‘I love make up,’ I sighed as MUA and Hourglass Cosmetics European training manager Mel Leonard put the finishing touches on my face.

Always have, always will, and this love results not only in this blog, but also in an unending quest to try out new things. The Venice CA-based cosmetics company is chock full of new things, and many of them ended up on me gob — not that I knew it. The defining characteristic of the products are their lightness of texture; paradoxically, they very much punch above their weight in terms of what they can do for your complexion.

Founded by Carisa Janes, the collection features anti-aging and sun-filtering ingredients that contribute to the health of your skin, as well as making it look beautiful. As Janes says herself, “I just want to look like me—only better.”

So: me, only better?

Yup.

At left, that post-facial face. At right, a full complement of Hourglass, professionally applied. And by full complement, I mean: two primers, foundation, eye concealer, face concealer, blush, bronzer, illuminator, eyeshadow liquid liner, mascara and lip rouge.

The leading lights of the brand are the primers: No. 28 Primer Serum and Mineral Veil Primer. As to the former, the number in the name refers to the ingredients — fourteen essential oils, ten plant oils, and four vitamins. The latter is water-resistant, minimises pores and fine lines, and feels like you are applying liquid satin to your face.

Plus? This stuff lasts for hours and hours. Hence, I reckon, the name. The sands may have been flowing through the glaSs, but you’d never know it by looking at me.

Eh, so, you know: iPhone. But still.That is some class of consistency, when you consider, clockwise from upper left, we are covering the hours from 4.30 pm to midnight.

Mel did such an extraordinary job on my eyes, right? I must get my paws on that Calligraphy Liquid Liner: also waterproof/smudgeproof, I can use it on my upper inner eyelid, and one blink will not make me look like a panda. That’s the part of my ‘look’ that I find the most high maintenance, and I’d like to minimise the reapplication in that department.

Also, four words: Film Noir Lash Lacquer. Mel painted this on my lashes after one coat of mascara. It is exactly what it says, lacquer for the lashes, making them look thicker and richer than any mascara could possibly hope to achieve. She did warn that it would make my whole face black when I went to wipe it off, and suggested an oil-based eye make up remover — and it disappeared with no fuss, and no more muss than conventional lash stuff.

Lips! Opaque Rouge Liquid Lipstick in Empress. I had to goose it a bit with some lipgloss as I found it slightly drying, but it didn’t budge an inch in over six hours.

I had a long day yesterday. I was all over town in that blustery, awful rain, and my feet hurt. I had meetings, I went from home to town to Dundrum to town to theatre and all I kept thinking about at one stage was going hoooome. Hourglass helped me put a brave face on it — and if we have the winter it looks like we may be having, I’m going to want the means of making this brave face myself.

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Available in Ireland at Harvey Nichols; in the USA at Sephora and Bergdorf Goodman; and from Liberty in London.