Sali Hughes #6 Eric's at the cat flap, hide your side of beef with a shower cap!

[Handmaid]

You know, it isn't her hysteria or her lies that gets me the most.

Before the fateful Friday, when she'd get a question or a comment which challenged her in any way, however minor, that wasn't dripping with sycophancy, her tone became 'Dunno. It's not life or death.' Direct quote, that.

Absolute derision and contempt for women who were simply asking some questions she didn't like.

 

[Jelly Bean]

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Omg that is brilliant. Wasn't me btw - I'm far too timid. I actually think SH has got off so bloody lightly for her past behaviour. The Guardian seem to have been shits to Lauren. One conversation with SH and she was out on her ear.
I've been busy today so not here much but more and more I've been mulling over the Botox problem. And I do believe it is a problem. Of course it is anyone's choice to have it. But a beauty editor keeping quiet about her own use, using her own face as the model, whilst recommending products just is wrong (and constantly using #nofilter). I know she tried to say it only mattered if the products she recommended were anti aging, but that is disingenuous. Most products will look better on a Botoxed face. She wasn't setting a level playing field.
I don't want Botox and frankly couldn't afford or justify the upkeep anyway. I happen to like my face and just don't see lines as horrible or shameful. SH keeping quiet about her use of Botox implied to me anyway shame on her part (and she did keep quiet no matter what she says). And that transfers to her followers. Cover up aging, feel insecure, think you are abnormal, buy something, have a tweakment. All this 'owning' aging is bullshit. Throw in a wrinkly icon occasionally as a 'woman we love' but heaven forbid SH herself should ever have a wrinkle herself. Fair enough she doesn't want wrinkles herself but she shouldn't pretend that this is normal and achievable by some serum or other. It is unkind. It preys on women's insecurity.
I've rambled inanely. I'm just so pleased there are women like me here. I get so cross and sad at the whole fucking thing. And if she perceives this as trolling or bullying then fair fucks (as my Irish husband frequently says). X

 

[Handmaid]

The Guardian so needs a fresh, worldly, progressive, positive voice fronting their Beauty section.

Instead of someone closes conversations when she doesn’t like the question/tone, how about someone who sees those difficult questions as a springboard for discussions and greater understanding about our attitudes to beauty?

Instead of someone self-interested, how about someone who believes that the column is not about her but more about her readers?

Instead of someone who believes she has all the answers, how about someone with a real curiosity about beauty, and is secure and honest about not knowing everything?

How about someone who perhaps has seen and learned from what has gone on these past few weeks and wouldn’t dream of patronising, underestimating or ever believing she’s far bigger than her readership.

 

[PineappleQueen19]

Re having addresses, that’s clearly bonkers and can’t possibly be true - it’s a blatant lie designed solely to intimidate. The more I think about it, the more ludicrous her statement sounds. She’s being v quiet on insta and Twitter compared to usual and I’m not holding my breath for an update or any, you know, actual legal action from the ‘proper’ authorities (whoever they might be...). It’s all rather sad in an adolescent sort of way and I think she’s been v unwise.

Not to mention low engagement on her last Instagram post, and very little support/activity from her followers on any platform re her last column (not even Facebook afaik), nor was IK’s column shared around / talked about as far as I could see. It’s not panning out very well for her at all.

I think it was at least half of us at the time. Probably waiting for MI5 to update her dossier with our DNA before she rocks up with Flat Eric.

Edited to replace "everyone's" with "our" because I got in a flap about the apostrophe

Flat Eric! You’re killing me. He’s en route. Check your cat flap.

 

[AmberSpyglass]

Thread title: Eric’s at the door, hide your side of beef with a shower cap!

 

[Jelly Bean]

To be fair, this is because she gets sent them all for free/to review. She says in the interview in the bathroom with Lucy Mangan she never pays for any makeup or skincare but she knows how lucky she is - hence passing things on to other people/starting the beauty banks I guess.

Yes tbf to her I know she didn't buy all her thousands of things - I think what got me is her normalising it. She didn't put it into context into Pretty Honest (free stuff, passing it on etc) - just stated 'I own thousands of beauty products' as if this were desirable and aspirational and just a bit nerdy.

I remember the Wither Darfur comments - can't remember the exact context though. How typical of St Pimple to act the victim over it. Poor me I 've had to put up with this for ten years. For fucks sake if people mildly occasionally questioning the importance of jollop you slap on your mush is the worst you have to put up with then boo fucking hoo.

And if I do occasionally feel sorry for her I remind myself this mess she got herself into is entirely self inflicted. And she has behaved appallingly over it. She should thank her lucky stars on a daily basis how decent we are here and not vindictive. In the face of awful bile and threats and provocation we have not released the info we have about her murky past. The fact she directed people here to find it out for themselves is her own fault. In fact as far as I can see she has got out of it all relatively unscathed. How telling that nobody now at all asks her about her traumatic vid. Nobody. That is so wierd as it was only just over a week ago. Nobody asks her about the closing down Skidmark Central campaign. It's like collective embarrassment. Apart from India Mitford who seems shameless and frankly an idiot. She actually made things worse for St Pimple all round.

