Last week, L’Oreal and Nestle launched a little red, sugar-coated pill called Innëov Fermeté, that, when taken daily, provides skin with the right nutrients – mainly antioxidants which help protect skin against free radical damage, and prevent wrinkles. The star ingredient is lycopene, the very thing that makes tomatoes so good for you, combined with vitamin C and isoflavones extracted from soya beans.

It’s been around in Europe and South America for awhile now, and will soon be launched in the UK.    

Another piece of beauty news that made waves last week was the revealing of an anti-sunburn drug.

Imagine this – a drug that mimics the body’s natural defenses against UV radiation and makes you look tanned.

Called Afamelanotide, it was developed by an Australian company, Clinuvel, to help people who suffer from Erythropoietic Protoporphyria (EPP), a condition where one is allergic to natural light. It targets a melanin that protects skin cells, eumelanine, to create a skin barrier of sorts against light. This also means skin cancer prevention.

19 years in the making, the drug is a rice-grain sized implant that is inserted into the skin near the waist. Users will then develop a deep tan that lasts up to 60 days.

So could this be the end of sunblocks as we know it? Is this the promise of a sun-kissed glow in a pill?

Not just yet. Right now, doctors are against using it for cosmetic purposes, claiming that unlicensed use could lead to damage to the immune and cardiovascular system. 

Ah, such exciting times ahead!