As Valentine’s day – with its traditional extravaganza of chocolate buying – looms, it appears the beauty industry has also been embracing the sweet stuff. Vivienne Rudd of market researcher Mintel says the company recorded more than 370 “cacao-containing bodycare products” in 2013, adding to the 1,350 launched between 2004 and 2012. “The number of facial skincare products featuring cacao rose 10 per cent to 180 in 2013,” says Rudd. And the difference between these products and, say, Green & Black’s confectionery? Most do not smell of chocolate.