Last night I sat and started reading the SH thread from the very beginning. It is so mild. Questioning her and occasionally poking fun at her as a relatively public figure. I just don't understand what the hell she thought she was doing? Was it really worth it?

 

[Jelly Bean]

I just get so cross sometimes at the beauty industry. Like all of us I dip in and out and I went through a period of being in absolute thrall to it. This whole thread has so utterly endorsed for me how we are so clever and funny and questioning the whole thing. Keep being told you need xyz to look less foul. Part with your money for the next wonder thing after buying the previous wonder thing. And all the while people like SH are recommending this stuff she has 'tweakments'. She can protest now all she likes how transparent she was but she wasn't, she just wasn't. In an idle moment I looked through her IG from ages ago and so many comments after close ups of her face were 'omg - you look so young. How do you do it?' Silence.
It preys on people's insecurity. It makes you feel like you are doing something wrong for actually looking your age. It's actually horribly cynical and rotten. It just makes me feel so sad sometimes.

 

[AmberSpyglass]

Thanks all, I was confused as to what you were all referring to on previous pages regarding the Coren's and SH as I couldn't see any videos on the Coren's IG's (because they've been removed, I now know!).

SH has just posted an IG story saying she's poorly with a cold...possibly trying to justify her SM silence?

She gets ill very easily , like Hirons and Crilly, they always have something wrong with them .

#in-flu-encer.

I’ll get me coat .

 

[Doobots]

Today on Esther Coren's site, she's talking about getting a free facial following the fateful Friday hubbub and included this lovely titbit. I love her writing. I like how she can mention her life and feelings in a way that is so relatable, even in a piece where she's being gifted £110 facials.

 

[CherHorowiz]

I can definitely identify with the "bought all the crap the charlatan recommend" theme. I fully take responsibility for my own actions but I ended up £20,000 in debt because it was always about the new or the next for validation.
I do still adore beauty and skincare and am really passionate about it but now I have a drastically reduced budget (because 75% of my pay goes to paying off debts) I tend to be much more picky about what I spend my money on. Yes, I will Google for hours, watch YouTube demos, but mostly I trust my own instincts on if something is right for me.

I'll jump in and admit to an expensive Hughes recommended product that was a massive waste of money for me. Parlux hairdryer. Firstly, I air dry my hair 98.7% of the time and secondly I'd need to put in some serious gym time to be able to use it on myself as it is so phenomenally heavy.
The only use it gets it to blow dry the dog if he gets wet on his walk. Over a hundred quid for something only the dog uses.

 

[Mselvista]

Yes tbf to her I know she didn't buy all her thousands of things - I think what got me is her normalising it. She didn't put it into context into Pretty Honest (free stuff, passing it on etc) - just stated 'I own thousands of beauty products' as if this were desirable and aspirational and just a bit nerdy.

I remember the Wither Darfur comments - can't remember the exact context though. How typical of St Pimple to act the victim over it. Poor me I 've had to put up with this for ten years. For fucks sake if people mildly occasionally questioning the importance of jollop you slap on your mush is the worst you have to put up with then boo fucking hoo.

And if I do occasionally feel sorry for her I remind myself this mess she got herself into is entirely self inflicted. And she has behaved appallingly over it. She should thank her lucky stars on a daily basis how decent we are here and not vindictive. In the face of awful bile and threats and provocation we have not released the info we have about her murky past. The fact she directed people here to find it out for themselves is her own fault. In fact as far as I can see she has got out of it all relatively unscathed. How telling that nobody now at all asks her about her traumatic vid. Nobody. That is so wierd as it was only just over a week ago. Nobody asks her about the closing down Skidmark Central campaign. It's like collective embarrassment. Apart from India Mitford who seems shameless and frankly an idiot. She actually made things worse for St Pimple all round.

Last night I sat and started reading the SH thread from the very beginning. It is so mild. Questioning her and occasionally poking fun at her as a relatively public figure. I just don't understand what the hell she thought she was doing? Was it really worth it?

I think she has definitely read the comments, at least those up until the video. The reason I'm fairly certain is because the way she characterised the comments is very similar to how I've seen her react to other criticisms. The video was a mixture of emotional manipulation taking things that were said and twisting or exaggerating them, omitting the fair criticism. She did something very similar in her argument with Owen Jones (I'm very much not an OJ fan). Kept saying how outrageous it was that he called her racist when he hadn't at all.
Ages ago someone questioned her use of a phrase in a column. They also criticised her ise of the phrase on Twitter. I don't remember if she defended herself in the guardian comments but on twitter she was unbelievably manipulative, guilt tripping the commentator andmportrayimg herself as a victim.
A lot of women will recognise that sort of behaviour. Belittling, manipulation, gaslighting. "Look what you made me do, you stupid bitch. You've driven me to snooping you on FB and liking pictures if your children on FB".

 

[Handmaid]

You weren’t rambling at all. She was misrepresenting the products she shilled by

1) not always declaring an interest when there was one

2) implying that the products alone (not botox, not fillers) were the reason her face looked the way it did.

