Sali Hughes #11 A red lip, a pink tight, a leopard boot - how very singular!

[Disillusioned]

I never bought the admiration on here for Giles Coren. Defending your wife’s parenting seems a pretty low bar. And today there’s a disinterring of his bullying and offensive tweets and articles, similar to what Sali has been subject to on here. Totally foul from GC.

This is bloody odd. Or worse. I know he prides himself on breaching social norms in his witterings, but his toddler daughter is not the subject for it...

 

[BostonFernGreen]

I thought we all fancied Esther? I don’t think Sali would mention that though because the comparison wouldn’t be flattering.

 

[Badabing101]

Weird article there... not very woke and pretty tone deaf. I get what he’s trying to say about the love he has for his daughter but doesn’t sit right with me.

That being said, I’m ambivalent about Giles Coren - genuinely don’t know enough about him or his wife to form my own opinions (and can’t be arsed to go down that rabbit hole either).

Working in the marketing world myself I know
Exactly how specific the briefs are to ‘content creators / influencers’ - marketing budgets are pretty tight and everything has to be measurable. It’s becoming death by analytics and sapping any level of creativity and authenticity out of it. I mean these days a brand can be so specific about what type of image and copy because they 100% know what works - let’s take trainers / sneakers here as an example - a close up shot of a shoe on a foot in a realistic environment will drive more engagement than a shot of a head to toe look in a group of models. That’s why every brand / retailer looks the same on their social channels. We didn’t have this way of measuring marketing a few years ago, in theory the only true measure is how much you sell of the particular product which takes time to realise. Anyway I guess a lot of us on here are aware of this, but I don’t believe it’s just a beauty industry thing. It’s every industry where people want to sell stuff.

The best bit about Pretty Honest is the YouTube video with Mary Greenwell and a bit where Sali talks about hair removal and (NOT) wafting around in vest tops which I can completely identify with! Never been one for a waft. LOL.

 

[Gentle Reader]

Thanks so very much @Vexxed and @Mokie !

@121212 - yes the weak dilute was the thing that finally got me and I cannot believe I did not notice it before.. All that chat about which products were best for fine lines and 'glow' etc whilst she and IK constantly pop along to jolly old Dr Frances Prenna Jones for some deliciously free (or no doubt greatly discounted) tweakments whenever the mood takes them.

Regarding the EW piece- absolutely fascinating and so clear now that's how SH has been operating for some time now. As there is little decent money in freelance journalism anymore, influencing is her proper 'job'. Her column must be hugely helpful in that it confers a degree of authority and cachet which presumably helps get her more contracts and amps up the fees.

 

[Badabing101]

Thanks so very much @Vexxed and @Mokie !

@121212 - yes the weak dilute was the thing that finally got me and I cannot believe I did not notice it before.. All that chat about which products were best for fine lines and 'glow' etc whilst she and IK constantly pop along to jolly old Dr Frances Prenna Jones for some deliciously free (or no doubt greatly discounted) tweakments whenever the mood takes them.

Regarding the EW piece- absolutely fascinating and so clear now that's how SH has been operating for some time now. As there is little decent money in freelance journalism anymore, influencing is her proper 'job'. Her column must be hugely helpful in that it confers a degree of authority and cachet which presumably helps get her more contracts and amps up the fees.

Exactly the guardian column gives her authenticity and authority . A bit like Clemmie Hooper doing 1 day a week as a midwife to remain on brand.

Another one that gets my goat is Alex Steinherr - taking her in face value and if what she says about having no tweakments is true (apart from a bit of filler on her scar) then she still filters the crap out of her photos - it’s so soft focus you can’t tell what her skin is really like for a 40+ woman. Having met her IRL she looks bloody great, but she definitely has a few lines etc esp round her eyes but that’s normal and natural for someone of her age. It’s like this mad echo chamber and it’s so easy to lose sight of what is actually normal for a 40 yr old to look like.

ETA - I am not against influencers per se - we all have to make a living - it’s more the transparency and ALL THE BLOODY ADVERTS ALL OF THE TIME.

 

[SqualorVictoria]

The Apartment is on BBC2. I predict a SH or her minions tweet about the film (‘LOVE’) or Shirley MacLaine (‘FACE’).

 

[Gtc3931]

Giles Coren is a bit of a dick and says things to be incendiary, often at the expense of good taste. His sense of humour is definitely beyond the usual grounds of good taste, but from what limited things we can see I think it's purely an 'edgy' sense of humour and nothing more.

I'm no fangirl of Giles' but I do like that he owns that part of his personality and has a 'take it or leave it' approach to it. Esther doesn't seem to edit herself either, even after she experienced that Sali-led shitstorm. It's hypocrisy that I really dislike, people who make themselves attractive to a wide audience at the expense of their actual personality.

