Sali Hughes #13 The best new products I’ve been using for years

[GrunkaLunka]

This is my first post on the Sali Hughes thread, even though she's the reason I first ended up browsing Tattle (before she accused us all of a campaign of terror)

I am so, so fed up. Years ago, I really enjoyed her columns and videos. I trusted her. She seemed to genuinely care. I was never a member of her forums, but I was an avid follower. I bought so many things on her recommendation, some were great (Parlux hairdryer) but I started to become increasingly frustrated when I would see her recommend a particular moisturiser as her favourite, uses it all the time, has done for years. I would purchase said product and then a few months later she'd be talking about a different moisturiser and still saying it was the best, her regular, etc.
I trusted her so much that when I needed something I would check what she said. Eyeliner has run out, Google "Sali Hughes eyeliner"
I feel such a fool now and it makes me sad. She's sold out, and she won't even admit it.

On a side note, I have also become increasingly frustrated with the way she behaves on Twitter. The rude, snippy comments. When she started gunning for the Labour Party because of Jeremy Corbyn, I get he wasn't everyone's cup of tea but don't damage the Labour Party in your petty games She's a horrible hypocrite, being nasty to people and then having a tantrum because we've called her dishonesty out over here.

Urgh, anyway thanks for letting me get that off my chest. It has been weighing on my mind.

 

[GrunkaLunka]

Sali, I know you are reading this. I'm not some pathetic woman who hates you, I'm not a troll or a bully or any of the other things you've said about us. I'm a woman with a lot of insecurities, who was looking to you for advice and help. I wanted an expert opinion, from someone who had a lot more experience, with a wider range of products than I could ever dream of. You let me down. You sold me products you would never dream of using on yourself, they were paying you. I have lost hope, not just in you but in all others like you. I read every review and recommendation with suspicion. You did that, it's your fault. Why weren't you honest? Stop making stupid little digs and comments about us. We are real people, consumers tricked by you, not trolls or sad little jealous women. You can't blame us for being disappointed in you, you're a sell out. I respected you, I looked up to you and you conned me.

 

[PineappleQueen19]

I think having an excuse to turn off Guardian comments was a handy bonus.

To my mind the cause (or the lead up) was a combination of several things

1. Generally being called out for inconsistencies - these comments were happening everywhere. Guardian comments, instagram, twitter, here. They were building up to a crescendo, and that they were being talked about here provided an index where anyone could see them en masse. Not a good look. When you are being shady but it's happening in small ways all over the place it's ok. When people are comparing notes and keeping a record... not so great
2. The embarassing Victoria Beckham makeup "first look" video - the video itself seemed contrived and another publication (The Telegraph) was chosen for the launch splash. And despite hints or direct invites Victoria did not appear on "In The Bathroom With"
3. SH published Instagram content on botox/fillers/tweakments where a lot of nonsensical answers were given. She has a weak dilute of botox (not possible). She goes to see a top doctor for her botox but sometimes they miss areas. She only thinks influencer and beauty writers should disclose tweakments if they are specifically plugging anti-ageing products. Claims she had been totally honest and upfront about work she'd had done in the past. But this did not appear to be the case. The goal posts seemed to be in constant movement.
4. Small, ongoing inconsistencies became apparent. As one example, in a Guardian column she said she had been a fan of squalane for years and years, despite no mention that anyone could recall in her book, in her Facebook group, her own forum (Sali Hughes Beauty), previous Guardian columns etc. With no plausible explanation for needing to make this up.
5. A sustainability column in the Guardian one week, followed by a fast fashion, throwaway hair clip column the next.
6. The sustainability column featured a brand (Aveda) whose sustainability credentials are questionable (greenwashing) AND they had recently flown Sali to an all expenses paid trip to America for an industry sustainability conference - not disclosed in the column. Nor was it disclosed she has done paid work with Aveda. Comments politely asking about this were deleted by the Guardian mods.
7. Another company named in the most ethical list (Living Sea Therapy) had flown Sali and a few of her twitter crew to Cornwall for an all-expenses paid trip a few months prior to the column. Again not disclosed.
8. In parrallel there had been allegations of rampant workplace bullying in the beauty industry with numerous, detailed, consistent allegations about Charlotte Tilbury (the company and the person) - as Sali describes herself as a journalist she had comments asking if she was going to look into it and if she would continue to mention CT products in the meantime. This was on top of the feeling that Charlotte Tilbury products were disproportionately lauded in Sali's columns and that the products were mixed - overall good but not great, and mostly it was about the hype and celebrity aura of Charlotte.

