For the past month, my early morning breakfast ritual has had a wee beauty tweak. I start my mornings unscrewing a tiny gold-topped bottle, and sip down its contents daintily. It tastes tangy, sweet and peachy all at once.

This wee drink is not your regular health tonic, but promises be the next generation in skincare. The key ingredient is collagen, the building block for youthful skin, hair and nails. Many expensive creams and potions claim the benefits of collagen, but ingesting it into the system is believed to deliver faster, more permanent results.