Four New Zealand Beauty Entrepreneurs Share Their Biggest Beauty Regrets

Because even the biggest names in beauty are not immune to a few fake tan faux pas along the way.

Anyone who’s survived the late 90s and early Noughts will recall the chokehold M.A.C lipstick in the shade Snob had on us all.

The ultra-pale pink threw white
under the flash of a digital camera, which was hardly flattering against the rich bronze hue of Maybelline’s now-discontinued Dream Matte Mousse.

Not to mention the era of the too-thin eyebrows, our collective obsession with Sun-In hair lightening spray, and orangey fake tan that was sure to be seen from outer space.

Turns out even New Zealand’s beauty elite couldn’t escape some of the trends and products we’d rather forget, and below they share their biggest beauty regrets.

I try not to look at anything in my makeup journey with regret. Every phase reflects the era we were in, at the time, and it was probably the height of chic. That said, one technique I wouldn’t revisit is the stark, frosty highlighter under the brow bone – usually teamed with pasty matte foundation and an oddly cool-toned iridescent brown lip. It created such a harsh contrast that did little to celebrate the natural contours of the face. Looking back, it was less about enhancing beauty and more about declaring war on it, with shimmer as our weapon of choice.

I went through a phase of extreme layering with my hair in my early twenties. The top layer was really short and it looked ridiculous. It was long before the time of taking photos on my phone though, so I couldn’t find any to share. I am an absolute shocker when it comes to styling [my own hair], so needless to say, the only day it looked good was the day I left the salon.

My biggest beauty regret would have to be over-colouring my hair in the early stages of my career. As a young hairdresser, I loved experimenting with colour, and at one point, I took my hair so dark it was almost black with a red hue, which did not suit my complexion at all. These days, I’ve done a complete 180 and only work with my natural base and tone. It’s a reminder that we often look and feel our best when we embrace what’s naturally ours.

Back in the early 2000s, Sun-In was a raging success, pitched to take dull hair and illuminate it with sun-kissed highlights reminiscent of a California beach babe. How? Simply spritz the formula on to pieces of the hair and lay out in the sunshine (before sun baking was a no-no). It was not the case for 13-year-old Soph. Although I was warned, I paid no mind to the negative naysayers that my chocolate brown locks were not going to work with this formula, and kicked on with gusto. I don’t do things in halves, and this was no different. Armed with a bottle of Sun-In, I surpassed the recommended dosage and completely saturated my hair, lay down in a searing hot New Zealand sun and let it get to work. The result? Orange, dry and damaged locks that required a home box dye back to brown quick-smart.

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