The first time we tried a 'magic mirror' in a store, we were blown away at being able to see how our make-up would look in candlelight, daylight, indoor lighting...

Incredibly cleverly, this innovative device from Beautifect, a truly exciting start-up, lets you do that in your own home –  not just at (say) a Chanel or Tom Ford counter, were we even able to visit them right now.

Even better, the 'quilted' box itself works as a make-up station, letting you stash all your products in one place. (Jo slips hers under the bedside table and reaches for it each morning.) You'll mostly often want to use it on the daylight setting, we imagine – and of course, every make-up artist we know always recommends ensuring your make-up looks good in daylight (which has been in short supply with late sunrises and even days recently where the gloom never seemed to lift at all). It recharges via a USB-C cable, and should last a week cord-free, with 'average' use. 

You can, if you choose, then adjust the settings to see your make-up in several different lights: office, bright sun, photo light and evening light. (When you first get the box, we defy you not to spend quite a lot of time checking this out.) The 'magic' hinge lets you angle the mirror so you can use it pretty much anywhere. (Living in a draughty house, Jo likes to put hers on a laptop tray to apply her make-up in bed, to raise it up a bit – but only because she doesn't find staring down into a mirror exactly flattering...) It comes with a magnetic 5x mirror, too, which can be used for close-up work like tweezing.

But to be honest, what we also love about the Beautifect is the storage aspect. Your brushes are all laid out beautifully for use. Compacts can be laid flat, and powders aren't disturbed by being jostled in your make-up bag. You can store 'like with like'. Of course, it's not something you'd lug around with you (though we could see ourselves taking it on holiday, actually). But as most of us really going anywhere, what could be more perfect? Jo has stashed quite a few more shades in hers than she'd normally have in her daily kit, encouraging experimentation, upping the daily fun factor, too.

It was created by a dental surgeon, Tara Lalvani, who says: ' Applying my makeup always felt like an inconvenience, I was having to leave my family and go to a different room, the lighting was poor and my makeup was disorganised in messy makeup bags. I was wasting valuable time every day taking out my makeup and then having to tidy it all away again. I tried searching for a better way but to my surprise I couldn’t find one. That’s when I set out on a mission, determined to make women’s lives easier.' And honestly, it does… 

Unsurprisingly, high-tech make-up wizardry like this doesn't come cheap. (It's just been listed by Harrods, which is a hint at the price.) But this is something truly unique, worthy of its own little piggy bank. (All those takeaway coffees you're not drinking? Divert the equivalent to a savings piggy-bank and it's extraordinary how quickly it builds up.) 

Not a word we use lightly, but Beautifect's a real game-changer, actually.

 £279 – buy here

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