Then, in rapid succession,

9. A few people here shared the polite questions they had asked Sali on Twitter or Instagram. As some went by their real names (or variations of) on those platforms, Sali and people close to her eg Caitlin Moran and her assistant Lauren began a strange trolling campaign against these people -
liking photographs of their children on Facebook (from years ago), perusing their LinkedIn profiles, direct messages pointing out "I know who you are and where you live" and so on.
10. Evidence of this was shared with Estee Laundry, an instagram account dedicated to showing the underbelly of the beauty industry (who was sharing the allegations of bullying in the industry). Estee Laundry posted about it, not making any accusations as far as i know but posing the question if Sali herself was engaging in bullying behaviour.
11. Boom! Rage Friday video.

Phew, that was a bit longer than I anticipated. What did I miss?

 

[Tesla's Ghost]

Speaking of DIY methods, nan-style and othewise, I thought of a few things I do regularly.

I've been colouring my own hair my whole life. I'm a dark brunette and don't have any highlights or anything complex, so it makes things much easier. I don't use the entire box in one go for my roots, so I get 2 uses out of every package. I don't see a difference in what brand I use, so I buy which ever one is on offer. Things are very different for blonds and redheads, I'm sure. And my hair isn't straight, so I'm not very detailed when applying the dye. Or I'm just lazy. Put vaseline on your skin and ears, or if you're like me, don't, and when you've finished applying the dye, just remove the colour with some wet cotton wool. And even if you miss, it'll be gone in a day or two.

If anyone is interested in DIY hair removal, I've been making sugar wax for a long time: take 2 cups of sugar, add 1/4 cup of water and 1/4 cup of lemon juice. Slowly cook it until it's golden, watch out that it doesn't go brown or it'll break like glass. Wait until it cools down a bit so you can pour it into a jar or some other container you can later re-heat either by putting it into the microwave or in hot water, since you can keep this in the fridge for a long time. Don't worry about the consistency, i.e. that you have that professional gloop, I use old linen I cut into stripes, so just apply the "wax" and pull. And curse. It's much better than any store bought wax, I've never teared my skin with it or had any adverse reactions. Other than the expected redness, which also fades much quicker. And I have used it everywhere.
Threading your facial hair is also really easy. Just make sure your face is clean. YouTube is full of videos with threading and sugar wax. You quickly get the hang of it.

Using baking soda as a foot or body scrub (not your face!), it's truly effective, I exfoliate my feet with it: soak your feet in hot/warm water, scrub until the memory of the last column fades, you can use the pumice stone as well, then put a shitload of cheap foot cream and put socks on. I could make money on a fetish site from my feet (not to toot my own horn).

We put olive oil here on everything so every household has it, I personally wouldn't use it on my body, because I don't like the smell. But almond oil is cheap and wonderful and is recommended for even the most sensitive baby skin (apricot kernel oil is similar). Put it on your skin right after the shower when you're still wet. Add it to your body or face cream if it's too light for this time of year. I used to remove my eye makeup with it, never had a problem, but since there are a lot of inexpensive and good makeup removers now, I wouldn't bother with it now.

This is too long and no one is going to read this and you probably know all of this anyway.

 

[HowardMoon]

Exactly - and then to defend it, and then to blame trolls. So incredibly irresponsible. A public figure with thousands of followers directly going against the advice of the government and top scientific advisors. And advertising the fact.

Sali’s been aware that Corona virus was coming for months and months now, donkeys, even. Didn’t you? She will behave however she likes during it. How dare we assume she has to listen to government advice? She knows best and her own personal team of spendy scientific advisors (based in her beloved luxury starvation clinic) are way ahead of the normal, ‘high street’ ones and the only opinions she trusts on the matter. She probably has already been given a special weak dilute of the ‘luxe’ Corona vaccine available to all Blue Tickers and which, thank God, comes in a reassuringly heavy vial which looks great on your bathroom shelf at this difficult time. *fuckflattenthecurveface*

 

[bottlewrapper]

'Anonymity is their oxygen'. So says 'feebee79', wearing a big hat and glasses in her profile picture.

