The experts answers to the ten most Googled beauty questions of 2018

By Holly O'Neill
29th Dec 2018

The experts answers to the ten most Googled beauty questions of 2018

It’s been a great big year of innovation in beauty (Chanel’s 3D printed mascara! The Dyson Airwrap!), and trends (freckles a la Markle! Guido Paula’s massive Valentino volume! Val Garland’s Giambattista glitter face!), especially in Ireland (we have Drunk Elephant now! Glossier ships here! Between Boots, Arnotts’ new beauty Hall, Brown Thomas, Space NK and Cloud10 Beauty we basically have every beauty brand!). There were some lows (RIP Urban Decay’s Naked Palette, the OG who spawned a million copycats) and some highs (can I get a “bye felicia!” to microbeads). Thank you 2018, for the revolutions and revelations.

Another way to take a glance at the trends that dominated the year is Google’s Year In Search. Every year, Google release their stats on the most searched people, questions and news stories. What were the beauty lovers searching for?

There were social media trends, celebrity inspired looks and questions we’ve been asking since the beginning of time. I irritated all the beauty experts I could get a hold of before Christmas to find the answers. Did you Google any of these beauty queries?

10. What concealer to use?

At the IMAGE Beauty Awards in March, we awarded Yves Saint Laurent All Hours Concealer, €34 and Urban Decay All Nighter Concealer, €24 as our winning concealers, but personal favourites of mine this year since the Awards are Glossier Stretch Concealer, €18, for buildable coverage that looks like skin and Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer, €29.50 for a smooth skin tone and great crease-proof under-eye coverage.

Urban Decay All Nighter Concealer, €24

9. How to fix cakey make-up?

“Whether you have a cake face because you’ve had a tough day, or because you’ve applied too much foundation, or powder, there is a few ways to tackle it, depending on your skin type,” says Christine Lucignano, make-up artist extraordinaire. “If you have just applied your make-up and realised you’ve gone a bit overboard, one of the easy fixes is to take a facial or beauty spray and gently spritz your skin, then quickly blot your skin with a slightly damp beauty sponge. Repeat this step until your skin begins looking more fresh. If you are trying to revive your skin after a long day then the approach is similar but you need to go a step further. After the spritzing of the skin and the blotting with the damp beauty sponge, take a hyaluronic based serum or a nourishing beauty oil and apply a small amount to your palm, rub together and then pat evenly and gently to your face.”

Eau Thermal Avene Water Spray,€ 8.99

8. How to glue down eyebrows?

We’re guessing Beyoncé’s make-up artist, Sir John, is responsible for the upsurge in this particular search, after sharing that he uses glue to get Bey’s brows flat and brushed up.It’s a drag trick too. But like contouring, it’s effects are supposed to be performative. Using glue in your brows, if you’re performing drag, or on stage like Yonce, is going to stop your brows getting sweaty. Let’s not do this everyday though – you’ll dry your brow hairs and the surrounding skin out plus trying to get the glue out is definitely going to cause trouble for the growth of your brows. A couple of weeks ago, I visited brow guru, the multi-awarding winning Kim O’Sullivan in her new digs – The Brow Lab in the Brown Thomas Beauty Lounge, where she gave me a deep consultation and put me on a regrowth plan for some of the sparser areas of my brows. Her original HQ, The Dublin Make-up Academy, (where she still works from), has just become the exclusive Irish stockist of Instagram’s favourite brow product – West Barn Co.’s Soapbrows, a natural alternative to applying glue to the brows. “Soapbrows amp up the brow, giving extra texture, body and fullness whilst setting your brow hairs in place,” says Kim. “It’s vegan too.”

West Barn Co’s Soapbrows, available at The Dublin Make-up Academy

7. How to apply aloe vera?

In it’s natural, organic gel state, aloe is a miracle worker as a moisturiser and for skin irritations and sunburn. Check out the video below on how to isolate gel from aloe vera, then soak it in water and add it to your blender for a hydrating, natural skin soother.

6. How to take off make-up without make-up wipes?

Please, let this question be because people are looking for environmentally friendly alternatives to make-up wipes and not because they haven’t considered cleanser. Let’s assume that. One new alternative comes from Irish entrepreneur Pamela Laird, who has added another gamechanger in her problem-solving range Moxi Loves. Bare Faced, €3.95, are hypoallergenic cottonwool pads infused with cleanser. Just add water for the ease of make-up wipes without the damage to your skin or the environment. Another option, and one of my favourite beauty finds of the year, is the Make-Up Eraser. It’s the first ever reusable make-up removal system, which easily removes make-up with just water thanks to it’s velvet texture, including waterproof make-up and stubborn mascara. Each cloth will last a thousand washes, and you only need to add water. They’re €19.99, last approximately three years and are available at makeuperaser.ie.

5. How to do a cat-eye?

“The best way to do a cat-eye look is to keep your eyes open and start with a soft eye pencil,” says Christine Lucignano. “Rest the pencil on your lash line and softly pull the line from the inside of the lash line and stop just short of the end. Now imagine a line going from under your bottom lashes at the outer corner and place a small dot where you would like that flick to end. Join the pencil line to the dot. You can smudge the line to soften or you can intensify it with a gel or liquid liner for more precision. You can even use a powder shadow on top of that liner and let it smoke out slightly at the outer corner for extra drama. Finish with lashings of mascara and a false lash for extra cattiness!”

4. What hair colour looks best on me?

This year, Luke Hershesons, internationally acclaimed hairstylist and co-founder and creative director of Hershesons released his first book, Great Hair Days & How To Have Them. It’s a practical guide to all things products, myths and colour, for hair of all ages, types and ethnicities. Reading it has changed my hair’s life. He writes, “A great colour is one that looks as though it really belongs to you and that a colourist hasn’t had a hand in creating it. A convincing natural-looking colour is one that complements your skin tone, enhances the colour of your eyes and makes you features come alive. Making roots a bit darker and ends a bit lighter makes the colour look more natural and the regrowth less obvious.” Make 2019 your hair’s best year yet and buy Great Hair Days & How To Have Them here.

3. How to remove individual eyelashes?

According to our IMAGE go-to for all things lashes, Olivia Fitzsimons on 18/19 College Green, Dublin 2, (she was also a nominee for Best Eyelash Artist at the IMAGE Business of Beauty Awards 2018), do not try this at home. “I would always recommend going to a salon, as it’s too tempting to start picking them at home! If you really can’t make it to a lash technician for removal, use oil – oil all the way. Soak the lashes in oil and wait until they slide off, there should be no damage at all.”

2. What is a lash lift?

“It’s essentially a perm for your natural lashes,” says Olivia. “Your lashes will be curled, tinted and look thicker. There are no extensions used so if you’re looking for a noticeable difference in volume or length, this won’t be for you, but if you have long, thick, natural lashes, your life will be changed!”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PV1znplVSK8

1. How to apply magnetic eyelashes?

This October, Essence cosmetics released their new take on magnetic lashes for just €7.50 and they couldn’t be easier to use. Glue-free and reusable, available in six different styles, they attach to your natural lashes with a magnetic strip. Just separate the lashes, place one lash strip above the upper lash line and the other part below – the magnets will lock together. Still scratching your head about how they work? Watch the YouTube tutorial above.

Featured image by @cinnamonryan.