...which is why I really do believe that Sali is jealous of Esther, not because of her marriage to Giles but because she has a following based on who she really is, not an ever-so-honest persona. There's probably an interesting class-based exploration to be had there as posh folk tend to get the benefit of doubt more than us plebs, but I expect an Eames-collecting Rolex wearer would be in the Coren bag rather than with the rest of us po-faces.

 

[melfish]

For sure. Though I also know two teachers who retired and work at checkouts now and much prefer their life. Obviously, if you have no choice that's rough.

One of the ladies at my local supermarket (massive chain) is a widow with recurrent breast cancer. Long shifts, on her feet all day, for minimum wage People can't afford to retire in the US. They work till they die. It's a broken-arse society

 

[Spanner]

Giles Coren does write some awful things. Today’s is terrible. He may well be a total knob, he certainly comes across that way a lot. And that sock puppet thing last year! Jesus.

My point has always been that Sali seemed to so viciously go after Esther for the very reason that Esther is GC’s wife, rather than what EC actually wrote. She wilfully misconstrued the point EC was making. EC is not responsible for what her husband writes or what he thinks and it’s not her fault when he writes something horrible.

Also, & this is beside the point but, GC is way fitter than Sali’s husband. It doesn’t mean he’s a better person, or that Sali would like to shag him or swap him or whatever. He is just better looking (and Sali has self described her husband as a Tory as well, which doesn’t help on the shagability factor for me anyway!)

 

[121212]

Giles just seemed like a relatively high profile rebuttal to her I Am A Good Person? I certainly don’t think he gets kudos simply for defending his wife.

I am sure she is a good person, as most of us are (despite reps) but no one’s perfect and I suppose the Esther and Dawn stuff was a bit of an eye opener maybe to some of us who didn’t know about it. It was very at odds with the woman’s woman ethos I’d been really lapping up.

 

[Moe]

I had never heard of The Ordinary until this thread. I received two of their products for Christmas. They are retinol 0.5% in squalane and 100% organic cold pressed borage seed oil. How do I use them the instructions aren’t very clear. Be grateful for any help though to be honest what I really need is Sharon Osbourne’s plastic surgeon !!!

 

[Disillusioned]

Giles Coren is a bit of a dick and says things to be incendiary, often at the expense of good taste. His sense of humour is definitely beyond the usual grounds of good taste, but from what limited things we can see I think it's purely an 'edgy' sense of humour and nothing more.

If you look at that twitter thread, he goes way beyond an attempted ‘edgy’ SOH.

 

[melfish]

I'd never heard of Giles Coren (or Esther) until here, and still don't know anything about him as a person or professionally, but those tweets are vile. I am not sure what additional context could possibly make them OK. That's not edginess imo

 

[joancrawford]

I had never heard of The Ordinary until this thread. I received two of their products for Christmas. They are retinol 0.5% in squalane and 100% organic cold pressed borage seed oil. How do I use them the instructions aren’t very clear. Be grateful for any help though to be honest what I really need is Sharon Osbourne’s plastic surgeon !!!

I use the Ordknary retional in squalane - it won't seem to do much at first beyond the softening effect of the squalane, but the skin gradually will become more sensitive, dry and flakey while he product does its work. Never forget sunscreen in the AM and reapply SPF during the day if needed. I forgot a handful of times and ended up with loads of sunspots and freckles bcs the retinol makes the skin more photosensitive. Newbie error. Over two/three months you will see the overall anti-aging result. No frills but very reasonably priced imo.

 

[melfish]

I use the Ordknary retional in squalane - it won't seem to do much at first beyond the softening effect of the squalane, but the skin gradually will become more sensitive, dry and flakey while he product does its work. Never forget sunscreen in the AM and reapply SPF during the day if needed. I forgot a handful of times and ended up with loads of sunspots and freckles bcs the retinol makes the skin more photosensitive. Newbie error. Over two/three months you will see the overall anti-aging result. No frills but very reasonably priced imo.

I have tried it several times, but hate the texture. The squalene just sits like a slick on my skin. I prefer the 2% granactive retinol (admittedly I use that on my nights off from tret)

 

[PineappleQueen19]

I’ve always thought GC’s thing was writing deliberately inflammatory articles for clicks, and when his kids grow up and ask why he wrote such weird tit about them, he’ll shrug and say how else do you think we paid for that good education, nice car you drive etc. Not anything I’d do or condone and I don’t read his stuff (haven’t read his Times column for at least eight years I’d say, I find it dull), but I almost (almost) admire his ‘no fucks given’ approach. It’s the people who pretend to have scruples and always up on their high horse (“I feel sorry for their children, having her for a mother”) who burn my toast.

