Sali Hughes

I'm a monarchist and fortunate to be born during the era of the longest reining monarch, Queen Elizabeth II. In Our Rainbow Queen - A Tribute to Queen Elizabeth II and Her Colourful Wardrobe, author Sali Hughes takes a look at Her Majesty's fashion over the last nine decades, including her jewellery and accessories.

I thoroughly enjoyed this little read and all of the trivia it contained. Many designers are mentioned, Royal warrants explained and much more. Learning the Queen's outfits were all weather tested and logged to avoid any repetition of an ensemble and that she won't wear shoes that have a heel higher than 2.25 inches was interesting.

The Queen's ladies-in-waiting are said to:
"travel with spare tights, sewing kits and lavender-scented cloths in case of extreme heat." Page 54

The rumoured contents of the Queen's handbag from Page 120-121 are:
"Small camera; family photos; compact and lipstick (usually by Clarins or Elizabeth Arden); suction mounted bag hook; ironed and folded bank note for any church service collections; crossword clipped from newspaper for any idle moments; mints; reading glasses; fountain pen; small silver make-up case given to her by Prince Philip and a mobile phone for calls to grandchildren."

I enjoyed learning about the often political and cultural meaning behind the Queen's fashion and jewellery choices, indicating advanced research and preparation for every event and Royal engagement. I especially enjoyed her choice to wear a brooch given to her by the Obamas when meeting President Trump, and to wear the EU colours of blue and gold when attending the State Opening of Parliament post Brexit referendum.

Another factor contributing to my enjoyment of this little hardback gem was the fact that I submitted a request for my library to purchase this book and they did! It now has to be returned because there's a nice little queue of readers waiting to get their hands on it next. How fun!

Our Rainbow Queen by Sali Hughes is an interesting read with great photographs to study in detail and will appeal to a variety of readers of any age.… (mais)

I picked this up because I've read Sali Hughes' beauty column in the Guardian and I like her no-nonsense and unapologetic attitude. This isn't so much a set of tutorials (honestly, it's probably easier to follow her YouTube videos for application how-tos anyway) as it is a collection of tips and advice in essay form. I like that Hughes covers a wide range of skin types and needs that don't often get discussed in mainstream venues, and there are chapters here on everything from red lipstick to why saving things for best "is like metaphorically spending your life sitting on a sofa wrapped in cellophane." I don't think there's necessarily anything here that you won't have picked up from reading her column regularly, but it's nice to have it all in one spot.

(While I trust Hughes' assessment of beauty products, given that she's been working in the industry for 20 years, I really wish she'd had a fact-checker who could have checked the veracity of the quotes she uses as epigrams at the beginning of each chapter. Despite what the internet would have you believe, Marilyn Monroe never said, “I'm selfish, impatient and a little insecure. I make mistakes, I am out of control and at times hard to handle. But if you can't handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don't deserve me at my best.” The most cursory bit of due diligence would have made that clear.)… (mais)

How can I begin to say how much I love this book? Sali Hughes is intelligent, inclusive, kind, positive, and no nonsense. She cuts through the bullshit of the beauty/cosmetics industry with good (British*) humor. She knows her readers are beautiful, and she sees cosmetics as a way to evince our beauty. The focus here is on face makeup, but there are also interesting forays into scents, hair, nails, and a little bit of body products (e.g. self tanners). She includes makeup recommendations for women of color, which I appreciate as an Indian woman.

This book is not like most beauty books in that there are very few photos and certainly no detailed tutorials and diagrams. It is more like a book of beauty philosophy that also contains much practical advice. I was impressed by how well written it is! It is apparent that Sali took incredible care to be accurate and articulate. Highly recommended.

*Although I yearn for an American edition of this book--it would be great to know which American only products Sali would recommend--I doubt her characteristically British humor and slang could be translated.… (mais)

The first few chapters were interesting, all about cleansing and moisturising and skin care but she mostly lost me with the makeup advice chapters, I'm not a makeup wearer on a normal day, and barely on special days too.

So I was cruising along with the read, seeing if she could convert me, which she pretty much didn't, and the wedding makeup chapter happened, and it was interesting and then she mentioned casually that same-sex couples should try not to match too much but try not to clash too and I was charmed.

Then she had the "Saving the Best for Now" chapter, which should be compulsory reading for almost everyone. It's about using the good stuff now rather than saving it for a special moment, to regard every moment as special and it sang to me, and moved the book from a 3 star to a 4 star read in one short chapter.

The other resources chapter has some interesting links.… (mais)