Aisling McDermott: 'There are advertisers who won't advertise with us because of the comments posted'

Do you need a science degree to understand the claims that various cosmetic companies make? Possibly. Even the most ordinary of beauty products have been gussied up so that you now have mascaras that make your eyelashes grow thicker and longer and lotions that react chemically to recreate what is your natural blush. It's hard to know what works and it's even harder to separate the stars from the snake oil.


And you can't always rely on what you read in glossy magazines, which may be prevented from giving a bad review if the same brand is advertising in the magazine. These are the reasons why increasing amounts of make-up junkies are turning to the searing honesty of beauty blogs instead.


Beaut.ie, the country's most successful beauty blog, is where Irish women turn when they want to get the real deal on Chanel's latest cult nail polish, 'Jade', or to find out where to go to get their eyebrows threaded cheaply. They can exchange the unwanted perfume they got for their birthday at the Swap Siopa; enter competitions to win goodies and share their experiences of the '12-week' blow-dry.


It's a lively little part of cyber space, attracting up to 20,000 visitors a day from Ireland and the world, somewhat to the bemusement – and delight – of its creators. Aisling McDermott and her sister Kirstie have a deep love of all things beauty-related, dating back to their teenage days when all their spare cash was spent on Anne French cleansing milk and Clearasil spot cream. As they grew older, with more disposable income, they graduated to Brown Thomas's make-up counters.


When Kirstie suggested doing a beauty blog in 2006, Aisling agreed (although she didn't actually know what a blog was) and since then the site has won numerous awards and is making the transition from online to print with a new book, The Beaut.ie Guide to Gorgeous.


Why the book? "A blog will only attract certain people," Aisling says. "Not everyone goes to blogs, they have a reputation for being unfriendly – although ours isn't – and a lot of people don't even know how they work."


The book, like the site, has a chatty, humorous, informal tone. 'Products of Yore' such as teen spot favourite Sudocreme are celebrated, genuinely useful tips are passed on and all budgets are catered for. Aisling won't write about anything she hasn't tried. "If we were ever to do that, people would know. The girls on the site would say, 'What the hell are you doing?'"


Thus they've had laser treatment, veneers, colonic irrigation and myriad spray-on tans. "We've always said whatever we've thought. If something is mediocre, we don't tend to write about it. If something is really good we do and if something is really terrible, then we do as well." The site has advertisers, but not to the same extent as print media so there is no pressure not to offend a particular brand.


"There are advertisers who won't advertise with us because of the comments posted, which we don't moderate," says Aisling. "If I came out and said 'I like brand X' and 20 people posted and said it's rubbish and this is why and a brand won't advertise as a result, there's nothing we can do about it."


Beaut.ie is time-consuming (it's updated six times a day), as was writing the book ("It did take absolutely ages to do, like 10 months," Aisling says) and it all has to be fitted in around the day jobs. Aisling works in the library at DCU while Kirstie, the former beauty editor of the Sunday Tribune, works for- the marketing department of a publishing company. Do they ever run out of things to say or fail to get excited about a lipstick? "No, because everything connects back to beauty," Aisling explains. "If you go to a film, there will always be the make-up to discuss. Then there's celebrity beauty – my God, you'd never be stuck talking about it."


Speaking of celebrities, we both agree that Kylie needs to lay off the Botox, having scared viewers on her recent X Factor appearance. She loves Gwen Stefani. "I think she's fantastic and she's reinvented herself so much. Madonna – now there's someone who's had really good plastic surgery done. They've given her a lot of fillers because her face has completely filled out and she looks a lot better."


Amy Huberman, who is a big fan of the site, launched the book yesterday in the McDermott girls' 'Temple of Worship', the Beauty Hall in Brown Thomas.


As for Irish women's unique relationship with make-up, McDermott says: "They definitely have their own look and it's completely different to the 'London look' for example, which is no make-up, hair pulled back. Irish women love dressing up and looking well and make-up ranges sell out faster here than they do anywhere else. We love it."


Our predilection for fake tan, she believes, is to do with fact that the weather is so miserable here. As to why there are so many Tangoed ladies out there is because most of the fake tan on sale is actually for darker skin tones than those of your average Irish woman, thus the orange hues. The good news: beauty companies are working on developing ranges for our pale limbs.


Aisling's list of favourite products and treatments is lengthy. They include Mac cosmetics, Shu Uemura cleansing oil, Lancôme and Jo Malone perfumes and lots of products by Estée Lauder, a brand she describes as fantastic. "I know it has a kind of 'mammy' ring to it but it's really really good."


The voice of the Beaut.ie Mammy makes her thoughts known throughout the book, like when she reminisces about the good old days pre-global warming: "We'd go off to Tramore with our tinfoil held up to our faces, a bottle of Hawaiian Tropic sun oil and a deck chair." It's not actually the real Mammy McDermott. "My mother went mad – 'Everyone will think it's me!' but it's not, it's just a mammy-type person."


How tolerant is her husband Derrick of her beauty obsession? "Tolerant. That's exactly the word. He thinks it mad," she says. "When Kirstie I first started the blog we went on holiday to Spain. Everytime we went out for dinner, we had to go to a restaurant with the internet and run down after the main course to check the blog. Derrick and Kirstie's boyfriend were just sitting there, going 'Oh my God'."


But he is really very proud of the book, she grins, adding: "He also says no housework has been done since we started the blog."


There is that famous economic indicator, the Lipstick Factor, which was coined after sales of lipstick went up after 9/11. When times are bad, women still want affordable luxury although this recession around, foundation is said to be the new indicator.


"Women always want to look well and they want their little treats," says Aisling. "Foundation lasts four months and even if it costs €40, that's not so bad. I always say buy it and hide the receipts. Just buy own-brand groceries instead."


'The beaut.ie Guide to Gorgeous' by Aisling McDermott, published by Gill & Macmillan, is out now, price €16.99


Beaut.ie's Five Favourite Budget Buys


1. Bonus Time Offers


We all know the drill – buy two products, one to be skincare and receive six samples and a make-up bag. You may have tons of unwanted make-up bags because of this but no matter as these offers are a brilliant way to pick up luxury sample size products and try out new releases.


2. 3 For 2


Time it right and you need never pay full price for your faves again. If you use something day in and day out, stock up when 3 for 2 comes around - it saves a fortune.


3. Try out less expensive ranges


Banish snobbery and don't let yourself be one of those people who says "I only use Chanel" (or whatever). The cheaper make-up ranges have improved in leaps and bound recently and you'll find you're pleasantly surprised. Plus you'll stop irritating everyone as an added bonus.


4. Change your nail varnish


The cheapest way to follow trends and update your look. If French manicures are so out this season it won't cost you more than a couple of euro to liven things up. Plus the cheaper ranges (Rimmel, Bourjois) always have great up-to-date fashion-led shades.


5. Muslin cloth


Pick up a pack of these in the Bodyshop or Boots. They're inexpensive and guaranteed to improve the performance of most cleansers by gently exfoliating and deep cleaning.