Beatrice Aidin

Cosmetic interventions are big business in the UK, worth an estimated £3.6 billion, up from £2.3 billion in 2010.

But among all the procedures on offer, one thing is missing – the government scarcely has any provision to police non-surgical cosmetic practice.

Faces change with fashion.  And hallelujah, subtlety is back.  “We have moved away from the pillow face or trout pout that was in vogue ten years ago,” says Dr Tapan Patel, founder and medical director of Harley Street’s PHI Clinic. “New research shows people do not want to freeze their face in time, they simply want a better version of themselves.”

When executives from Walgreens Boots Alliance rang the Nasdaq stock market opening bell in January, the occasion marked the newly merged conglomerate’s first week trading. But it also set the tone for 2015, with mergers and acquisitions (M&A) gripping the $473-billion global beauty industry.

The global brand president of Estée Lauder wants to cause a commotion. At the launch of the Estée Lauder New Dimension skincare range, Jane Hertzmark Hudis says: “We are breaking new ground and I believe by virtue of what we are creating here, we are creating a new disruption in the industry.”

Beware the toxic avengers. A gang of Marvel anti-heroes? No, but in terms of skin ageing, just as threatening. The expression refers to environmental aggressors and Mintel, who coined the catchy headline, say in a recent report: “The cosmetics industry has been awakening consumers to the immediate, visible and personal effects of pollution that threaten our skin.”

The UK beauty industry is in the pink. Employing more than one million people and worth £17 billion, it is forecast to grow 16 per cent by 2016. Despite the recession, retail sales in the UK beauty market grew 15.5 per cent from £6.1 billion in 2008 to an estimated £7.1 billion in 2013.

Marcia Kilgore knows a thing or two about being a successful female entrepreneur in the beauty industry. Founder of Bliss Spas, Soap & Glory and Fit Flop, she believes in the power of personality.Speaking at the Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit in London earlier this summer, she said: “If you’re an entrepreneur, find something that you really love and are passionate about, and use yourself. It’s so easy to sell that.”

Speculation may run wild about her personal life, but one thing is certain – actress Jennifer Aniston has great hair. Yet she has been mindful to not simply endorse a haircare line for the past decade, but to invest financially and become the co-owner of Living Proof, an MIT-formulated haircare range.