How I tried to SMELL myself slim: Alice Hart-Davis tests new 'miracle' fragrance that promises to dissolve cellulite By Alice Hart-davis Smell yourself slim? I wondered, looking at the latest cellulite-busting body cream. 'Pull the other one!', I thought to myself as I read the box. As a beauty editor, I thought I'd come across every possible remedy for cellulite, from detoxing and body-brushing, via massaging with magic unguents, to alternating hot-and-cold baths, or applying currents of electricity to your hips. Not forgetting cellulite-slaying hot yoga and dimple-massaging leggings - particularly when you wear the latter to do the former. It smells too good to be true: After two weeks of diligent use, I saw no difference... Over the years, I have tried most of them, without ever ridding myself of the orange-peel skin which sits stubbornly at the back of my thighs. Yet even I was intrigued by this latest 'miracle' product. The cellulite-dissolving promise had me intrigued. Just by using Shiseido's Advanced Body Creator: Super Slimming Reducer (£53, johnlewis.com), you can apparently 'smell yourself thin'. Yes, sniffing its special fragrance and massaging this product into your less-than-perfect limbs can create an 'intense slimming and firming effect while diminishing cellulite'. And pigs might fly. Then I read the bit that says that 83 per cent of the women who tested the product achieved a 33 per cent reduction in their cellulite and fat levels over eight weeks of clinical trials. Furthermore, this extraordinary result was achieved without a severe diet or violent exercise (although gym visits could, say the instructions, enhance the results). Shiseido has conducted extensive research into aromacology, a branch of science that looks at how fragrances can affect the mind and body. They've discovered that smells can affect how the skin functions, too, and have proven through clinical trials that simply applying a product - and then smelling it - is enough to allow the scent to work its magic. 'I shared my disappointment with Shiseido, who pointed out that two weeks wasn't long enough to get the sort of results seen by their test group so I carried on using the cream.' The special ingredient is a fragrance known as SLM (Spicy Lemony Mixture) which encourages the body to produce the chemical messenger noradrenaline, which in turn provokes cells into producing fat-burning proteins called UCP3. The fragrance works in conjunction with an extract of poria cocos, a type of mushroom that is widely used in traditional Chinese medicine, which boosts the fat-burning effect. Two other key ingredients are caffeine - a common inclusion in anti-cellulite creams which is meant to break down fat into free fatty acids, making it easier for them to be dispersed by the body - and a combination of grapefruit oil and Western Hawthorn Extract, to reduce the accumulation of any new fat. All these ingredients are packaged into capsules, activated when you warm the product between your hands and apply it. The product in these capsules is a pink gel-creme. It's thick, gloopy and smells deliciously of a combination of menthol and grapefruit. Following the instructions, I warmed the cream between my hands and inhaled its aromas deeply before carefully massaging it into the backs of my thighs, where it sunk in leaving no oily residue. Then I stood around in the bathroom smelling my palms and imagining the magic molecules coursing up my nose and into my body. Eight weeks later: I thought I might be getting somewhere I went on using the Shiseido potion diligently twice a day. After a couple of weeks, I couldn't see much difference to either the size or the texture of the back of my thighs. If I'm honest, I wasn't surprised - the one message I've learnt thus far about cellulite is that if you want to make a real difference to it, you have to take an all-round approach to the problem, which means eating healthily, drinking masses of water, taking plenty of exercise and body-brushing, as well as massaging your legs with cellulite-busting creams. And cosmetic surgeons will tell you that the only way to eliminate 33 per cent of the fat from any area of the body is liposuction. In fact, Harley Street cosmetic surgeon Dr Yannis Alexandrides says: 'There are various treatments, such as Thermage, which can offer improvements to cellulite by melting fat and tightening the skin with radiofrequency energy. But there are no treatments that can eliminate it entirely. I shared my disappointment with Shiseido, who pointed out that two weeks wasn't long enough to get the sort of results seen by their test group so I carried on using the cream. After a month, I needed a second pot. Now, eight weeks on, I've taken to keeping the almost-empty pot on my desk and sniffing it deeply from time to time, to continue the effects. And I think I'm getting somewhere. I haven't lost any weight, nor are my jeans any looser or my dimples dispersed, but the texture of my skin certainly looks better - well, it should do after all that massaging, shouldn't it? This year's other cellulite busters Collin Resultime Hydrating Slimming Care (£36.55, collinresultime.co.uk) contains caffeine extracts to firm the skin. Sanctuary Spa Active Reverse Body, Sculpt and Smooth Anti-Cellulite Treatment (£14, Boots) relies on the active ingredient glaucine. Dancers in the Sadler's Wells Ballet have been trialling it and have given it the thumbs up. Vitage Advanced Antioxidant Skincare Body Refining Gel (£24, cosmestore.co.uk) encourages blood flow to the skin, improving and smoothing its appearance. Clarins Body Lift Cellulite Control (£36, clarins.co.uk) works on reducing the formation of new cellulite. Weleda Birch Cellulite Oil (£19.95, revital.co.uk) flushes out toxins. Karin Herzog Silhouette (£37, karinherzog.co.uk) has oxygen sealed within the cream. Dr Organic's Organic Royal Jelly Cellulite Cream (£8.99, hollandandbarrett.com) boosts the oxygen supply to leg tissue to decrease orange-peel skin.