Beauty editor and blogger Kirstie McDemott began her career in beauty journalism when she and her sister Aisling began the blog beaut.ie. The first of its kind, the beauty blog is specifically aimed at an Irish audience, and has gained them a loyal following of readers. We caught up with Kirstie to get some valuable beauty advice from her!
How did your career in journalism begin?
Through blogging! IMAGE magazine asked me to judge a couple of categories for their 2007 Beauty Awards as a result of the site, and when their beauty editor went on maternity leave, they asked me to do her cover. Naturally, I absolutely jumped at the chance - it was an amazing opportunity. Now I'm the Sunday Tribune's beauty editor and I love the weekly aspect of it, it's so much quicker, and I can cover so much more.
What made you decide to start beaut.ie?
A life-long love of all things beautiful, in a nutshell. Both Aisling and I were never out of the chemist as teenagers and as we got older, we both kept up the habit – we just started buying posher stuff. Before I wrote about beauty for a living, I worked as a web designer, so I was aware of web-trends and really wanted to start a blog.
Doing a very Irish-focused beauty one seemed like a good idea – it always annoyed us the way UK stores don't give us Euro pricing on their websites and tend to ignore us, while making pots of cash from their Irish customers. So we wanted to do a blog that was very specifically for Irish women, and we wanted to do something that hadn't been done here before, too.
What are the main perks of your job?
I am incredibly lucky to get to try a lot of things before their general release onto the market. That's amazing for a product junkie. Travel is also a huge plus and I've been on some fantastic trips – London, Edinburgh, Budapest, Vichy, Sofia, Paris and Zurich all got visited last year for work purposes. When a new spa opens here, I often get asked to come and check it out, so I've dipped my toes into some of the country's top facilities – it's such a treat.
What beauty product we will always find in your purse?
You'll always, always find MAC Studio Fix foundation, Bobbi Brown Creamy concealer, Bourjois Rouge Hi-Tech lip tint and one of about 45 mascaras – Kevyn Aucoin's The Mascara and Lancome's newfangled Oscillation are favourites. I'm a lipstick obsessive too and YSL's new Rouge Volupte lipsticks are the business.
What is your biggest beauty secret?
Oils. I adore them. People shy away from putting oil on their skins, especially if they're sebum-prone, but oil can help to regulate a spotty complexion, and of course, they're great for drier skins too. I use oils for cleansing (both Keraskin and Shu Uemura get a look in) and for moisturising at night. Favorites include Liz Earle and Darphin, and as they're very mildly exfoliative, you wake with a brighter complexion, which is a nice plus.
What is your biggest beauty splurge?
Moisturiser, for sure. I have pretty dry skin and typically, the products my skin laps up and adores are the really, really expensive ones. Products from Omorovicza (at Harvey Nichols), Guinot (at spas) and Darphin (at Arnotts) are all on call for me, especially during the winter, when my skin goes nuts. If I can't afford €100+, I reach for Liz Earle's amazingly good Superskin moisturiser. It's about €37 and it's a beautifully nourishing product. I use it with her Superskin Concentrate at night, and I'm all sorted.
And your best bargain beauty product?
I would never overlook brands like Rimmel and Bourjois. The former do brilliant mascaras, lip pencils and fab nail polishes, and Bourjois create these fab limited edition collections, use great formulations and have made some really smart innovations in recent years.
Do the brushes that accompany make-up palettes work best or should you invest in a set of brushes and only use them?
It depends. Bobbi Brown make palettes which come with proper brushes, albeit mini-sized ones, so they'll do the trick. But I'm not a fan of those sponge-ended applicators at all, and I do think that you need good brushes to get a decent finish. Buy one a month – before you know it, you'll have a decent set.
What’s the best way to conceal spots?
Try to avoid picking at them to begin with, because the skin goes flaky and your foundation will really accentuate it. You can try colouring in the top of the spot with a white eye pencil to take down the redness; then pat a creamy concealer over the top, blend gently, and apply foundation. But to be honest, if it's a monster zit, there's only so much camouflaging you can do.
Do you follow any skincare routine vigorously?
Yep – I would change my products a lot as I'm always testing new ranges, but my routine is generally the same. I wash my face in-shower with a product like Murad Essential C cleanser and two-to-three times a week I use Origins Modern Friction – hands-down, the best exfoliator I have ever used. I always moisturise and include an SPF, and at night, I remove makeup with an oil cleanser and then apply my moisturising night oil just before bed.
If I'm finding my skin needs an extra boost I'll add in a serum as a first step in the morning before moisturiser, and I like to use masques for exfoliating and hydration too. Elemis' Papaya Enzyme Peel, Chantecaille's Fruit and Flowers acid masque and Dermalogica's Skin Hydrating masque are what I call on for that. For eye care, I rate Guinot's amazing Eye Lifting Smoothing Eye care.
What type of hair products do you use?
I'm not remotely loyal to hair brands, but I do tend to stick within ranges that offer smoothing and sleeking benefits. Redken's Smooth Down range is one I like, and because my hair is prone to frizz I love masques. Bumble and bumble's Crème de Coco masque is fantastic, as is realhair's real masque – but it's about €70, so a very, very occasional splurge. For styling, I'm a hairspray kinda gal, and James Brown London's version is terriffic, as is his dry shampoo. For smoothness and shine I also really rate Shu Uemura's Silk Oil Camellia Smoothing Fluid.
