Quick Guide to Pronouncing Beauty Names

Quick Guide to Pronouncing Beauty Names
Beauty Cred on May 28, 2008

Living in a household that speaks 3 languages fluently, and is conversant in another 4, you'd think very little would trip me up when it comes to pronouncing beauty brand names. But the gift of gab across borders is really my husband's. So it was redeeming to be at The Makeup Show in NYC recently where I watched beauty editors, beauty bloggers and makeup mavens alike trip over pronouncing Shu Uemura.  You might think that snobbery rules in this industry and that mispronunciation is tres gauche--but don't--we've all been there!

Here, the easy guide (we're not talking the Oxford Dictionary here) for pronouncing some of beauty biggest trip-ups:

Stila = Stee – lah
Shiseido = She – say – doe
Chantecaille = Shan – teh – kigh
Yves Saint Laurent = Eve – Sahn – Lorr – ahn
Kinerase = Kigh – ner – ace
Lorac = La – rock
Guerlain = Gher – lahn
Decleor = Deh – clay – ore
Caudalie = Kow – deh – lee
Lancome = Lahn – comb
L’Occitane = Lox – ee – tahn
Dr. Hauschka = Dr. Howsh – kuh
Korres = Core – ezz
reVive = Ray – veev
Shu Uemura = Shoe – Oo – eh – moor – ah
Omorovicza - Oh - more - o - veet - za 

and if you're shopping Dior L'Or de Vie L'Extrait, or simply looking for a great dessert wine, this is a good one to know:

Chateau d’Yquem = Shat - oh - dee - key - em

Got any other tongue twisters in beauty? Let us know!

posted by skintoxicated

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April from RealSelf
1216 posts
28 May 2008

What about Stila, as in the makeup brand? I've heard it pronounced "Stee-luh," "Still-uh," and as I prefer, "Style-uh." Tells us, Miss Multi-lingual...

skintoxicat
382 posts
28 May 2008

Editor's Note: Thanks April! Stila is the first brand listed in the post--it's from the Italian for "to pen", (which is mentioned on the Stila site as well). It's pronounced "stee-lah", with the emphasis on the first syllable. And unfortunately, though my grandmother spoke Italian, it's a lost language for me now. I also kind of like "Style-uh" which is how I most commonly hear it (mis)pronounced, though "Stee-lah" does give it its cache...Next? -Nancy

April from RealSelf
1216 posts
5 Jun 2008

Hmmm...must have missed it. Thanks, Nancy! I still think "Style-uh" sounds better, but I love Stila nonetheless (especially their lip glazes!). Laura Mercier is another one that I fear is often mispronounced. Something tells me it isn't Laura "Mercy-ear," as I so often hear...

skintoxicat
382 posts
5 Jun 2008

You're right! Laura Mercier is not "Mercy-ear". Laura Mercier is French (lucky Laura was apparently raised in Provence!), and therefore, her name is pronounced the way the French do. It's kind of like "Laura Mer-si-yay"

cosmo girl
1 post
1 Jun 2009

This is so interesting. I love this blog. I'm a fan of Lamer moisturizing product but it's so embarrassing when talking about it and i can't even pronounce it correctly.

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Last modified 2008-Jun-05