Kathleen Baird-Murray
On her favourite beauty products:
“I’m loving Radical’s Age-Defying Exfoliating Pads and their Advanced Peptide Antioxidant Serum; Le Labo Santal 33 in the oil version as my fragrance; I enjoy Estee Lauder’s CC creme and Giorgio Armani Fusion foundation and concealer; and Chantecaille’s Rose Day Cream.”
On her hair routine:
“For hair, I’m not loyal to anything, but I do love Julien Farel, Purely Perfect & Phylia de M.”
“When I’m not testing new things, I will automatically be drawn to natural brands like Tata Harper or Grown Alchemist – they feel healthy on the skin and generally smell better.”
“I’ve been doing this now for almost 20 years, and what’s interesting is how much it changes all the time. It used to be about journalism, now it’s also about getting brands to let you have time with their celebrity faces.”
Kathleen wears:
“We work in an open plan space in rows of beautiful white desks with floor to ceiling windows and Murano glass chandeliers. It’s the first office I’ve ever worked in that looks like you imagine a glossy magazine should look like.”
Heels by Dolce & Gabbana.
On fragrances:
“I don’t really have a signature scent, but I wear Le Labo’s Santal 33 often, switching up to a bergamot fragrance for mid-afternoon when I’m at my desk, struggling with something. It’s a great pick-me-up.”
“I’ve just discovered David Mallet’s styling serum which is essential for an ‘undone’ look that isn’t frizzy.”
Kathleen wears:
Kathleen’s clutch collection. Shop similar styles on Net-A-Porter.
On her daily beauty routine:
“For evening I cleanse with sonic cleansing tool like Issa or Clarisonic and a good cleanser; Radical pads and serum or Grown Alchemist detox serum and moisturiser. In the morning I splash with water, moisturise only if I need it. Very light make-up as I like to be able to rub my eyes.”
On her beginnings in beauty:
“My first job in beauty – Deputy Beauty Editor at ELLE under Anna-Marie Solowij – came about when the person they originally hired left after three days; I was the next in line.”
On quick skincare fixes:
“There are some great masks which punch way above their weight – there’s a lot you can do in a few minutes to make your skin glow! Ren’s One Minute… Omorovicza copper peel… they’re both great for really waking up the skin.”
“Charlotte Tilbury’s make-up has made it easier for women who don’t know much about make-up, to really engage and get excited about trying something new.”
“I used to hate receiving compliments about the way I looked. I then went to a very strict, religious school, where beauty was akin to vanity and very much frowned upon. With hindsight it’s odd that this is now my career!”
Pictured, Kathleen’s favourite products for face:
REN Flash Rinse 1 Minute Facial
Grown Alchemist Anti-Oxidant + Treatment Serum
Products pictured:
On her career highlight:
“I’ve had many, but the weekend spent at Punta Cana in the home of Oscar de la Renta, beats them all. He was an incredibly charismatic, warm, charming, inspiring, legend of a man, and I can only imagine how heartbroken his family and work colleagues must be feeling right now. He showed us round his orchid garden, serenaded us at dinner…and welcomed us into his home as if it was the most natural thing in the world.”
On her Clarisonic:
“I used it on my neck the other day and I think I’ve just put off surgery for another five years.”
Kathleen wears:
On keeping healthy:
“I take vitamin supplements – specifically iron as I’m slightly anaemic, selenium, magnesium (it’s meant to help with migraines), Omega oils (I’m vegetarian and don’t eat fish) and vitamin D because I live in the UK and don’t get enough sun in my life.”
On her favourite overseas stint:
“It would be the year I spent in Australia living in Sydney, as beauty editor on Marie Claire. So much FUN!”
On her go-to brands:
“Radical has a great message alongside its skincare as does Chantecaille, who seem to be hell-bent on saving the planet, or at least, certain endangered species.”
Product pictured:
“My novel Face Value was set in the world of magazines, with a beauty editor as a protagonist; I’m also writing a rom-com and attempting to finish a novel. If only I had four more hours in the day… “
“I try to keep fit. Even when I did have a half-decent body I never really appreciated it!”
Her words to live by:
“Don’t think about your work in terms of what will make money – be motivated by your heart, trust your instincts, and the rest will follow.”
To describe Kathleen Baird-Murray as one of the world’s most prolific beauty writers is no exaggeration. She’s worked at Vogue and Marie Claire, is a regular columnist for the Financial Times and even penned a novel with a beauty editor protagonist. Now, Kathleen is Beauty & Health director of NET-A-PORTER.COM, the style mecca that consumes our browsers and bank balances in equal measure.
Tell us – what’s it really like inside the hallowed walls of NET-A-PORTER? “There’s an amazing team spirit,” she says, “but it can be overwhelming sometimes.” We can imagine – as if getting dressed and out the front door every morning isn’t already hard enough, let alone counting your colleagues amongst the most fashion-forward in the business. “We work in an open plan space in rows of beautiful white desks with floor to ceiling windows and Murano glass chandeliers,” she describes. “It’s the first office I’ve ever worked in that looks like you imagine a glossy magazine should look like.”
With tidal waves of product landing on her desk daily for consideration in the beauty pages of PORTER magazine and THE EDIT, it’s a select few who’ve piqued her interest and proved their worth within her own beauty kit. “Charlotte Tilbury’s make-up has I think made it easier for women who don’t know much about make-up, to really engage and get excited about trying something new. Radical has a great message alongside its skincare as does Chantecaille, who seem to be hell-bent on saving the planet, or at least, certain endangered species.”
She also has a knack for delving right inside the bones a fragrance – just as Eskimos have hundreds of words for snow, Baird-Murray has a singular gift when it comes to writing about scent. “I love La Pluie – it’s so evocative of rain on a hot day. I don’t really have a signature scent but I wear Le Labo’s Santal 33 often, switching up to a bergamot fragrance for mid-afternoon when I’m at my desk struggling with something. It’s a great pick-me-up.”
As a former model, the mother-of-two has experienced the beauty industry from every angle. Unsurprisingly, her ability to sniff out a gimmick is finely attuned. “I’m loyal to the things that work, and skeptical until something has proved itself,” she says. “I’m very low maintenance, and ultimately extremely fickle!”
Kathleen has accrued an extraordinary beauty IQ throughout her years in the business, but she also attributes a pragmatic attitude toward beauty to her parents. “I remember my father trying to take a picture of me – in the days when that was a big deal as it meant loading film into a camera. Beauty was something my parents were keen to play down, but the rest of the world placed a value upon. I used to hate receiving compliments about the way I looked. I then went to a very strict, religious school, where beauty was akin to vanity and very much frowned upon. With hindsight it’s odd that this is now my career!” We’d say she was the perfect candidate all along.
Photographed by Sam Hendel.
Words by Susannah Tucker.
