Behind their desks at glossy magazines, beauty editors tend to be as fragrant as the potions they shill – wafting ethereally between holistic spa treatments and pedicures, no make-up on and hair just the right side of whatever “mussed” actually means.
Without wanting to cast aspersions on Caroline Hirons’ natural aroma – we meet via Zoom from her family home in London, which I’m sure smells lovely – she is not this sort of beauty editor. Nor is she the new kind, the heavily contoured and digitally facetuned Instagram influencer who is paid to recommend slap and lip-fillers to an audience barely out of its teens.
Instead, Hirons – a 50-year-old mother of four who has devoted half her life to working with skincare and been blogging about it for a decade – has made a career of doing things her own way. In 2018, she was described as “beauty’s most powerful woman”.
Hirons’ straight-talking manner and distinctly un-Vogue vocabulary have won her a huge following. “I’m a good 25 years older than most of the people who do what I do,” she tells me. “It’s my industry and I know it well, so I feel I can shout at it when I need to.”
She has 371,000 Instagram followers to whom she broadcasts advice on everything from spots to psoriasis, and a further 87,000 on Twitter, where she regularly berates celebrity misogynists and pro-lifers. Hirons’ YouTube channel has had more than 13 million views; when she recommends a product on there, it can sell out worldwide within hours. Her “Freaks”, as a 32,000-strong Facebook group of her fans is known, are an opinionated and skincare-savvy bunch who follow her tips and techniques to the letter.
“The beauty industry is run by middle-aged white men, and women feel too afraid to say anything. I’m not. When you think about the way critics work with theatre and food, their views are respected, but with ‘the beauty industry’ it’s different.”
The main difference is that those reviewers are not reliant on cheques from the industry they are critiquing. In the age of the digital influencer, it can be difficult to tell a recommendation from covert advertising. The fact that “paid partnerships” must now be flagged on social-media posts has led to more transparency but it also, counter-intuitively perhaps, devalues trust. When personalities are seen to be working with lots of brands, many users say they would just prefer not to know. Hirons, who earns most of her money from consultancy work, seems to have struck some sort of equilibrium. “I’m paid to tell companies what they need to hear, not what they want to hear,” she tells me. “And I’m trustworthy. I still do sponsored deals; I’m just really fussy. I do maybe one a month.”
“Caroline doesn’t pander to brands,” says Joanna Ellner, a beauty director. “She’s not afraid of making enemies off the back of her opinions and that sort of truth-telling is rare in our industry. She’s one of the few whose opinion can make or break a beauty product.”
Her website is full of declarations that she doesn’t take payments for product mentions. But in the ten years since she started it, Hirons has become a cottage industry in her own right, and with such success come inevitable questions about how she maintains her objectivity.
By regularly turning down lucrative jobs, she says. “We’re talking big bucks. I wouldn’t want to take a job that could be held over my head in five years. If I ever do an ad for wipes, you know I’ve got the bailiffs at my door.”
Ah yes, wipes. Across all Hirons’ channels, facial wipes are public enemy number one. The only thing wipes are good for, she says, are festivals. “And fannies. At festivals.”
Hirons delivers this while applying moisturiser to her face over the video link we are sharing. Lockdown, she says, is doing as much damage to her skin as a transatlantic flight. “I’m spritzing and moisturising three or four times a day and it just disappears,” she says. “People think make-up is bad for their skin but it’s another layer of protection – central heating, airless houses… Everyone I know is getting dry skin and breakouts.”
There goes my fantasy of emerging from the crisis with a blemish-free glow. I thought it was enough simply to go several weeks without wearing foundation.
Listening to Hirons is a corrective to all the snake oil you’ve been sold over the years, all the myths you’ve taken on board and the bad habits you’ve nurtured unknowingly – or, as her husband, Jim, puts it, “Who knew that being gobby and opinionated would make a good career?” Her new book, Skincare, aims to condense those qualities into a manual on the subject most close to Hirons’ heart.
“It causes me pain when I see some people’s skin,” she says with a wince. “So many wash their face in a hot shower with whatever they use on their body, then whack some Olay on because that’s what their mum used.” I can all but feel her shudder over the wifi. “Good-looking women take care of themselves.” That includes, in her opinion, guilt-free tweaks. Hirons had her first “tweakments” last autumn at the age of 49 – so-called baby Botox, which is a lower dose of the muscle-freezing wrinkle-relaxer, and some fillers around her jawline.
She doesn’t pander to brands. ‘I’m paid to tell companies what they need to hear, not what they want to hear’
“In the UK, we’re expected to put up and shut up – they don’t do that in France or the States,” she says. “If you look in the mirror and see a negative thing, why not fix it?
“If you’re lucky enough to be a natural beauty, good for you, but natural beauty becomes harder in your forties and fifties. Most women want fewer heavy lines on their forehead and their jowls to go away.”
Hirons’ skin does have that gleam that injectables often seem to bestow – but, she argues, this is down to how she cares for it rather than anything that has been added.
She was born and raised in Liverpool, where her mother and grandmother were both “counter girls” at department stores. As someone who reported from the opening of Harvey Nichols’ Beauty Bazaar there in 2012, I can attest to the still legendary status of the Scouse glam squad behind the city’s tills: they take this stuff seriously there. “My earliest memory is of my nan taking off her make-up with almond oil and then cleansing with a flannel,” Hirons says. “When I went to my friends’ houses, I’d notice that their mums hadn’t instilled the same thing in them.
