Why are we normalising a beauty culture that encourages invasive procedures? 

From what I’ve seen of friends and among my own sisters, there’s a massive jump between Generation X and Millennials in terms of money and time invested in the beauty industry – which makes me wonder where it’s all going.

Laurie Morrissey grew up in East Cork and now lives in County Clare with her husband and children.

Like the rush to get everyone out to school in the morning isn’t stressful enough, today’s proved extra challenging as I worked to delicately rub lip-stuff off my six-year-old’s general mouth area that, as her brother appropriately described, looked like ‘a bright red moustache’. Somewhere in between hitting her sister and losing one of her shoes, she had recovered the remnants of a cheap lipstick she got some time back with a comic, smearing it on and around her lips. To look pretty, I suppose.

'She had discovered the remnants of a cheap listick."