Yeah. Ok, love. Your oxygen is self-righteousness. We get it.

We all have personal blindspots, but tattle is about calling out people who have a commercial relationship with us as there is nowhere else to do so. We sit in our own homes, as some woman with a ringlight and a face of free botox and fillers lectures us on self-care as an empowering choice which involves buying £90 moisturisers. We let these women directly into our lives. Would we do it if we had to open the door and make her a cup of tea? When this was what was involved, disreputable sellers were called out - timeshare holiday apartments, no deposit real estate investments, fitted kitchens and double glazing. And these people never pretended to be your friend! Now, salespeople are your best mate. They turn up regularly with something new, they engage with you when you're lonely, and perhaps you can buy a little bit of what makes them so cool, and people will like you too (or at least you will have obliterated the most egregious parts of your physicality - fat, spots, wrinkles. Don't think you are acceptable as a human being without buying something. It's just not possible).

SH previously had a sensibly down-to-earth attitude to beauty - don't buy too many products, don't overspend, eye cream is rubbish, 'dehydrated' is generally what skin needs, and I will rummage through the piles of free stuff I get sent to bring you what I think are the best within those parameters.
That is no longer the case. Now, she gets paid to pull things out of that pile, and that payment is overriding her original attitude, hence the eye-cream screeching u-turn.

The whole 'I have authority' aspect of the beauty is bullshit. There is no scientifically optimum product - it's not like finding the cure for cancer. The only thing that gives her any authority is that she looks better than you.

How does she achieve that? She has botox and fillers (and if she does those, she'll be using lasers too), and hair extensions and professional blowdries, and ringlights and lash extensions. None of which are what she is selling. Why? Because there are strict rules on how medical treatments like botox can be marketed, which influencers cannot comply with. That is why they can only sell creams - which do nothing, because otherwise they do would be classed as drugs and therefore subject to the same medical marketing restrictions.

And if we point this out? We are jealous trolls. FFS.

 

[GrunkaLunka]

So unbelievably snippy.

 

[PineappleQueen19]

The Estée Lauder Futurist Hydra Rescue content today (and a few mentions recently when asked for recommendations) on Sali’s channel goes right to the heart of a huge issue with influencer marketing and culture.

Understandably an influencer wants the product to look as good as possible for the brand so it sells. It’s an ad, they say. No different to what you would see in a magazine.

Yes ok I get that. But here’s the thing. When I see Kendall Jenner in the Estée Lauder Double Wear Foundation ad in store or in Vogue, I *know* it’s not reality. I know what I’m being sold.

But the influencer who sets up forums and Facebook groups, creates communities, who says they are a journalist, whose USP by their own design is being honest and transparent? It’s a different ball game, and *we* are being set up as the bad guys for not playing by the rules. Because we are refusing to turn a blind eye to what is really going on in order for that transaction to take place.

So then what I struggle with is the lack of dialogue to explore these and other influencer issues, especially by people who fill that curious space of someone who has another expertise and has entered the influencer arena to take advantage of the financial incentives. When it suits, they will act as if they are with you - guiding, advising, sharing knowledge in a conspiratorial manner. It’s this duplicity that is a part of what people are pushing back at, I think. Or me, at least.

 

[Disillusioned]

 

[Jelly Bean]

Only our Sal could take the moral high ground with a member of the health care sector that she had just cheered on

I thought it very gracious of Sali to allow a fatigued and obviously quite sad health care worker to 'feel how you feel'. And to helpfully point out to her how she had got it wrong.

 

[Glanno]

Thank you for this group. I wouldn’t have come here unless for the video. And it’s truly been eye opening.... I bought Nars Orgasm blush (and still do) because Sali said it was the best blusher. I learnt how to do winged eye liner and a “red lip”because Sali said it was a good look. I bought Clinique Black Honey because she said it was the best. I never used eye cream because she said it wasn’t necessary. At the time, I believed she was looking out for me and trying to make me look my best in the name of “feminism”. Now I know, I was being sold products that I could hardly afford. I feel ashamed that I fell for it. And Sali, fair enough, you’re trying to make an earning, but be honest.Not pretty honest, but totally honest.

