Tony Blair: Made-up?

London, July 24 (AFP): The secret of British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s famous all-year healthy glow has been revealed ? he spends almost twice as much on make-up as the average British woman.

Figures released by Downing Street in answer to a parliamentary question showed that Blair spent more than ?1,800 on make-up and make-up artists over the past six years.

In contrast, the average British woman spends ?195 a year on both make-up and skincare.

The written answer ? released quietly on Thursday, the final day of the parliamentary session before MPs begin their summer break ? said between 1999 and 2005, Downing Street paid out ?1,050.22 in cosmetics for the Prime Minister’s media appearances. In the past two years, a further ?791.20 was spent on make-up artists.

In the run-up to the May general elections, many pundits noted that Blair had acquired a suspiciously orange glow. He insisted he had picked up a tan sitting in his garden during the less-than-tropical month of April.