I asked her recently, before I was sadly, tragically, brutally blocked , if she’d had her hair dyed because I remember her saying that she was allergic to dyes and was preparing to go grey. I wondered in my comment if she’d found a dye she wasn’t allergic to. She replied that she’d not had her hair coloured in 8 yrs. One of the nails in the truth coffin for me. Total bulllllllshit. Her hair, at that point, was as dark as Elvira’s. Such a ridic thing to lie about. I’ll always maintain her biggest mistake was underestimating her readership, thinking we were all eeeeejits.

 

[Adverse Camber]

I think I should confess all. I have not worn makeup for about the last 30 years. I checked out this thread to find out what horrors you all were, and found ....well, that you weren't, basically. Is it OK if I skim over the makeup posts and just read (and contribute to) the SH / IK / C'IMM'M etc stuff?

 

[sineadf]

It's fascinating. I've often wondered what more is there to *say* about makeup and beauty once you figure out roughly what works for you. I know we evolve as we get older and we have our different life stages that affect how we look, but really, it shouldn't be something to constantly obsess about. These influencers' livelihood depends on feeding our insecurities so it's parasitical at the end of the day.

And I don't mean that in a judgmental way, I too believed a load of guff about very ordinary products thanks to SH & co.

 

[PoleStar]

Does anyone else remember the column The New Black that Hannah Pool used to write in the Guardian? I'm not black myself but I still used to read and enjoy that column, I found it really interesting to see beauty from another perspective other than my own as a Caucasian person. I think she was their beauty writer before Lauren Luke wasn't she? Sali Hughes is the reason I stopped buying the Guardian after she and her devoted followers trashed me for not agreeing with a political statement she posted on Instagram. I was so distressed by their behaviour I quit Instagram and deleted my account. It took some time before I had the courage to rejoin with a new username.

 

[BettyDoodah]

Thousands of people will lose their jobs because Pizza Express is going into administration but that's alright with her fucking idiotic husband who's making jokes about it on twitter. Seething.

 

[SqualorVictoria]

Love this comment from Mumsnet about Tattle: "I spent about 10 minutes reading some of the threads on there and it's vacuous women at their worst having a good old bitchfest."

 

[BettyDoodah]

The cheek of Sally "Us Authors" dismissing Lisa as just a make up artist and a "very good one", and saying Lisa is not impartial, bwahahahaha.

The woman is global creative director of motherfucking Lancôme while you recommend shower caps for a living, sit down you jealous cow, .

 

[HowardMoon]

Morning fellow skiddies.

I too was starting to feel a little sorry for snippatha. Then I remembered her treatment of DOP, EW and LL.

And the way she lied about this site then sat back soaking it all in while her pals on twitter called folk on here vile names and suggested we ought to be beaten up.

So she can do one, really.

So this

If anyone has started to forget her bile-filled rant please rewatch it on IG. It’s worth remembering how absolutely seething and filled with rage she is in that video. She’s not scared or traumatised, she’s full of hate. At us. Her former fans. People who dared to take a step back and say ‘hang on a minute...’ Full of hate that her web of lies and shady ways were being exposed. Remember that she filmed this video to distract from being asked to comment on very widespread rumours that CT was a workplace bully and she couldn’t have jumped into her shell like a fucking turtle quick enough and then filmed that video to hide behind further. Shameful and awful behaviour and I for one do not feel sorry for her whatsoever.

Haven't been able to bring myself to watch it. The John Oliver 30mins he did on herbalife was heartbreaking. That they had it subtitled or maybe dubbed in Spanish was so good of them. Parasites.

Sorry all. OT I know.

No I totally agree. Utter bastards. Ruining people’s lives with their lies. Offering people hope with one hand and robbing them with the other.

I am 100% sure that if I was on fire she wouldn't piss on me to save my life, so why would I feel sorry for her?

You made your bed, now lie in it.

If one of us was on fire she’d not even chuck us a #gifted factor 30 so she can fuck right off

 

[PineappleQueen19]

The strategy seems to be one of damage limitation

1. Keep a ‘head down’ mentality - keep up the retweets, benign responses, scheduled posts etc but otherwise don’t post, to starve the critics (“trolls” lol) of oxygen

2. don’t mention the critics again - to stop driving traffic here and people reading it all for themselves

3. give vague responses whenever anyone asks for an update - make it seem as if something’s progressing but really just hoping it all dies down

4. interact with the little people (aka stans aka non blue tickers) to shore up the fan base

5. Keep the focus on the virtuous elements eg beauty banks

There was an outpouring of sympathy on That Friday and the days after but of course there would be - no one likes to see anyone trolled or bullied and any normal person wouldn’t suspect there’s an agenda at play.

However the aftermath is fascinating - the initial sympathy hasn’t translated into anything longer term, engagement across the board seems lower than ever? (I think).

Esther and Giles Coren calling her out for being a hypocrite of the highest order would have been the most enormous ego blow. And realising (far too late lol) that DP is a ticking time bomb waiting to go off would have induced sheer, bewildering panic. I imagine Lauren Luke has some tasty twitter screenshots saved somewhere (printed out and in a folder?!) too.

Talk about an own goal!