This time it's personal

Sadly for me, shopping is a solitary pastime. Don't get me wrong. I love it. It is up there in my league of favourite things to do along with going to the cinema, eating sumptuous food and lounging in bed on a Sunday morning.

But like all of the above, it's much more fun with a bit of company.

That's where I come unstuck. My boyfriend loathes shopping with me. My mother, sister and best friends would love to, but live miles away. So if I want a second opinion, I have to trust my mirror image. The camera might never lie, but changing-room mirrors often do, as I have learned to my cost over the years.

One solution to this problem is to 'hire' a personal shopper; someone who can give you honest advice - and not just on fashion, but on make-up and accessories too.

Until now, such a service has been limited to the posher stores in London. But Fenwick in Coppergate, York, is now offering customers the assistance of Carol Allen, the city's first personal shopper.

If you thought such a service was a luxury only afforded to the rich and famous, think again. Carol's mission is to be of help to whoever might need it. And the even better news is, it's completely free.

All you have to pay for are the purchases you make or the hair or beauty treatments you might book.

"I like helping people," smiles Carol, who has worked at the store for 13 years, including ten as a beauty consultant with Estee Lauder. She has also worked in various departments across the store so has a good knowledge of what Fenwick's has to offer.

"My job as a personal shopper is to give advice and find things for people," says Carol. "There are people out there who want a new image, who don't know what to wear and need a little bit of help. Some people like a second opinion - an honest opinion - and I am very straight with people."

Carol will be working three days a week in the store - Tuesday, Friday and Saturday - helping customers pick an outfit for a special occasion, or consulting with them for a whole new look. Carol's help can also be enlisted for finding the perfect gift, which she can arrange to be wrapped ready for collection.

To road test the service, I asked Carol to give me a new look for spring. I wanted to come out of hibernation: ditch my dreary winter wardrobe of grey and bring a bit of colour into my life.

We decided on two looks: a smart one for day time and a glamorous one for evening. I wanted Carol to make me into a new woman... and from these pictures, you can see how she succeeded.

IT'S an early start at 9am, when I meet Carol at the store. Over a coffee, I tell her what I'm hoping for, admitting I'm a bit nervous, particularly about a new hairdo, but she just says: "Trust me," with a calming smile.

Then the fun starts. We tour the fashion floor, picking out clothes we like. Soon, Carol's arms are laden with countless outfits. I'm beginning to enjoy this movie-star treatment.

Carol picks some items which I would not have considered, such as citrus-coloured suits. My hand hovers over a black dress. "You want colour," she politely reminds me. I give in: after all I do want to look different.

We pick out some snazzy shoes and handbags then head down to our very own dressing room, complete with coffee maker.

My eye is drawn to a lime trouser suit. It just sings spring to me. When I try it on I'm amazed how good the colour looks on me. "That's the one," Carol says. I totally agree. I love it even more when Carol picks out some fantastic snake print sandals and a matching handbag. The outfit would be perfect for a spring wedding or Ladies Day at the races.

From posh we move to Posh Spice, as I zip myself into a funky fake leather skirt and jacket. We team it with super-trendy zebra-print top and shoes. Wow, I shriek staring at the mirror. Is that really me? I must say it was hard to resist the temptation to growl like cat woman.

Clothes chosen, the next task was to tackle my hair and make-up.

Over to the girls at the store's Regis hair salon. After a brief consultation, we decided to go shorter and bolder. Bands of my hair were lightened by a few shades and a deep plum semi-permanent colour was put all over. Then my hair was cut shorter at the back and razored through the top and sides to reduce its bulk and give it a softer look.

Three hours and several cups of tea later, all was revealed. I loved it. The colour was vibrant and I particularly liked the highlighted areas which were almost cherry red.

Now I needed some make-up advice on how to make the most of my new image.

Back in the beauty room, Carol quizzed me about my skin and skin care regime. Because she works independently of the cosmetic houses, she is free to select which products she thinks are the most appropriate. Accordingly, Carol used a mixture of products from Clarins, Shiseido, Aveda and Clinique on me with an accent on the new colours from Chanel: all plummy and pewtery, which went well with my new hair colour.

Carol showed me how to a achieve a day-time look - compete with easy-to-follow advice on applying eyeshadow (always my downfall) - then she showed me how to jazz it up for evening time with some glitter and lip gloss.

After a day spent with Carol, I would thoroughly recommend her service. She encouraged me to widen my horizons without making me feel uncomfortable. And I thoroughly enjoyed myself.