Sinéad Burke

Irish writer, academic, and activist Sinéad Burke had a rather unlikely introduction to beauty as a child: her father worked as an actor and therefore had a huge make-up kit, from which he'd pull gems like Max Factor's Pan Stick before offering his daughters make-up advice.

Sinéad's Dad also served as a role model for her in another significant way because he too was disabled as a result of achondroplasia (a genetic disorder that results in dwarfism), with Sinéad crediting him and her family for fostering an attitude that allowed her to grow up with ‘the understanding that if people were cruel to me, it said more about them than it did about me, because if somebody had to go out their way to make me feel small - metaphorically and literally - then they weren’t the kind of people that I wanted to associate with.'

In this episode, Sinéad talks about carving out her space on the internet, the joy of make-up (and of learning how to do it from her sister), and how she thinks selfies can be a positive thing.

Our conversation was arranged by Molton Brown, who have launched an #OwnYourBold campaign which is designed to nurture conversation around female empowerment by encouraging women to embrace their individuality and help to build confidence among others. The associated scent is the Jasmine & Sun Rose collection.

Products Sinead mentions include:

- Max Factor Pan Stick 

- Chanel Coco Mademoiselle 

- Roads Afrikaans

- Vaseline

- Elizabeth Arden 8 Hour Lip Balm

- Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette

- Maybelline Infallible Foundation

- L’Occitane Immortelle Divine Cream

- Benefit Browsings

- Benefit Gimme Brow

- ELF Compact Powder

- Nars x Erdem Blush

- Fenty Killawatt Freestyle Highlighter

- Max Factor 2000 Calories Mascara

Beauty Full Lives is hosted by Madeleine Spencer, produced by Charlie Jones, and with artwork by Sung Lee. 

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