Cindy's Botox secret

But now Cindy Crawford has admitted that at the same time she has been getting help with her looks from a more mundane source ... cosmetic surgery.

For the past 11 years, while promoting her Meaningful Beauty range, the 40-year-old supermodel has had treatments of Botox and vitamin and collagen injections.

The startling confession - in a magazine interview out today - will surprise the hundreds of thousands of woman who have bought her products, and may leave many feeling somewhat cheated.

Miss Crawford, who is worth £25million, tells Gala magazine: "I'm not going to lie to myself. Past a certain age, creams work on the texture of your skin but, in order to restore elasticity, all I can really count on is vitamin injections, Botox and collagen."

In the past, she has insisted that a "miracle mixture" of ground coffee and olive oil kept her skin in its enviable condition.

Now she says: "I have a very simple, healthy life, which works miracles. I drink a lot of water, watch what I eat and exercise. But I owe the quality of my skin to my cosmetic surgeon."

The Meaningful Beauty range - which claims to "diminish the visible signs of ageing" - is said to have been developed when she joined forces with Dr Jean Louis Sebagh "at his exclusive Paris office" ten years ago. That is around the same time she now admits she started visiting a cosmetic surgeon.

Meaningful Beauty's website claims: "Crawford had heard about Dr Sebagh's remarkable 'age maintenance' approach through a friend. After experiencing the dramatic results first-hand, she entrusted him with her million-dollar face and became a regular visitor to his office." Meaningful Beauty's products includes facial mask, skin softening cleaners, moisturisers and neck rejuvenating cream.

Miss Crawford says of them: "I believe Meaningful Beauty is the best skin care available, and soon you will be able to discover the difference yourself. They treat your skin in a meaningful way now for more beautiful, younger-looking skin tomorrow."

Fellow supermodel Elle McPherson, 43, would not be drawn into the debate last night. She said: "It is none of my business what Cindy Crawford does. Cindy is beautiful and whatever choices she makes are up to her. I make no judgment on her."