Hong Kong actress Carina Lau has been accused of false advertising for the well-known cosmetic brand SK-II, the Beijing Times reported on Monday.

 

Lau is a sales model for SK-II, and in a public ad proclaims "my facial wrinkles and lines have been reduced by 47 percent after using SK-II for 28 days, and I look 12 years younger."

 

Hong Kong actress Carina Lau.[file]

 

P&G SK-II China public relations manager Feng Jialu said the SK-II promotion manual used the wrong words. Using SK-II can reduce wrinkles and lines by up to 47 percent, he said, but that wasn't made clear in the promotion.

 

The Guangdong Bureau of Inspection and Quarantine (GDBIQ) found most SK-II cosmetics contained chromium and neodymium, chemicals that are banned in cosmetics in China and Europe.

 

Chromium causes allergic dermatitis or eczema, and neodymium is harmful to the eyes, skin and even lungs. Lu Ping, from Nanchang, Jiangxi Province felt her skin itching and burning after using SK-II Facial Treatment Essence in January 2005. She sued Lau and SK-II for false advertising, based on GDBIQ investigation results.

 

Lu said she used the SK-II product because she saw Lau recommend it in the ad.

 

Lu's lawyer Wang Chengwen said superstars, as product sales models, are the most responsible for the product's reliability, so Lau is not only socially, but legally obligated to SK-II consumers.

 

After Lau was alerted of the matter, she announced that she and SK-II sales model Qiqi would continue to support SK-II.

 

P&G published a statement refuting the GDBIQ's claims, and stating that there are no harmful chemicals in SK-II.

 

P&G has given refunds for the product, after consumers consent to sign a form declaring that there was nothing wrong with the quality of SK-II.

 

In recent years, superstars such as singer Sammi Cheng, actress Stephanie Xiao and actress Ruby Lin, have represented SK-II. Most consumers buy cosmetic SK-II just for the sake of these famous sales models.

 

In China, there is no law dictating the responsibility of sales models for the products they are promoting at present, making it difficult for consumers to sue them.

 

(China Daily September 20, 2006)