How many pills did you take this morning? Maybe you swallowed a multivitamin alongside your granola, or chased an iron tablet with a flat white. I palmed a cocktail of Coenzyme Q10, a probiotic, a dandelion leaf liver-cleanse capsule, a magnesium energy supplement and, just to test my gag reflex, a spoonful of fish oil. Most of us have flirted with supplements at one point or another. After a disastrous three-more-inches-off-than-expected trim, I took Viviscal until my hair grew back to Rapunzel lengths; on doctor’s orders, I’ve taken vitamin D in the winter months, and Feroglobin to stop me feeling faint. But beyond building stronger bones or boosting energy levels, the new generation of pills, powders and drinks promises more aesthetic benefits. Think glowing complexion, thicker hair, plumped-up wrinkles – benefits that, until now, have been restricted to lotions, creams and injectables. "The appeal of nutricosmetics lies in the increasing pursuit of wellness. Immediate gratification and rapid effects remain powerful pulls for beauty, but attention is also shifting towards long-term wellbeing," explains Rebecca Smith, behavioural analyst at Canvas8. "It’s not just about exfoliating, moisturising and toning – what we eat and how we live are just as important to achieving a beautiful complexion." From collagen drinks (like skinade ) to beauty cereal (such as Believe ) to super-supplements (enter Lumity ), diet is the next aesthetic frontier. Maybe it began with swathes of Lycra-clad women downing grass-hued juices in the name of brighter skin, or with hot yoga promising to lengthen your limbs and clear your pores; either way, the pursuit of beauty has moved firmly into the holistic arena. Just look at renowned makeup artist Wendy Rowe ’s latest book – in its Tumblr-pink jacket, Eat Beautiful details soups, salads and juices to illuminate the skin. Similarly, LA-based Moon Juice – purveyor of 'plant-based alchemy' for mind and body – has expanded its offering with a range of beauty powders with names like Beauty Dust, Power Dust and, alarmingly, Sex Dust. Alexia Inge, founder of Cult Beauty, told Refinery29: "We’ve been stocking ingestible skincare since we first launched PerriconeMD eight years ago. At the time he was a lone voice advocating diet as an important factor in the health and subsequent beauty of your skin. It was pitched then as anti-ageing but that term is falling out of favour… now it’s all about energising! We recently launched Moon Juice because they are new-gen pioneers in their fields. The results they give are astonishingly quick."