So... I’ve been reading here for the last week, post-Instagram meltdown, and have finally been moved to post after I looked in the mirror this morning and saw SH staring back at me. Same haircut, microbladed brows, Pillow Talk lipstick, high necked floral dress, Acne Pistols. The whole fucking shebang.
Sad to say I’ve been a long term follower of Sali’s - she became very prominent when I was in my mid-20s, and needed to find my own style, and graduate from my early 20s mini-skirt and lipgloss look into something a bit more adult and professional. I followed everything she did, and based my look around all of her advice.
Post Instagram meltdown I found myself here ready to find out just how cruel and vile people could be, and after a week of reading I have a lot of questions, and am really angry with myself for swallowing everything. Yes, some of the comments here could be classed as mean, and I’ve read a few things that made me cringe, but underlying everything is a necessary discussion on transparency and influencer culture (and her Instagram persona is very much an influencer, not an author).
Two things really struck me:
You can count me as the second fool to buy the shower cap. And it’s terrible - I find myself switching to a £2 old school version more and more because my hair is constantly falling out the front and getting wet. The fact the inventor of the cap was posting on the Guardian the day her article went up suggests a conversation was had before it went live, and whether money was exchanged or not there is clearly a relationship in place. I faithfully bought ready for it to change my life because I had trust in Sali’s advice, and feel completely done.
In an even stupider moment, I paid £400 for a haircut with Luke Hersheson, because Sali had recommended him and her hair always looked amazing. £400 is too much for anyone to spend on a haircut, but Sali who talked about her money issues and struggles as single parent so openly could afford it so it must be ok. For me to afford it meant I had to cancel all plans with friends for 2 months after. It was a good haircut, but not worth 10x what I would normally spend. Now I’m finding out she gets her cuts for free, so it looks like Hersheson’s got what they wanted from this deal.
I don’t feel any pride in writing this, in fact I feel completely conned and embarrassed that I’ve modelled myself on someone who’s presented it all as helpful life advice when actually she’s doing deals behind the scenes to profit off gullible people like me. But thought it was worth putting all this down so the many people reading here can see how average people are duped by this way of operating.
Sad to say I’ve been a long term follower of Sali’s - she became very prominent when I was in my mid-20s, and needed to find my own style, and graduate from my early 20s mini-skirt and lipgloss look into something a bit more adult and professional. I followed everything she did, and based my look around all of her advice.
Post Instagram meltdown I found myself here ready to find out just how cruel and vile people could be, and after a week of reading I have a lot of questions, and am really angry with myself for swallowing everything. Yes, some of the comments here could be classed as mean, and I’ve read a few things that made me cringe, but underlying everything is a necessary discussion on transparency and influencer culture (and her Instagram persona is very much an influencer, not an author).
Two things really struck me:
You can count me as the second fool to buy the shower cap. And it’s terrible - I find myself switching to a £2 old school version more and more because my hair is constantly falling out the front and getting wet. The fact the inventor of the cap was posting on the Guardian the day her article went up suggests a conversation was had before it went live, and whether money was exchanged or not there is clearly a relationship in place. I faithfully bought ready for it to change my life because I had trust in Sali’s advice, and feel completely done.
In an even stupider moment, I paid £400 for a haircut with Luke Hersheson, because Sali had recommended him and her hair always looked amazing. £400 is too much for anyone to spend on a haircut, but Sali who talked about her money issues and struggles as single parent so openly could afford it so it must be ok. For me to afford it meant I had to cancel all plans with friends for 2 months after. It was a good haircut, but not worth 10x what I would normally spend. Now I’m finding out she gets her cuts for free, so it looks like Hersheson’s got what they wanted from this deal.
I don’t feel any pride in writing this, in fact I feel completely conned and embarrassed that I’ve modelled myself on someone who’s presented it all as helpful life advice when actually she’s doing deals behind the scenes to profit off gullible people like me. But thought it was worth putting all this down so the many people reading here can see how average people are duped by this way of operating.