Being diagnosed with ADHD at 50 helped me make sense of my past

Queen of skincare Caroline Hirons speaks to Psychologies about making it to the top, why she loves getting older, and how her ADHD became one of her biggest strengths

- BETH NEIL

She’s known as the most powerful woman in beauty, with brands falling over themselves to work with her. Any product she endorses flies off the shelves, and her followers trust her words implicitly. But don’t dare call Caroline Hirons an influencer; the term makes her visibly shudder.

‘I saw what the word influencer was going to become from day one and I’ve never let myself be labelled one,’ she says. ‘I’ve had major brands change their paperwork because I’m not going to sign a contract to do a sponsored post that’s headed: “Influencer agreement”.

‘I’m fine with creator or expert, but if your sole purpose is to influence the people watching you to buy something, well, that’s not what I do.’

What beauty blogger Hirons does famously do is dish up no-nonsense advice by cutting through the marketing word salad (or the ‘utter b****cks’ as she characteristically puts it) and calling out the pseudo-science that is so rife in the beauty industry.

From big brands to Gwyneth Paltrow (who she once accused of putting lives in danger for using an ‘imperceptible’ amount of SPF in a video about her skincare regime), Hirons, 53, takes no prisoners – she’s frank, forthright, and when she talks, people listen.

‘Marketing departments who have shareholders on their back and so don’t have the customers’ best interests at heart have always been my bugbear. There’s only so much you can take before you have to say: “Hang on, that’s just not true.”’