I’M not an envious person, but if I were to play body swap shop, I know what I’d want.

Forget long Amazonian legs or a firm and generous pair of boobs – I’d take long eyelashes anytime.

My seven-year-old daughter has an amazing set – inherited from her father. Dark and long, they curl gently upward, beautifully framing her large, blue eyes. In a few years time when she’s a dab hand with a mascara wand, those eyes will melt a hundred hearts.

As for my hubby – well his eyelashes are just wasted on him. Much fairer that he had my mousey brown stubby set.

Eyelashes like mine need a helping hand. Normally, that’s lashings of mascara and sometimes a set of falsies. But this week, I took one step further and booked in for some eyelash extensions.

Beauty Plus at Fenwick offers the complete eye makeover – from eyebrow threading, eyelash tinting, to eyelash extensions and perming.

For the latter two, you need to have a patch test done at least 24 hours before treatment.

Unless your eyelashes are naturally dark, most probably you will need them tinted before having the extensions (£45) or perming (£40). This costs an extra £12, takes about ten minutes, and is recommended to achieve the best possible effect.

My appointment took about an hour and a half. After tinting my eyelashes black, beauty therapist Sonal Patel reclined my chair and told me to relax. She then put a cotton pad between my top and bottom eyelid and asked me to close my eyes – and keep them closed while she set to work.

I was warned that I might experience a slight stinging sensation as she fixed the false lashes to my own. I did: and it made my eyes water. I winced and wondered for a moment if I could carry on. But Sonal assured me it would pass. She was right: as soon as the glue dried, the stinging ceased.

Sonal put at least 50 lashes into each eye, to create a thick and full lash. The false lashes have a curl on them, which helps open up the eye.

The lashes come in various sizes: 14mm, 10mm, 8mm and 6mm. Sonal used mostly 10mm on me, with a few 8mm in the inside corners.

Looking in the mirror, I was amazed at the transformation.

“I had filmstar eyes – and that’s before I even applied any make-up.

“The beauty of eyelash extensions is that you don’t have to wear mascara – so no smudgy eyes!” says Simona Baglioni, of Beauty Plus.

“I have them done all the time,” she adds. “If you have short lashes, extensions can be really eye defining.

“They really widen and open the eye and are rejuvenating; giving you a youthful look. And they look glamorous too.”

The extensions are fixed to your own eyelash, so will come out when it falls out. They should last two to three weeks, but last longest if you do not use mascara on them and use a gentle, water-based make-up remover (such as Simple) to take off eye make-up.

Should any fall out within the first week, Beauty Plus will replace them free of charge. Otherwise, a top-up costs £25 – and that would be needed every two to three weeks to maintain the look.

• Now is the ideal time to try eyelash extensions as Beauty Plus is offering 20 per cent off eyelash extensions and perming during Fenwick’s Beauty Week, which runs until Saturday.