Would you shell out for a snail facial?

A face full of snails might not be your average person's idea of an expensive salon treatment, but that's just what Japan's high society have been shelling out for lately - at a cost of £65 for a five minute session.

The treatment, which uses 1-year-old native Japanese snails, leaves clients with trails of supposedly pore-hydrating mucus across the face.

The Tokyo beautician behind the experimental approach admits that snails have "never been regarded as cute" but hopes that "with their great cosmetic effects", women will soon pick up a liking for the garden mollusc.

Our weatherbeaten features on the IV Drip desk will try anything once. But before we get to snails, there's a few other 'novel' treatments still left on the checklist:

* Cupping: Gwyneth Paltrow, Jennifer Aston and Andy Murray together can't be wrong, can they? This form of acupuncture leaves circular red welts on the back, with practitioners moulding cups to the back to draw up skin beneath.

* Vampire facelift: Do you remember Kim Kardashian's face, post treatment? It's enough to leave anyone of squeamish disposition longing for some snails.

* Geisha facelift: It doesn't actually use snake-oil but this beauty craze, created by salon owner Shizuka Bernstein, does combine nightingale excrement with rice powder. Stunning.