How To Pronounce Those Tricky Beauty Brand Names

The only language vocabulary guide you need

beauty terms woman studying

by Ellie Wiseman |
Published on

Are you one of those people who enjoys finding out about new beauty products and experimenting with trends, but when it comes to dictating which brand your divine new highlighter is from, you're at a loss because you don't know how to begin pronouncing it? Don't worry, us too.

Or, when you're in SPACE.NK and the sales assistant asks you what you're looking for, do you avoid possible embarrassment by not guessing those hard-to-pronounce brand names and just point at the stand instead? Totally understandable.

Keeping up with new beauty brand names, beauty techniques, trends and lingo is tricky enough, but when the words themselves are obscure and French - or even made-up altogether - looking like you know what you're on about is a hard task.

So, to help you out we've put together a quick phonetic guide for you, so you can order like a pro at all the beauty counters and confidently ask your salon for the hair-do you desire.

Get studying...

Avene

(the cult French pharmacy skincare brand)

ah-ven

Batiste

(haircare brand, responsible for the creation of our favourite dry shampoo)

bat-east

Balayage

(free-painting highlights onto the hair for a naturally sunkissed look)

bah-lay-arj

Caudalie

(French skincare brand beloved by stars, powered by grapes)

koh-da-lee

Chantecaille

(luxury French skincare brand)

shan-tuh-kigh

Décolletage

(your neck, collarbones and upper chest)

day-col-lah-tarj

Guerlain

(the luxurious French beauty brand)

gur-lan

Illamasqua

(British makeup brand)

ill-uh-mass-cuh

Kérastase

(luxury haircare brand)

care-a-stahs

Kiehl's

(speciality skin and body brand)

keels

Korres

(luxury Greek skincare brand)

core-rez

L’Occitane

(French body and skincare brand)

lox-ee-tan

La Roche-Posay

(French cosmetics company)

la roushe po-ZAY

Ombre

(dip-dyeing hair for a gradient effect at the ends)

omm-bray

Oribe

(the hairstyling supremo who launched a must-have haircare range)

or-bay

Phyto

(natural French haircare brand)

fee-toe

Shiseido

(Japanese cutting-edge beauty brand)

she-say-doh

Shu Uemura

(makers of the world's best lash curlers, among other things)

shu-ooh-e-mer-ah

READ MORE: How To Pronounce Designer Brands: A Phonetic Guide

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