Well, talk about being hoist by our own petard. We giggled for years about being forced to wear Rimmel’s Heather Shimmer, as it seemed to be the only lipstick shade available to us in Ireland during the 1980s and 1990s. Now, however, news from Rimmel is here to bust our chops: Heather Shimmer is still its best-selling shade. Yes, despite countless shades and advances in lipstick technology, it turns out that Irish women just cannot be parted from this colour.
Recently, I decided to do a bit of sleuthing into Irish women’s favourite lipsticks. I asked the cosmetic companies to do a spot of data mining for me. According to all sources, it seems that the Irish market is quite different from the UK; we prefer different textures and colours. An engrossing recent lipstick study commissioned by Heathrow Airport used global sales data to determine the preferred shade of cities all over the world, based on sales in their vast in-flight shopping malls . Dublin women prefer bright orange reds, Londoners chose staid caramel nudes and Belfast women pick sheer strawberry hues.
Irish women prefer moisture-rich lipsticks. We like to wear nudes, corals and pinks during the day, generally reserving brighter shades for night time and occasion wear. If you want to try out some of Ireland's most popular choices: L'Oréal's Irish bestseller is light pink (Colour Riche range 302 Bois de Rose); Maybelline's top seller is Color Sensational 148 Summer Pink; and No7 Moisture Drench in Soft Cherry, Soft Paprika and Spring Pink fly off the shelves in Boots.
Matte lipstick is taking off too. Sales of Rimmel's Kate Matte have doubled in the past year and the Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet Matte collection is its best-selling range in Ireland. If you have not tried this yet, do. It is brilliant.
We tend to be more adventurous with fashion-driven lines; the Mac and Nars stables tell me that their dramatic colours are our favourites. The top three Mac Irish bestsellers are Viva Glam II (satin finish), Ruby Woo Lipstick (retro matte finish) and Rebel Lipstick (satin finish). The best-selling Nars lip shade is the Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Dragon Girl; Jungle Red Lipstick and Schaip Lipstick complete their top three best-sellers.
But as for Heather Shimmer? Well you can all quit your sniggering down the back. It’s retro, it’s fabulous and it’s not going anywhere. amcdermott@irishtimes.com Twitter @aismcdermott