“When I moved to London and saw the posh girls in their minimal coral lipstick and blue eyeliner like Princess Di, I just thought they hadn’t made any effort.”
She had retail jobs from the age of 15, but turned to beauty after the births of her first two children, when she began on-counter at Aveda. She then started at night school to gain her beauty therapist diploma, paused for two more children, and set up on her own as a consultant in 2008. Hirons credits Jim, her husband of 30 years, for giving her the time and space to do – and have – it all.
“I was the part-timer when the boys were little, then as my career took off and I started earning more than Jim, the dynamic changed,” she explains. “I was always more ambitious.”
Latterly she discovered, when her children’s school suggested testing them for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, that she ticked almost every box for the diagnosis.
“I think that’s why I have managed to navigate the online world – my brain always feels like it has loads of tabs open.”
She gave up booze several years ago – her pro tip, she says, if Botox isn’t for you.
“Menopause and alcohol don’t mix, and alcohol destroys your collagen,” she says. “If you’re skinny, you look older quicker, so keep eating chocolate and you’ll be fine.”
HIRONS’ TOP BEAUTY KIT
Teens to early twenties
A good eye make-up remover. This can be from a chemist or a pharmacy brand and doesn’t need to be expensive. If you don’t wear much make-up, leave this out.
A good cleanser. This can be your eye make-up remover if funds are tight, but this age group traditionally embraces heavier make-up, so make sure you are removing it all properly.
Consider an acid product if you suffer from acne or regular breakouts. Start with a mild lactic or salicylic acid. You do not need to use it every day.
A moisturiser or light hydrating lotion, depending on your skin type.
SPF. Try to find an SPF50 cream that feels comfortable on your skin. SPF30 is the absolute minimum.
Add-on A decent antioxidant – vitamin C serum is a safe bet. This isn’t 100 per cent necessary as a teen, but it stands you in good stead for future years if you start in your early twenties.
Twenties to mid-thirties
A good eye make-up remover or first cleanser.
A second, lighter-textured cleanser for mornings or evenings where you aren’t removing make-up or SPF.
Acid toner. You can introduce glycolic acid here, but lactic and salicylic acid are still helpful.
A good antioxidant serum. Vitamin C and niacinamide are both good options.
A multi-molecular-weight hyaluronic acid serum. As you are nearing or entering your thirties, your skin will slowly start to find it more challenging to retain oil and water. Hyaluronic acid is your best friend.
Eye product. Optional if budget restricts; more necessary if you wear glasses or if your face is regularly exposed to the sun.
A vitamin A/retinol product. This is not a concern if you are fairly healthy and don’t sunbathe/smoke etc. However, if you are the other side of 30 and do, you need a retinoid.
A moisturiser suited to your skin type.
SPF. Same as earlier years. Use SPF50, or at least a minimum of SPF30.
Add-on A light facial oil if you feel you need it, or in the winter. A hydrating hyaluronic-based facial mist. This will keep your hydration levels topped up without the added weight of a heavier cream.
Late thirties to early forties
A good eye make-up remover or first cleanser.
A lighter-textured cleanser for your morning cleanse or evenings as a second cleanse, where you aren’t typically removing make-up or SPF.
Acids. Glycolic, lactic or PHA acids can all make an appearance in your kit at this stage, depending on your skin’s needs.
A hyaluronic-based facial mist. Your skin finds it harder to retain moisture at this age – this spray replaces that lost moisture. Do not spray plain water over your face; it is not the same thing.
A good antioxidant serum. Spend your money here.
A good-quality hyaluronic product. You are more susceptible to transepidermal water loss (TEWL) at this age, so you will benefit from a daily dose of hyaluronic acid. Do not be fooled into buying a dirt-cheap one.
Facial oil. Your quickest fix and your best friend.
Eye product. Go for lighter textures like gels or light creams. Rich, thicker creams will make your eyes puffy.
Vitamin A/retinoid. A must.
A moisturiser suited to your skin type.
SPF. Do not forgo this critical step.
Over forties
A good eye make-up remover or first cleanser. You may prefer thicker cream cleansers at this point.
A second, lighter-textured cleanser for mornings or evenings.
Acids. Glycolic, lactic and PHA acids are all great for older skins.
A hyaluronic-based facial mist, to replace lost moisture.
Eye products. Go for gels if you have crepey eyes, or light creams.
Vitamin A/retinoid. Your skin’s cell turnover is extremely slow at this age.
Facial oil. Essential.
Good antioxidant serums. While these are still important, you may prefer to spend your money “correcting” issues at this age, and that brings us to…
A good-quality pigmentation serum/product.
A good-quality hyaluronic product.
A moisturiser suited to your skin type. There is some merit to a separate night cream for older skins, but it’s more of a “nice to have” product than a must.
Flannels for all ages – they get skin CLEAN. Buy eight flannels minimum and use one a day (you’ll need the eighth flannel as a spare on wash day). Start with a fresh flannel for your morning cleanse and use the same flannel for your evening cleanse, chucking it in the washing basket when you’re done.
...AND WHAT TO BUY
Where should I spend most of my money?
Put most of your money into the middle of your routine: serums cost more to make, contain more active ingredients and you can use more than one in your routine. The middle is where you treat/correct/repair, and that is where you should spend the bulk of your budget. Spend on skincare, concealer and foundation and scrimp on the rest. Spend up to £150 (outside the organic market), but always check the ingredients to see what you are paying for. After that, you’re paying for packaging – and the holiday home of the name on the box.
