Lipz to Hipz

As every dieter knows, a moment on the lips could spell a lifetime on the hips. But now the adage has been turned on its head, with the creation of a lip gloss that claims to help women lose weight.

Sold under the slogan "Always on the lips. Never on the hips", Fuze Slenderize gloss is said to be oozing with ingredients that curb the appetite.If that weren't enough, the "guilt-free lip gloss" also claims to speed up the metabolism, while boosting energy levels. One of the key ingredients is SuperCitrimax, a plant extract said to keep hunger pangs at bay and stop the body turning carbohydrates into fat. Katie Holmes is rumoured to be a fan of drinks with a similar ingredient. Other contents include chromium, a mineral said to boost metabolism, and L-carnitine, an energy-giving amino acid. Similar ingredients are found in Fuze diet drinks, a range of low-calorie fruit juices reputed to be a favourite of actresses Katie Holmes and Jessica Simpson. Costing £9.50 a tube, the brightly-coloured gloss is made by Californian make-up company Too Faced and is available in three flavors.

A spokesman for Too Faced said: "Application of this long-lasting, high-shine formula will actually help suppress one's appetite for food without sacrificing delicious glamour. "With a single swipe of the tube, Fuze Slenderize provides a pretty, plump pout with an added bonus of healthy, energy-boosting, appetite curbing ingredients.

"One delicious dab on the lips will give you a taste of what all the Hollywood starlets are losing it over."

Available by mail order from cosmetics company Sephora, the gloss comes in a trio of flavours - blueberry and raspberry, strawberry and melon and dragon fruit and lime. However, diet experts cautioned there is no quick-fix when it comes to losing weight. Tam Fry, of the National Obesity Forum, said: "People will buy this and it will do nothing for them unless they have already taken steps to lose weight. "There is only one way to lose weight in the long-term and that is by sensible eating, sensible exercise and making sure you know what you are eating and it is not full of fat, sugar and salt.

"People should pay more attention to what goes into their mouth than what goes on their lips."

Too Faced is not the first company to produce a lip gloss with healthy properties. Other glosses already on the market claim to use the scent of vanilla to lift mood and the smells of lemon and geranium to curb smokers' cravings for nicotine.