I had never heard of The Ordinary until this thread. I received two of their products for Christmas. They are retinol 0.5% in squalane and 100% organic cold pressed borage seed oil. How do I use them the instructions aren’t very clear. Be grateful for any help though to be honest what I really need is Sharon Osbourne’s plastic surgeon !!!

Retinol - apply a few drops to clean, dry skin in the evening. Less is more. Start every other or third night, slowly work up to every night. Use spf in the day. As @joancrawford explains patience is key. You’ll want to give up but persevere - all of a sudden your skin will look noticeably improved.

The oil - not used this specific one but l usually use a drop or two of oil as and when my skin needs it, either as a last skincare step or added to moisturiser or even foundation to give it slip.

 

[BostonFernGreen]

I don’t have an opinion on Giles Coren particularly although I do find often people who are outwardly rude/inflammatory/outspoken in a genuine way (that is to say not ‘straight talking for the right price but rather prepared to air their less wholesome views) are no worse than the rest of us with the added bonus that when they’re positive it feels refreshing.

The stuff he says about his young daughter hits the wrong note entirely but I don’t think it’s a bad thing for a father to explore the ways he loves his daughter and the parallels between that and romantic love. The two do have a lot in common and many women say the love they feel for a newborn is obsessional and romantic. In our society we are quite squeamish about these taboo topics and that might be unhealthy.

With a sustained focus on paedophiles in the media for the last many years I think some men have probably had a difficult time of it and even felt insecure in their devotion for their daughters at times, and wrongly so. It is natural to completely adore your offspring. Thats not to say I enjoyed the line about smearing her entire body with suncream but there is probably a lot to be said for the confidence of acknowledging the experience.

 

[Originalnuttah]

@Gentle Reader, loved your post.

Like others have said it, my main problem with SH is the cross-over between her The guardian column and her other beauty influencer work. I have lost count of the number of times for example she’s had an ITB guest which has then been followed by a product recommendation for said person’s company on the column. If she were only an influencer, I’d have no problem with that whatsoever. Building a career from claiming to be honest and unbiased is a very high bar set for oneself. Several years down the line, yep, people will start asking questions.

Ive got no opinion on GC apart from some other rather distasteful posts about his other child a few years ago if I recall correctly. Each to their own. Resolving to using deliberately inflammatory language and opinions on twitter etc is an easy tactic to maintain audience interest, but it’s not my cup of tea.

 

[Mselvista]

but I almost (almost) admire his ‘no fucks given’ approach.

I agree. GC clearly doesn't care if he makes a tit of himself and that is an admirable quality. I think he has a public persona that he plays up to. It could seem duplicitous or it could be a way of preserving one's sanity - any criticism isn't of "the real" you.

It is natural to completely adore your offspring. Thats not to say I enjoyed the line about smearing her entire body with suncream but there is probably a lot to be said for the confidence of acknowledging the experience.

Blake Morrison did something similar in As if. There's a passage about undressing hus daughter for bed which is set up so the reader assumes he's undressing a lover. Also a description of his daughter sitting on his lap and him getting an erection. The fuss at the time was whether he should have written about it rather than suggesting there was something paedophilic about it. But that was the 90s and he's a *poet*.
(I found the joke about killing/burning the fictitious child or raping them first funny. Obviously not everyone's taste but not sure what consequences he should have faced for what clearly a joke in bad taste.)

 

[Jelly Bean]

@Gentle Reader, loved your post.

Like others have said it, my main problem with SH is the cross-over between her The guardian column and her other beauty influencer work. I have lost count of the number of times for example she’s had an ITB guest which has then been followed by a product recommendation for said person’s company on the column. If she were only an influencer, I’d have no problem with that whatsoever. Building a career from claiming to be honest and unbiased is a very high bar set for oneself. Several years down the line, yep, people will start asking questions.

Ive got no opinion on GC apart from some other rather distasteful posts about his other child a few years ago if I recall correctly. Each to their own. Resolving to using deliberately inflammatory language and opinions on twitter etc is an easy tactic to maintain audience interest, but it’s not my cup of tea.

SH dances on the head of a pin to avoid declaring sponsorship. We all can see what is going on. She gets out on a technicality every time. Seriously the amount of Jo Malone mentions recently has been ridiculous. I'm not surprised she hates here - we her shenanigans, so all too easy to call us vindictive trolls rather than informed critics. Her Guardian presence gives a bit of respectability to the rather tawdry influencer line she has adopted.