The latest celebrity accessory isn’t diamonds or a designer handbag, but a fabric mask that instantly transforms even the sorriest skin.

These moisturiser-impregnated fabric face masks — known as a ‘cheat sheet’ because it lets you cheat your way to a brighter, clearer complexion in minutes — have suddenly become the thing to be seen wearing. Barely a week goes by without a celebrity sharing a picture of themselves on their social media pages wearing one of these white sheets draped over their face, eyes peering out from a ghostly visage.

Yes, a mask may turn you into a Hannibal Lecter lookalike, but it makes you look younger. From Adele and Paris Hilton to Lady Gaga and Alexa Chung, they’re all at it.

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Quite why these A-listers feel compelled to showcase every aspect of their beauty regimens to the world remains a mystery, but according to London-based facialist Cherry Woods, cheat sheets are an invaluable accompaniment to the busy party season — for stars and the rest of us alike.

‘They offer a practical and easy skin treatment that doesn’t rely on faffing around with pots of cream,’ she says. ‘They won’t mess up your hair when you apply them or irritate and dry your skin when you try and take them off, as some conventional clay masks can.’

Sheet masks are usually made of fine cotton cloth, but can also come in paper or silicone format. The material is designed to fit the contours of the face, leaving holes for your eyes and mouth.

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While the makers of some masks claim that once in place, they won’t move, the reality is they’re more likely to stay put if you’re horizontal while you wear them.

Fine if you’re a celebrity holed up on a first-class flight or in a five-star hotel, but maybe not as convenient for the average harassed mum with a turkey to stuff.

Different masks have different active ingredients impregnated into the sheets and these can range from hyaluronic acid — a skincare ingredient that attracts water and plumps up the top layers of skin — to vitamins and minerals that promise rejuvenating qualities, and amino acids which purport to repair the connective tissue under the skin’s surface.

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Most need to be left on for around 15 minutes, during which time the proximity of the sheet to the skin’s surface helps to ensure the ingredients permeate the skin and stops them evaporating.

‘As long as it remains saturated it can be an effective way of delivering product. It can also offer a surge of moisture without clogging the skin like some rich cream masks do,’ says Woods.

‘But the real benefit is the convenience factor. Provided the mask doesn’t contain exfoliating ingredients you don’t need to wash the residue off.

‘Simply massage in the excess, add moisturiser and you’re ready to apply make-up.’

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With some sheet masks costing upwards of £100 for a packet of ten, a celebrity bank balance obviously helps.

But budget brands are available — 7th Heaven sell an aloe vera sheet mask for £1.29, while aromatherapy company Base Formula sell packs of 20 cotton sheets compressed into tablet form that can be doused with decidedly un-starry household ingredients such as milk and honey before use.