A whopping 21,000 new beauty products were launched worldwide last year, according to research by market analysts Mintel.

This is an impressive 25 per cent increase on 2003 figures and is the equivalent of almost 60 new make-up items a day!

Last year, the lip colour cosmetics sector saw the greatest number of product launches, with around 8,500 new introductions entering the global market.

This means that during 2004 make-up-loving women the world over could plump for a brand new lip product almost every hour of every day.

Furthermore, in the first half of this year there were over 8,000 new products launched around the world across all colour cosmetic sectors.

Launch activity in the first quarter of 2005 was particularly strong, with body, eye and facial colour cosmetics all expected to introduce a record number of new products by the end of the year.

In terms of region, North America has seen the most prolific launch activity, accounting for over half of all new colour cosmetic products in 2004.

Europe was in second place with 22 per cent of new product launches, closely followed by the Asia Pacific region with 20 per cent.