Invited to propose ‘a radical idea to make the world a better place’, Afshar said beauty products should be banned because they do not allow women to grow old and are peddled on the lie that women are supposed to stay young and pretty forever.

The Professor of Politics and Women’s Studies at York University said make-up is also marketed on the idea that women are judged on appearance and therefore reduces them to the length of their eyelashes.

“Whether our eyebrows are plucked, whether we are white or pink enough, or if we've had a special operation to make our lips bigger or smaller - we are more than that,” added Afshar, who joined the House of Lords in 2007 as a cross-bench peer.