An Education: Sad Facts of (Beauty) Life

By Beaut.ie | Aug 19, 2010

The marketing of beauty products is often completely disconnected from the reality of beauty products and as a result, there are a lot of puzzled women out there wondering why their stuff isn't performing the way they think it should.

So I thought it was time we had a few hard facts of life on the blog, beauty-style.

Lipstick doesn't last. It's a coloured emollient designed to add shine and pigment to a mobile part of your face which you use to eat, drink, talk and kiss with. So don't expect to apply at 8am and have it looking mask-like and perfect 12 hours later
Ditto gloss (except it's got even less longevity than lipstick)
Those women who always look picture perfect? There's no secret: they sneak off to the loo and do touch-ups. It's the only way to make sure your face looks great all day long
Hair dye never turns out like it does on the box. That's because it's highly likely what's in the box wasn't even used and if it was, a professional colourist applied it, plus lots of tonal shades, to create the swishy mane you're hoping to get
Mascara does not ever deliver the look of lash extensions. It makes your lashes blacker, fatter - and sometimes merely horribly clumpy
No topical skincare product can deliver the effect of Botox; likewise, no topical skincare product stands a chance of fixing those 25 years of neglect, smoking and sun damage you're hoping to have wiped off your noggin, and all for €12.99 from Tesco
If every woman used a decent moisturiser that suited and properly hydrated her skin plus a SPF daily from teenage-hood, we'd collectively put the anti-ageing product market out of business
Cheap products are often a false economy
Likewise, just because it's got a brand name or a fancy logo doesn't always mean it's worth the cash
There are a lot of products out there that sell and build their name on hype, not by effectiveness, ease of use or results. Fake tan and hair removal cream, I'm specifically looking at you here