OLAY have long been peddling their "seven signs of ageing" slogan (lines/wrinkles, texture, uneven tone, dullness, large pores, age spots and dry skin) and while the beauty biz has upped the anti-ageing ante over the past few years with some truly great launches to plump, firm and regenerate skin, there's one element of those seven markers that's been neglected: age spots and hyper-pigmentation.

UV damage is the out-and-out biggest culprit, and stress and scarring from acne can also be causes, but women have another hyper-pigmentation aggressor to contend with too: our hormones. When saucy property guru Kirstie Allsopp was picked on by some papers recently over pictures of what appeared to be a hairy upper lip, I winced, because it was much more likely to be something else: melasma, or the ‘mask of pregnancy'. She's had two children in quick succession and that can often lead to a disruption in hormone levels, causing melanin deposits around the mouth and cheeks.

The Japanese — who else? — cottoned on to the problem of hyper-pigmentation years ago, and if you've ever browsed Strawberrynet.com for a skincare bargain, you'll probably have been puzzled by the number of brightening products on offer. In Asia it's seen as a sign of beauty to have clear, unblemished skin, and the brightening trend has now moved westwards.

Salon skincare brands were among the first to pick up on the issue, with Environ's Evenescence Clarifying line and Dermalogica's ChromaWhite TRx ranges offering the dual benefit of treatments plus at-home addons. But at a price: Dermalogica say you need to use the six products in their line-up together, and with the Powerfoliant exfoliator alone coming in a €51.50, they don't come cheap.

Help is at hand for Allsopp as brightening solutions reach the mainstream. One soon to land is Clinique's Even Better Skintone Correcting Moisturiser, €52, a daily cream that's designed to be all you need to take care of your complexion. Joining its existing Even Better serum and foundation products, “it was eight years in the making,” confides Dr Tom Mammone, the brand's executive director of research and development, when we meet.

That's impressive enough on its own, but serious development hours — not to mention dollars — went into the creation of this new skincare wonder. Aiming to battle the problem in the first instance and reduce the appearance of any blotchy dark patches you may already have, crucially, the moisturiser contains an SPF of 20 — after all, with sun damage being the biggest contributor to hyper-pigmentation, prevention is always going to be better than cure.

But what else is in there to work its magic? Fungus. Really? Okay, not creepy things that grow in dark corners, but enzymes contained in yeast are the secret weapon in the product. Dr Mammone explains: “We grow yeast cells in big vats in the lab and isolate the enzyme to make the extract that's used in the moisturiser. Because we do it this way, we're not limited by nature — we can ramp up the concentration and make it stronger.”

He's discovered that Clinique's advanced yeast blend can actually break up excess pigment. “It's very clever,” reveals the good doctor. “It only works on melanin and nothing else, so it's very selectively sophisticated. The enzyme literally chops the excess pigmentation into dust, and it's then gently exfoliated off your skin thanks to the inclusion of some salicylic acid in the mix.”

And now for the million-dollar question: how long does it take to work? “In four to eight weeks you should see a 50pc reduction in pigmentation and a more even skintone,” advises Dr Mammone, but for those of us who are more into the wham-balm-thank-youma'am approach, is there a quicker way to reduce the problem ofhyper-pigmentation? Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) is what I'd recommend if your skin is severely sun damaged or has a lot of post-acne scarring. It will give you results after a couple of sessions, but it's expensive, can be painful for some and there's no guarantee that the blotchy patches won't return unless you maintain constant sunscreen-vigilance.

If your issues are relatively mild, topical skincare for hyper-pigmentation has an advantage in that it treats the whole skin, not just affected areas, and can provide other treatment and nourishing benefits too.

Clinique's launch marks itself out among this year's brightening launches for its scope, research and efficacy, but as always, other brands are following close behind.

- Kirstie McDermott