 

[melfish]

She is such a hypocrite. She's spent the past two days chirping piously about her charity, then when it comes to just being polite to a stranger, she fails miserably. Can't just ignore it, has to go on the attack. She has this privileged existence - something she seems embarrassingly oblivious to - faffing about with luxury items for a living but she lacks basic kindness. It's not even part of her constitution - unless she is grovelling to a blueticker or attracting attention to herself via the charity

 

[Jade Mitzi]

Broadly speaking, I’d say Sali is currently winning the competition for being the most obnoxious social media idiot with an opinion she’s convinced we all need to hear .

she really is just loathsome just now isn't she. Just doesn't know when to sit back and zip it.

If Sali was a pub, she would be a Wetherspoons.

 

[Tesla's Ghost]

Co-signing @Jade Mitzi and @RayRayJay Especially the L'occitane shea cream, but some people suggested a dupe for it (if I remember correctly) The Body Shop's hemp hand cream which is a lot less expensive.

La Roche-Posay's whole Cicaplast range is great, I use the Lipikar balm for my entire body as it's dry and itchy, and it's great for hands. And your face if you're not oily and it's the middle of winter. So that could be a good investment as it's multipurpose.

For daily in between washes, Cien's (Lidl's) hand cream with the red cap is quite good, as it dries fast, it's not creamy, but adds like a protective layer.
A lot of people swear by Neutrogena's Norwegian formula and the Garnier cream in red packaging.

Maybe a nipple cream? Some use that when the skin is cracked. I use up old lip balms as hand cream as well

However, I think the key is really to put on cotton gloves (or socks) before bed and to really pile on your cream, even Nivea in the blue tin will do.

Could this pass as a column? Imagine I added a childhood memory and some obscure reference and it could pass.

 

[GrunkaLunka]

I went back through every single post, to see if her children had been mentioned before she made her video of lies.

They were, on two separate issues.

The first time was when she suddenly starting including her son in her posts and people were merely commenting on the fact that it was happening.

The second time was when Sali had (ridiculously) claimed that her sons were upset by the fact that Jeremy Corbyn was wearing a coat they did not approve of.

So the only times her children were mentioned were in direct response to her mentioning them. Infuriating the way she twisted the truth to make herself into a victim.

 

[SqualorVictoria]

Anyone else wanna start a Twitter petition for @Tesla's Ghost to replace SH as Guardian columnist?

 

[BostonFernGreen]

That’s such a good point! Possibly being an influencer warps a persons perspective because they don’t have the same feedback loop lots of us team workers have all day long. Add in the sycophantic comments and it must be very... confidence boosting?

Shockingly rude to someone who sounds depressed and exasperated and has the worst still ahead. Of course the applause is nice and maybe that person will reflect and be touched. But also maybe she’s cross that many people haven’t listens to advice(!) or promoted behaviours that may lead to her or her colleagues putting their lives at risk. To be fair to the woman that’s a lot to grapple with for less than £20 an hour (assuming she’s a nurse).

I’ve seen a few reports of nurses committing suicide in Italy and one report here already. It’s safe to say most of the healthcare workers will be shell shocked/PTSD and never the same again. We know this. Those of us who are facing the frontline aren’t just scared about the literal day to day, we also dread life never being the same again and there’s a slow build up until it gets super bad.

This is the time for influencers to stop telling people off and just stay in their lane. Sali knows nothing of the hardship of being a nurse and the trauma of seeing people at their worst every day. It is HARD. And it changes people. Where the fuck is this #bekind movement now? Was that literally just for Instagram influencers? Except ones that write for GOOP.

 

[SqualorVictoria]

I just did a clear out of my room and discovered a huge pile of makeup, lipsticks, etc that I bought in the height of my following SH. Do I feel empowered by buying piles of lipsticks? No, I feel utterly ashamed at how I justified such unnecessary spending

 

[AmberSpyglass]

Jesus, WTF? Why can’t they just admit that they fucked up, and move on?

Sali is always right , has been for decades.

 

[Brian Butterfield]

Sali and Lauren are ON ONE on Twitter. It does very much seem to be just the two of them, chatting to each other...

It’s not terribly coherent, but they seem to be attempting to defend their bullying behaviour on Twitter on the grounds that they didn’t know any better at the time.

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Actually Sali’s line seems to be that only Lauren behaved badly on Twitter. Chivalrous of her.

Have I unknowingly dropped acid or is this as nonsensical as it seems?