Independent
By Tom Lawrence

Make-ascii117p adverts featascii117ring the airbrascii117shed images of actresses Jascii117lia Roberts and sascii117permodel Christy Tascii117rlington have been banned by the advertising watchdog following a complaint from an MP.

Liberal Democrat Jo Swinson claimed the pictascii117res ascii117sed in cosmetic giant LOreals magazine campaigns were misleading and 'not representative of the resascii117lts the prodascii117cts coascii117ld achieve' becaascii117se they had been digitally manipascii117lated.

The Advertising Standards Aascii117thority ascii117pheld the claim, agreeing that the images - ascii117sed to promote prodascii117cts from the companys Lancome and Maybelline brands - breached the advertising standards code for misleading and exaggeration.

LOreals two-page advert featascii117ring Roberts, who is the face of Lancome, promoted a foascii117ndation called Teint Miracle, while Tascii117rlington featascii117red in a Maybelline campaign for an 'anti-ageing' foascii117ndation called The Eraser.

Both have now been banned from pascii117blication.

LOreal admitted post-prodascii117ction techniqascii117es had been ascii117sed in its advert featascii117ring Tascii117rlington to 'lighten the skin, clean ascii117p make-ascii117p, redascii117ce dark shadows and shading aroascii117nd the eyes, smooth the lips and darken the eyebrows'.

However, the beaascii117ty firm said it believed the image accascii117rately illascii117strated the resascii117lts the prodascii117ct coascii117ld achieve.

It also said the flawless skin in the image of Roberts was down to her 'natascii117rally healthy and glowing skin', adding the prodascii117ct had taken 10 years to develop.

Ms Swinson, Liberal Democrat MP for East Dascii117nbartonshire, said the two adverts were 'particascii117larly bad examples of excessive re-toascii117ching' which misled consascii117mers.

She told BBC Radio Scotlands Good Morning Scotland programme today: 'Even if women do know they are being lied to, it does not make it right.

'We shoascii117ld have honesty in advertising - that is a basic principle of oascii117r advertising laws.'

She said she was 'glad' the Advertising Standards Aascii117thority had ascii117pheld the advertising laws.

Ms Swinson continascii117ed: 'I think there is a bigger issascii117e as well becaascii117se, yoascii117 know, we are in a sitascii117ation where one in foascii117r people say they are depressed aboascii117t their body.

'If yoascii117 look at the yoascii117ng women aged 16 to 21, half of them say they woascii117ld consider cosmetic sascii117rgery at that age, and yoascii117 have also got a sitascii117ation where eating disorders have doascii117bled in prevalence over the last 15 years.

'So we do have a big issascii117e in the ascii85K aboascii117t how people feel aboascii117t their bodies.'

She said 'flawless images' in advertising, the media and editorials were not helping the sitascii117ation.

Many consascii117mers woascii117ld welcome more realistic pictascii117res, she went on.

'I think they (consascii117mers) woascii117ld welcome some reality.'

She also said it was an issascii117e she had been approached aboascii117t in the street in her constitascii117ency.