“I want my eyelashes curled in my coffin.”
“I use a good old men’s razor to shave my tache!”
“You need to apply SPF hourly. None of this every two hour nonsense!”
There’s only one person I could be having this beauty chat with, and it’s the straight-talking aesthetician turned beauty mogul Caroline Hirons. We are catching up over Zoom while the skincare guru is in Ireland to launch her much-hyped brand, Skin Rocks. “We’ve sold out at every consumer event!” she says, flustered. I’m not surprised to hear this, as Hirons, 54, has diehard superfans: 751,000 on Instagram, 111,000 on Facebook and more than 290,000 downloads of her Skin Rocks app.
It has been two years since I interviewed the Liverpool-born mum of four for Style, and let’s just say she hasn’t had her feet up in the meantime. Skin Rocks skyrocketed so quickly that it has already bagged a flagship counter at Liberty in London. (Not bad for a company created only two years ago.) She has also found time to record the first series of her podcast, Glad We Had This Chat, with guests like Sarah Jessica Parker and Rochelle Humes.
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In the next few days the woman who started out working on the Aveda counter at Harvey Nichols is releasing a skincare product that makes her giddy with excitement. “If you have never got on with vitamin C you will get on with this,” she declares confidently. “The Antioxidant Face Serum [£70, from Tuesday] delivers radiance without the irritation. Fine lines, wrinkles, pigmentation — it works on all of it. Use it every morning and you’ll see.” What’s more, things aren’t slowing down anytime soon. “We have another three products coming this year.”
Hirons is here to help today and she’s sharing her summer beauty survival guide. What to do with dry heels? How to tong hair so that it lasts? What is the one make-up brand she couldn’t live without? Pen and paper at the ready, everyone.
Four summer dilemmas, solved
1. Help! My redness is raging
“Keep a mist nearby and keep the area cool, but avoid anything synthetically cooling like menthol or camphor as it makes the skin feel like it’s burning,” Hirons says. “This is the one time I would put skincare in a fridge — purely for how it feels.”
2. Help! My pigmentation and melasma have flared up
“Wear a hat — a baseball cap won’t cut it as it only protects the top of the face. You need a wide-brimmed hat like your grandad’s gardening hat. Try not to be worried about looking cool by the pool if melasma is a concern. Also, SPF is crucial. Apply hourly — none of this two-hour nonsense. Cream formulas are best. They’re more accurate than a powder or a spray.” Hirons also advises going over the pigmentation with a stick SPF like Shiseido Clear Suncare Stick SPF 50+ (£32, shiseido.co.uk). “Draw the stick on the face but don’t blend it in. Just leave it to get maximum coverage.”
3. Help! I’ve got sunburn
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“Stick to cold compresses, flannels down the legs, ice and not going back in the sun. I think aloe vera is the most overrated product on the market — it does my head in. Also, don’t cover it in yoghurt. It will cool it down temporarily but it irritates the skin.” Get Aveeno Daily Moisturising Body Lotion (£8, aveeno.co.uk). “Buy fragrance-free, or use your kid’s moisturiser as they’re almost always fragrance-free.”
4. Help! My hairstyle never lasts in the heat
“My hair never held because I was using products that were too heavy. Look for lighter formulas like Hair by Sam McKnight Happy Endings Nourishing Balm [£36, sammcknight.com], which doesn’t weigh hair down.” Hirons believes that styling is key too. “I curl it all like Shirley Temple using my GHD Curve Soft Curl Tong [£159, johnlewis.com] and nuke it with the Schwarzkopf Glued Blasting Freeze Hairspray [£5.50, boots.com]. I then throw my hair upside down, run my fingers through it and when I come up it’s Amazonian goddess meets … Medusa. It drops down gradually as the day goes on.”
Prep like a pro
Hair removal
“I shave everywhere. I shave my tache with a men’s disposable, two-blade Gillette razor because fancy razors with conditioning strips catch the upper lip,” she says. “Trust me, I would know.” For the rest of her body she relies on the Estrid razor subscription company (starter kit, £8, estrid.com). “It works well on legs. And while you’re down there don’t forget to shave your feet, and by that I mean the toes and the tops of the feet.” Hirons wants to get round to doing laser hair removal soon — “Then no one has to shave my beard when I’m older.”
Fake tan for the face
This is a year-round step for Hirons. “I mix the Isle of Paradise Face Self-Tanning Drops in Medium [£20, cultbeauty.co.uk] with Skin Rocks The Moisturiser [£58, skinrocks.com] every other day. Skincare actives take off my tan, so a few regular drops do the trick. Just make sure you get it right into the hairline.” When it comes to post-tanning handwashing, “don’t forget the sides of the hands. So many people get that telltale orange stripe along the baby finger.”
Feet
“Don’t cut corners with an express pedi,” Hirons says. “You need the full works. People get pedicures but do nothing to their heels. Why take care of the front door when the back garden looks like a shed?” She also swears by a Diamancel foot file (£93): “These last for ever. Most people pass down jewellery to their grandkids — I’m giving my granddaughter a foot file.”
Hair colour
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“I am grey so I have a fresh colour as close to the holiday as possible.” Will she ever stop colouring her hair? “When I’m dead. I embrace other people who want to do it, but don’t judge me for not wanting to.”
In-flight essentials
Lip balm
Ultra Violette Sheen Screen Hydrating Lip Balm (£17, ultraviolette.co.uk) in Bejewelled or Silk Pillow. “The SPF 50 is a bonus.”
Face mist
Josh Rosebrook Hydrating Accelerator (£29, sephora.co.uk) — “It’s the ultimate hydrator for on the go.”
Hand cream
Hirons has them on rotation: “I love Jo Malone Vitamin E Hand Treatment [£48, jomalone.co.uk] and Clarins Hand and Nail Treatment Cream [£27, clarins.co.uk].”
A multipurpose oil
“I use Skin Rocks The Support Oil [£60, skinrocks.com] on cuticles, hands and feet.”
The melt-proof make-up
The glow go-tos
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Vieve Skin Dew (£21, cultbeauty.co.uk) mixed with Chanel Glowing Makeup Primer (£47, chanel.com): “The combination makes my skin pop. You go from looking dug up to like you’ve just been born.”
Foundation
Lisa Eldridge Seamless Skin Enhancing Tint (£37, lisaeldridge.com). “It’s light and buildable and shows off the skin,” Hirons says.
Concealer
Vieve Modern Radiance Concealer (£24, vieve.co.uk) — “It doesn’t budge, even in the warmest weather.”
Mascara
Chanel Le Volume de Chanel (£36, chanel.com). “I need a Scouse mascara, nothing delicate,” Hirons says. And she will never skip lash curlers: “If I haven’t curled my lashes then I won’t wear mascara. I want my lashes curled in my coffin.”
Lips
Summer Fridays Dream Lip Oil in Pink Cloud (£26, cultbeauty.co.uk). “I have four children and two grandkids — I don’t want to be looking for a mirror to apply lipstick.”
Blush and bronzer
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Westman Atelier Baby Cheeks Blush Stick (£44, cultbeauty.co.uk) and Face Trace Contour Stick (£44, cultbeauty.co.uk). “If I could only pick one make-up brand it would be Westman Atelier because it’s so easy to use. Nearly everything is cream-based, meaning it can be blended with fingers, and there’s a nice amount of pigment but it’s not overwhelming.”
Setting spray
Danessa Myricks Dewy Forever Mist (£29, danessamyricksbeauty.eu). “I don’t want anything mattifying. I’m too old — I need glow all day.”
