Cheryl also gave me samples of the B5 Serum and the Stem Cell cream which I tried out for four days.

So a few days later I was inspecting those wrinkles in the mirror. I have to be honest and say I couldn’t see any reduction at all, but my skin did feel refreshed and invigorated by an injection of goodies.

* DermaQuest Facial £70 at Destination Skin, The Pavilions, High St, Birmingham, 0121 270 9320, www.destinationskin.com