Moisturiser? It does nothing, says Mirren (the face of L’oreal)
Actress may have some smoothing over to do with beauty brand after ‘Ratner moment’ at press panel
IT COULD go down as her Gerald Ratner moment. Dame Helen Mirren, face of the skin care brand L’oreal, has confided that using moisturiser “probably does f--- all”.
The Oscar-winning actress made her comments while sitting on a L’oreal panel in the south of France, where she was appearing in her capacity as brand ambassador.
“I’m not setting standards for others. All I can do is be who I am. I’ve always loved make-up,” she said.
“I’m an eternal optimist – I know that when I put my moisturiser on it probably does f--- all, but it just makes me feel better.
“I’ve always said to L’oreal as well that I will only do what makes me feel better.”
The reaction of L’oreal executives at the event is not recorded.
Her remarks drew comparison with the infamous 1991 after-dinner speech by Gerald Ratner, who sent his eponymous jewellery firm into a spiral of decline when he said of its stock: “People say, ‘How can you sell this for such a low price?’ I say, ‘Because it’s total crap’.”
In the same speech, Ratner added that his stores’ earrings were “cheaper than an M&S prawn sandwich but probably wouldn’t last as long”.
The speech reportedly wiped £500 million from the value of the jewellers.
Dame Helen, 72, is the oldest of the French brand’s celebrity ambassadors and has insisted that the advertisements in which she appears are not digitally retouched to erase wrinkles.
She is the face of L’oreal’s Age Perfect moisturiser range, and was signed as a brand spokeswoman in 2014 after their consumer research found she was perceived as “genuine, intelligent and glamorous, with looks that seem only to improve with the passing of time”. The range includes a night cream as well as a “re-fortifying day” moisturiser.
The creams vary in price with most being sold for under £20.
On being appointed the L’oreal brand spokesman, Dame Helen said she wanted to “inspire other women towards great confidence by making the most of their natural good looks”. She describes herself as a longtime fan of the French brand, and said: “It used to drive me crazy that the ads promoting skin products were using pictures of 15 and 16-year-old girls.
“As a 30-year-old, I used to look at that and think, what the f--- are you talking about? It was ridiculous. P----- me off majorly. Advertisers are only just coming out of that, and it’s taken them a long time.”
Speaking at the Cannes event, Dame Helen also reflected on her career. “I of- ten feel I’ve lost my way in my aspiration to be an artist,” she said in a speech reported by Campaign magazine.
“Of course, it’s wonderful to have success, and the thing I love most about it is economic freedom. Coming from a background where there was no money – and if you didn’t work, there was nothing to live on – to have bought my own house and to have never been in debt or on welfare is something I feel proud of.
“But there’s a part of me that thinks I should have been a struggling artist.”
Asked if she felt she had sold out,
‘It’s wonderful to have success, but there’s a part of me that thinks I should have been a struggling artist’
Dame Helen replied: “Yes, I do in many ways. But, I may add, blissfully and quite happily.”
Fans who dream of seeing Dame Helen as a female James Bond in the future will be disappointed. “I’m too old,” she said.
“In my youth, that would have been great, of course.
“But that time was different; we could never even have imagined a woman playing that role.”
A L’oreal spokesman was not available for comment.