Mary Lou McDonald sure turned heads this week with her stylish new haircut and glowing complexion as she attended a gathering of the first ministers of Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland at an independence summit in Cardiff.
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she → turn → Cardiff
Sporting a flattering bob with a heavy fringe and a slimmer, trimmer figure, the politician looked relaxed and radiant among her fellow political leaders.
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politician → sport → leaders
Some might say she stole the show.
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she → say → show
So what precisely has the 57-year-old done to achieve her new look?
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old → do → look
Here we break down the individual elements and analyse how to achieve the Mary Lou makeover.
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we → break → makeover
Mary Lou McDonald's new hairstyle really turned heads this week.
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hairstyle → turn → heads
The blunt-ended bob with a deep, heavy fringe has knocked a decade off her look and gives her a fresh-faced reinvention.
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bob → knock → reinvention
The bold fringe flatters her high forehead and immediately makes her look younger while helping to conceal annoying greys.
Deep bangs, as the Americans call them, are often deployed as a flattering style by mature women as they soften features, draw attention to the eyes and cheekbones and add a fresh youthful energy to an existing style.
Celebrities including Penelope Cruz, Naomi Campbell, J Lo and Heidi Klum have all sported a long fringe to flattering effect, so Mary Lou is in good company with hers.
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Lou → flatter → hers
The naturally modest Jean cannot quite believe the attention that her cut has received.
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cut → believe → that
‘She’s wearing it well,’ Jean laughs when quizzed on her client.
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Jean → wear → client
‘I just thought she needed a change.
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she → think → change
She’s had the bob for so long, and with the parting, the grey, as you know, comes through so much.’
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you → have → parting
As an eagle-eyed professional, Jacinta would always check out her client when she was on TV, and her focus would immediately go to her re-growth.
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focus → check → growth
So, the fringe seemed an ideal solution.
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fringe → seem → ?
‘I just thought a fringe would be lovely and it’s super, it’s nice on her face.’
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it → think → face
Jacinta adds.
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Jacinta → add → ?
‘She loved it.
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She → love → it
Everybody’s [asking her] now, “Did you have Botox done?
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Botox → ask → her
Did you have this done?
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this → have → ?
Did you have that done?”
Because the fringe makes your appearance so, so different.
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appearance → have → ?
It can change your appearance so much.
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It → change → appearance
She went for a few highlights that she never had either.
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she → go → that
They’re really, really nice now on her as well.’
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They → ’re → her
Jacinta has seen the Sinn Féin leader through many washes, cuts and blow-dries, even recalling how she suffered hair loss after Covid, but like any loyal hairdresser she is the soul of discretion and does not discuss her client’s politics.
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she → see → politics
‘She’s a terrible nice person,’ she says.
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she → ’ → ?
‘She’s just a lovely person to talk to one-to-one and you’d have a great bit of fun with her.’
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you → ’ → her
Whether she will see an uptick in clients looking for the Mary Lou fringe is yet to be seen.
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see → see → fringe
‘I’ll have to work more days,’ she laughs.
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she → have → days
‘Fringes never go out – like a bob.’
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Fringes → go → bob
Jacinta’s cutting skills have also been complimented abroad.
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skills → compliment → ?
She recalls the opposition leader telling her: ‘Oh, I was in America and I had my hair blow dried, and they said it was a lovely haircut.’
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it → recall → America
Certainly, Jacinta’s way with scissors has proven the maxim that a really good haircut can be as effective as a face-lift.
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haircut → prove → lift
As she loves what she does, she intends to keep Mary Lou looking fabulous for a long time to come.
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she → love → time
Her skin looks bright and radiant.
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skin → look → ?
Naturally olive-skinned, Mary Lou’s complexion is often tanned but prolonged exposure to sunshine can encourage fine lines and pigmentation.
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exposure → prolong → lines
Her complexion this September, while tanned, is also bright and radiant, which may mean she has invested in some professional and personalised skin treatments to rejuvenate her facial skin.
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she → tan → skin
Salon treatments can improve the skin’s hydration and reduce pigmentation and sun damage so that the complexion is dewier and brighter overall.
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complexion → improve → pigmentation
Essentials on Baggot Street is expert at skincare and always recommends a personalised skin consultation to assess the skin in detail before recommending a treatment plan.
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Essentials → recommend → plan
‘For someone looking to achieve a brighter, fresher and more rejuvenated appearance, I would typically start with a HydraFacial to deeply cleanse, exfoliate and hydrate the skin, while also allowing us to assess the main concerns and how the skin responds,’ says Paula Hughes.
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Hughes → look → concerns
‘From there, we can tailor the skin journey depending on what the client needs.
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client → tailor → what
…and 34 more, not listed.
The Aporia
