CREAMS, serums and injections are all ways to beat wrinkles but most of us wouldn’t expect to find the same effect at the bottom of a cocktail glass.

But through the gin-making business they launched in March, Oxfordshire best pals Liz Beswick and Camilla Brown plan to change that.

The patented recipe for CollaGin includes 11 anti-ageing ingredients, such as star anise, pink grapefruit and collagen, the protein which gives skin its elasticity.

Sold in bottles like those used for expensive perfume, its pink label carries the slogan ‘The Elixir of Youth’.

The pair have just signed a contract to supply upmarket department store chain Harvey Nichols with CollaGin, which carries an RRP of £34.99 for a 50cl bottle.

It is also about to be stocked by mail order catalogue and online retailers very.co.uk and Littlewoods and is being sold through online sites DrinkSupermarket and 31Dover.com.

It is also in 20 outlets around Oxfordshire including Michelin-starred The Wild Rabbit, The Fishes at Hinksey village, The Woodstock Arms, The Mole Inn in Toot Baldon, The Fleece in Witney and the Oxford Wine Company.

Ms Beswick explained: “Because we believe in CollaGin so much, we have worked tirelessly to get it out there.”

The pair have a high-profile mentor, Mike Greene from TV series Secret Millionaire.

And Sarah Willingham from BBC TV series Dragon’s Den called them to offer encouragement.

Ms Brown, 31, who lives in Chalgrove, confessed the enterprise started as “a bit of a joke”.

The former public relations executive decided to have a go at launching her own gin and roped in her then line manager, 30-year-old Ms Beswick from Cassington.

She explained: “I had just nailed a successful PR campaign for a new drink and after a lot of talking and planning, Liz and I decided to turn our dream into reality.”

They sold 1,000 bottles in the first month and will produce 10,000 in the next batch.

The two struggled to fit CollaGin around their day jobs, before quitting to focus on the business.

“Our partners and family are completely on board,” Ms Brown said.

Sales of gin surged 12 per cent last year, according to the latest Wine and Spirit Trade Association Market Report, with the market worth £1bn.

Ms Brown and Ms Beswick plan to bump-up production of CollaGin, which is distilled in the Midlands and bottled in Lancashire, in time for Christmas.

Ms Brown added: “We have been advised that sales could triple or quadruple because of the gift aspect.

“The pace is exhausting but it’s an incredible feeling.”