Simone Gannon on Rituals, Creativity, and the Power of Beauty
I’m browsing my local beauty counter when I hear a familiar voice emanating from the phone of the person next to me. I quickly realise that this customer is doing the same thing I’m doing – trying to find and buy something that Simone Gannon, aka @simonescribes on Instagram and TikTok, has recommended to her thousands of followers.
Whether it’s an affordable but brilliant cleanser, cool new gel eyeliner or simply a handy hack for sticking to a skincare routine, the Galway beauty writer and influencer has garnered a reputation for honest, insightful and well-informed recommendations. Now a beauty columnist for the Irish Times, she chats to me from her Dublin home which she shares with her husband and son.
Early beauty memories
A love of beauty was instilled in Simone from quite a young age. “I’ve been obsessed with beauty as far back as I can remember, but there were two women who really influenced me,” she says. “One was my grandmother. She had this incredible evening ritual involving Pond’s Cold Cream, and this amazing approach to looking after herself. I would sit on the edge of the bed and just watch her.”
“The other woman is my mum’s best friend and my Godmother; she was a make-up artist and bought me my first skincare set from Clinique when I was 14 or 15. She was really into make-up, but taught me that make-up is never going to look good if you don’t look after your skin.”
In her 20s, Simone worked first as a make-up artist too, on everything from weddings and events to TV commercials and magazine editorials. In 2009, she started a blog sharing what she was trying and buying and found a community of “people as addicted to beauty as I was”. She moved around, working in publishing in the Middle East, living in Dubai and working for outlets like Grazia and Time Out before returning to Ireland in her early 30s.
Back to (beauty) school
Even as her career grew and evolved, Simone says she “never once” became tired of beauty, using her blog and social profiles to play and explore. “I just love all the different facets of it.”
During Covid, Simone’s following continued to grow steadily. She shared simple, easy-to-follow guides on how to build skincare routines from scratch, what different ingredients meant and how they work. But she was always cautious to not get too prescriptive: “It’s a responsibility,” she says. “People are coming to talk to you about their skin and it can be a very emotional thing so I made sure the advice I gave was quite general.”
“One of my biggest passions within beauty is skincare. I had always wanted to work in skin, but I’m turning 40 this year and thought it was almost getting too late. But my husband said, ‘It’s not, if you’re ever going to do it, do it now.’”
This propelled her to where she finds herself now, back in college studying advanced aesthetics, from which she will hopefully graduate from by the end of the summer. “I learned a lot about myself going back to college and even though I have struggled with aspects of it, I love it so much, and can just see myself wanting to learn continuously.”
How Galway influences Simone's creativity
Through she lives in Dublin now, Simone heads back West as often as she can. “I’m endlessly proud to be from Galway,” she gushes. “There’s no place like it. The people are so wonderful and it’s such a cool city; I find it such an uplifting place to be in.”
She credits growing up in Galway with helping her stay creative.
“There’s something very special about Galway – it encourages you to think outside the box; it meant I was quite open-minded and I felt like I could turn my hand to or try anything.”
Above: Simone's bathroom cabinet and tried and tested skincare buys.
Beauty as self-care
Though Simone loves exploring the latest beauty trends and treatments, she is a huge advocate of keeping things simple when it comes to skincare.
“Women are under a lot of pressure to look a certain way, use certain products and do everything all at once,” she says. “I just don’t believe in that. There is so much power in getting the basics right.”
One of her viral posts focused on opting to do your evening skincare at 4pm in the afternoon, if that’s when you have the time and energy to do it. “Making it work for you is the only way you’ll be consistent and see results,” she affirms. “So if that means taking 10 minutes to do your evening skincare routine at 4pm or 5pm when you finish work, when you have energy and it’s still a bit bright instead of last thing at night, then go for it.”
“The same philosophy goes for products,” she continues.
“You don’t need to use many products or spend a fortune. You just need to get the basics right.”
For Simone, those basics include a great anti-oxidant serum, using sunscreen “every single day” and, depending on your age, using a retinoid. “Again, they don’t have to be expensive.”
On her site, she lists a step-by-step guide to building an effective skincare routine from scratch, complete with product recommendations. “The total price is €70,” she points out. “We have more choice now and that age-old view of only using one skincare brand is finally, thankfully gone.”
The power of beauty
As she gets older, having a solid routine has become more important than ever. “It’s been a huge support mechanism, and I’m not sure I really understood that until my 30s,” she reflects. “There’s a real stability in having your skincare or make-up routine – those few minutes that you have to yourself every morning and evening, no matter what your life looks like or where you are in the world.”
She loves how grounding a beauty routine can be, particularly during stressful or chaotic times. “It’s there for every occasion, every moment – yes, for special events and days, but it’s also there on the tough days,” she says.
“You put on your make-up and it makes you feel like you have got it together. Other aspects of your life may be out of your control, but this one isn’t. It’s incredibly powerful.”
So many years later, Simone has come back to the core lesson instilled in her when she was a little girl, watching her grandmother apply her Pond’s Cold Cream. “Yes, a skincare routine is important, but it’s the time you are taking to look after yourself that’s just as important,” she says. “You are choosing yourself; it’s the ritual of it. It is a very powerful thing to take time out to look after yourself.”
Follow Simone on Instagram @simonescribes
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