Weekend Notes: My Big Hair Routine, The Best Mask for Blackheads, and A Controversial Instagram Story.

Who knew how I wash my makeup brushes would make people lose their minds?

Welcome to Glow Notes! A newsletter that’s equal parts skincare wisdom and a peek inside everything new and noteworthy in the beauty world, written by me, Simone Gannon - an aesthetic practitioner, skincare educator, and beauty journalist of over 15 years.

Here, you’ll find a mix of practical skincare advice, interviews with beauty founders, expert how-tos, deep dives into products, treatments, and the weird stuff that actually works.

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This Weekend Notes newsletter includes:

• The big hair routine I follow for oomph that lasts three days

• Links to Substack pieces and others across the web I think you’ll enjoy

• The best mask I’ve ever used for blackheads (my 12 year old uses it too)

• A discussion about the Instagram Story I posted that made people lose their minds

• … and the multi-use makeup sticks I can’t get enough of

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Free subscribers will be able to see the first two items in Weekend Notes, and paid subscribers will be able to see the complete list, along with additional exclusive Glow Notes content and access to the archive.

A subscription to Glow Notes is €8 a month, which you can sign up for by hitting the subscribe button below (or if you’d like to sign up for a year to support my work, click here to get 20% off).

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Links and what I’m reading.

I finished Ask Not: The Kennedys and the Women They Destroyed a few days ago, and I couldn’t put it down. I’m still thinking about it, still reading up on the various events detailed in the book. A book that will get under your skin.

Before that I read Careless People by Sarah Wynn-Williams. All I will say about this is that the company she writes about is as bad as we thought, and worse. A must read.

And finally, I must recommend this excellent, thought-provoking piece by Utsav Mamoria: How to Live an Intellectually Rich Life.

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One of my goals in life is to have enormous hair. I’m talking volume from every angle - lift, oomph, drama.

Yes, this Substack is mostly about beauty (and specifically skincare), but do you know what category of products I own just as many of as skincare? Hair products. So many hair products.

I demand extreme, long-lasting volume from the ones I spend my money on, and over the years, I’ve carved out a little routine that more or less gets me there. Admittedly, I’m aware my hair volume goals might be somewhere between ‘somewhat realistic’ and ‘borderline delusional’, but we move.

In the image above, you’ll find my go-to products for big hair that lasts several days. On this occasion, the below outcome was achieved and it lasted me a glorious three days.

Here’s the breakdown:

I start by washing my hair (twice) followed by a bit of conditioner on the ends. My volumising shampoo of choice at the moment is this one.

I brush my hair and then spritz Kevin Murphy Anti Gravity Spray all over, and then brush again. Then comes the holy grail: the greatest volumising mousse of all time - Color Wow Extra Large Bombshell Volumizer Mousse. I load my brush with it (I don’t apply directly to my head) and then brush through evenly (and somewhat vigorously).

Next, I grab my hairdryer and blast my hair for all it’s worth - I usually flip my head upside down for max volume. Once dry, I move on to styling. Depending on what I’m going for I’ll either use the Airwrap I.D or this brilliant curling tong from GHD.

Then I go in with two of my all-time favorite styling products:

1. Kevin Murphy Doo Over – The brand calls this a finishing hairspray, but it’s more like a dry powder/texturising spray hybrid. It gives enormous lift and volume.

2. Kevin Murphy Bedroom Hair – This adds a bit more texture and doubles as a finishing spray.

And I generally finish with a little hair oil through the ends. This one is my favourite.

Over the next few days, I don’t do much, apart from using a little dry shampoo at night for oil soakage. I brush it in the morning, ‘juj’ with my fingers, and sometimes spritz a bit of Bedroom Hair if I need to bring it back to life.

But the key to this whole routine? The mousse. There is nothing like it for creating enormous, lasting volume. It’s magic.