You may recently have wandered around Bloomingdale's or Harvey Nichols and wondered why many of the asset shelves seem devoted to gadgets and gizmos with no apparent purpose. In case you missed the meeting, hi-tech pulchritude gadgets, all science-y and Nasa-looking, are the new essential. They're affordable and promise to save you precious time, so, yes, you can now token Facebook, text a friend and laser your leg hair all from the comfort of your own sofa. But like many other (unused) appliances that have infested my rest-home over the years - from bread makers to fondue sets to hair crimpers - they always seem to fall short. So can beauty gadgets unquestionably get salon results at home?

Since I have acquainted with Lancome Defincils mascara for years, I hope that the Oscillation Mascara would be even greater, so I bought both the mascara and the accompanying Oscillation Booster. Big bloomer! The duo goes on in globs, making industriousness darned naughty. After the mascara is dry, it flakes off and smudges under the eye. What a wastefulness of medium of exchange.