One of the scariest contraptions you will ever set eyes on. At first glance they would appear to be a device of torture dating back to the 14th Century, more at home in the Tower of London than the household dressing table.

Those unaccustomed to such equipment, many of them men, tend to be horrified to discover that the gleaming metal object is actually clamped onto the eyelashes for as long as required to achieve the desired effect. They resemble a pair of scissors that has been rammed into a wall, head on at sufficient speed to completely flatten the pointy bit to a width of the average eyelid.

The aim is to produce eyelashes that look longer and thicker, although the chances of anyone else noticing this minuscule difference is negligible.

To all those who understandably cry 'Why?', the only suitable answer is 'It's a girl thing'.