I had my lashes permed (or ‘lifted’ as is now the term to use in polite company!) at Groom in Selfridges. My photos were unbearably bad, so you’ll just have to trust me on this one: my lashes were curled beyond belief. I mean, they touched my eyelid when I had my eyes open! After initially being a little underwhelmed by the result (my tint didn’t take too well, but I should have gone for the darkest black dye) I put on some mascara and BOOM! Full-on false-lash effect. I don’t think that you could ever get quite the same effect using curlers – the curl from the ‘lift’ or ‘perm’ is a smooth, curvy curl and all of the lashes (even pesky short ones) are caught.

Method for lift and tint? Little rods are stuck to your (closed) lids and then the lashes are stuck down over the rods – perming solution is then applied and you get a lovely scalp massage whilst it takes effect. Then the lash tint and another nice head massage (always a treat) and then the lashes are cleaned off and ready to go. I must say that although the results aren’t as dramatic as having false lash extensions (nowhere near, in fact) they aren’t nearly so tedious to maintain! Mine are still going strong after two weeks and I have been doing all the naughty things they told me not to, like wearing loads of mascara and then cleaning it off with lovely, unctuous cleansers!

Groom is situated on the ground floor of Selfridges next to the ‘niche’ brand section before you get to the pens and paper department (one of my favourites!) and so it feels quite natural to just pop in for a quick service. For a massage or facial, I’d definitely want somewhere more tranquil but it works perfectly as a functional stop-off to get proper things done! An eyelash lift and tint was never high on my list of priorities, it has to be said, and if you’re strapped for cash then you’ve always got your trusted curlers, but if you’re off on hols or to an event then it really does make quite a visible difference to the eye area.

Groom Lash Lift and Enhancer is £65 from Groom London, Selfridges