I’ll admit it: it took me a long time to get around to testing out this little beauty. Bottom Lash Mascara? Why on earth would I need that? I’m not really into painting my bottom lashes because they usually end up looking like spider legs and I always hate it when they mascara them on shoots – it feels uncomfortable and tickly and, quite frankly, pointless. For what can darkened bottom lashes do for your eye definition that a good slick of black kohl can’t? Surely the eyeliner is an easier and more effective option?

After a few uses of Bottom Lash Mascara I stood absolutely corrected. Well-painted lower lashes can look nicely retro and they do help to give definition to the eye, albeit subtly. Clinique’s little Bottom Lash gizmo (a miniature mascara, basically!) makes sure that coating the lower lashes is easy and mess-free. The brush has been designed specifically for those lashes and has exactly the right shape for the task in hand. I was surprised to find that I rather liked the full-on lash effect that I got with both sets of lashes painted, especially for slightly more dramatic makeup looks. Bottom Lash mascara is now in my permanent makeup bag – I don’t use it daily, but it’s brilliant for ramping-up a look slightly and it’s also great for catching those fine, annoying lashes towards the inner eye. (Inner eye? Inside eye? I mean towards the nose, I just can’t for the life of me remember how to describe it!)

Clinique Bottom Lash Mascara is £10 from Boots online here: http://tidd.ly/f39624fc