We really don't have our beauty editing colleagues' patience for lash extensions. Attempts to apply actual false lashes, meanwhile, usually end up with one side peeling away - and giving the game away, to boot - as the day wears on.  (Though we do LOVE having them applied by make-up pros...)

But for those who are less-than-lush-of-lash, like Jo, these are a pretty good compromise.  They beef up what you've got with extra fibres, and you 'fix' them with your own mascara-of-choice.

The how-to's pretty simple:  brush on a coat of mascara, then the Magnifibres (which are Britain's leading brush-on false lashes, BTW).  Wait 30 seconds, then add a second coat of mascara, for a distinctly improved flutter.  (The key, we've found, is to tip your head slightly forward while applying, rather than tipped back, to avoid the fibres falling in the eye itself.)

Fenella Fielding and Barbara Cartland, eat your hearts out.  (And if you don't know who we're talking about, you're probably a dab hand with falsies, and don't need Magnifibres anyway.)

UK readers find Magnifibres at www.selfridges.com/£20 - buy here