CHEAP is the new chic. The great and the good recently discovered Primark - about 20 years after the rest of us - and found that you can sometimes get more than you pay for.

But what about make-up? If you can't face the superior assistants - and the superior prices - on the posh make-up counters, can you grab yourself a bargain at the supermarket? Asda, Tesco and Morrisons all offer ranges of cosmetics. Got to be worth a try.

ASDA

Pink, girly and glittery. This is where Chantelle bought her green eye shadow for the Big Brother house. Since then, sales of of Asda bright green eye shadow have gone up by 57 per cent, thanks to Chantelle wannabes. Asda are said to be considering re-naming the colour in her honour. That's fame.

Packaging is pink. No testers. Very difficult to see the shades. Only guide to eye shadow, for instance, was a small blob on the back of the pack. Not easy to make a choice from a rack. The packaging on the powder blusher made it hard to work out what the colour was.

The shades on the eye shadow palette weren't on the outside of the pack at all - just marked on the stand. Very tricky to see, especially as the stand was in a dark and awkward corner where we kept getting bashed by other people's trolleys.

MORRISONS

The Complexions range is make-up at its most basic. Very plain, functional, no nonsense. You certainly don't get inspired to try. No testers. No shade cards. The packaging is a bit more revealing than Asda's, ie you can actually see what's inside. They could almost make a virtue of its simplicity, if they did a bit more - a lot more - with the display and added some testers.

Seems odd that they have bothered with this range when they seem to give it so little love and attention. Just a little bit more could have made it much more appealing.

TESCO

Tesco's range looks classy and grown up , the closest to a regular make-up counter in a regular shop. It frequently receives plaudits from the glossy magazine experts. Not surprising. It's created for Tesco by Barbara Daly, who use to be make up consultant for Princess Diana and who created the Colourings range for Body Shop.

Lots of testers. Easy to see the different shades and colours available. And as it's generally in a sort of make-up corridor, you don't get bashed to bits quite so easily.

WE LIKED

Tesco Oil free foundation £6.50. Goes on smoothly, lasts well. As good as foundations costing many times more.

Tesco Thick Lash Mascara £4.30. No gimmicks but a good everyday mascara.

Asda Instant Volume Mascara £3.68. Not much instant volume and a bit messy but OK.

Morrisons Waterproof Mascara £2.99. Brush a bit long but went on fine. Perfectly acceptable - especially at the price.

Morrisons Blusher £2.49. Texture was nice and applied well. Brush wasn't very soft.

Morrisons Eye Shadow Trio £2.99. Took several coats to build up the colour but applied well and lasted most of the day.

Tesco Designer Eyes £4.75. Small eye shadow compact with three subtle shades in it. Could have been a bit smoother - but fine.

Tesco Helping Hands £6. Transparent gel with very nice smell. Too greasy for day time use but fine for bedtime.

WE DIDN'T LIKE

Tesco Liquid Lips. £5. Looked very similar to a favourite No 7 version - until we put it on. Watery and we could feel every one of the tiny glittering grains. Not nice.

Tesco Eyebrow Pencil £3.15. Scratchy and left nasty red marks.

Asda 4 Colour Eye Palette £4.98. Didn't like the colours, not a particularly nice combination. Very scratchy to apply, didn't smooth on at all.

Asda Ultra Fine Powder Blush £3.18. Sponge applicator was rubbish, didn't absorb the blusher so application was patchy.

And as for that Chantelle cream eye slick... we found it very runny. It took three coats, with time in between to let each one dry, to build up a strong and even colour. But I guess that could have been more entertaining than listening to some of the other Big Brother contestants.

CONCLUSIONS

Choosing make up can be a treat. Browsing over the lipsticks, dabbling with the eyeshadows, pottering through the foundations, trying the testers on your hand is - as we all know from early teens upwards - a very pleasant way of passing half an hour.

You don't get that in supermarkets. No browsing, no playing, testers only in Tesco. BUT if you just want to grab and go, then fine.

We didn't find all that many items that we liked. On the other hand, they are so cheap that it's worth trying anything, as it could just suit and turn out to be a real bargain.

And if you ever get to wear it on TV, then who knows, you too could have a colour named after you.

PS on packaging

IF you're trying to do your bit to reduce packaging, then be warned - especially if you're in Morrisons. A Darlington reader rang to say that while shopping there she decided she should so her bit to save the planet and to do without carrier bags. She was taking her shopping - unbagged, in the trolley - to the car, only to be stopped by a security guard.