UMO claims that it has developed technology which allows staff at the Charleston Place spa in South Carolina, where the 24-carat facial is offered, to overcome this problem.

It is following a trend for ever more luxurious beauty treatments, such as using caviar as a conditioner on the hair. Sturgeon eggs are also used in La Prairie's products, whose fans in Hollywood include Angelina Jolie, and facials which use diamonds and pearls are also available.

Iconic: Sean Connery as James Bond examines the body of his murdered lover

But the supposed beautifying properties of gold would be no consolation to Miss Masterson, who betrayed her boss Auric Goldfinger to help superspy James Bond.

As a punishment, she was killed by being painted gold, and the image of her metallic body sprawled on the bed achieved iconic status.

Her supposed cause of death in the 1964 film was "skin suffocation", which scientists say is a medical impossibility. It was thought at the time that the skin "breathed" through the pores.