From the office to the party - Make-up to get you through the Christmas season

It’s time to start thinking about Christmas. So when it comes to make-up, you need something that will carry you through from work to party nights.

Cue the new offering from Clarins. Fresh on the heels of its recent reboot of the gorgeous Joli Rouge lipsticks, The Essentials eyeshadow palette just might be another reason to stop by the Clarins counter.

Bringing it all back to basics, the Essentials palette contains just that — 10 eyeshadows designed to cover all eventualities and occasions.

From a dusky pink to soft browns and taupes, it has your everyday matte neutrals covered but it also contains four pretty shimmery shades — including a stunning gold that will be ideal for the festive season — and a deep black to take your look into the evening.

The shadows themselves contain minerals and plant extracts, are soft-textured and very easy to blend with little to no fall-down.

Our only gripe with this otherwise solid palette is the packaging — stiff cardboard with a removable tray so you can reuse the box — perfectly functional but not very luxe. However, the included brush is pretty good, especially compared to the ones you usually get with palettes.

* The Essentials palette, €43, is available at Clarins counters now.

- Ciara Flaherty

LOVELY DAYS

Make-up is supposed to help us look more attractive, but indulging in a little preening each day can actually change our emotional state and relationships too, according to a new study. Commissioned by Revlon, researchers found that 97% of women reported a significant positive change after a week during which they performed a daily ritual that involved facing a mirror, applying make-up and fragrance, looking at themselves and smiling. Their partners noticed a difference too, as you can see in a video documenting some of the participants at www.revlon.com/loveison. Tissues at the ready, though, it’s a bit of a weepie.

STEAL OF THE WEEK

As shorter days and a lack of sunlight take hold, we all need a little bit more help with our complexions, don’t we? Enter Collection’s new ConcealAndLightLikeAPro palette, which contains eight skin-boosting cream shades for just £5.99.

Blend the concealers to find your perfect shade, then use the four clever colours to banish eye bags, redness, sallowness — or all three.

* Collection ConcealAndLightLikeAPro Pallette, €8.99, Boots.