15 Beauty Brands You Might Be Mispronouncing
From Lancôme to Shiseido and all the Phyto in between
Walk into Sephora or Ulta and at least half of the brands are from other countries. Even though we love chic Parisian perfumes and advanced Asian serums as much as the next gal, we also feel the fear of God when it comes to actually asking the employees for them. Here, 15 beauty brands that are commonly mispronounced.
1.
Oribe
The wrong way: Oh-ree-bay
The right way: Or-bay
What half of Hollywood uses on their hair.
2.
Kérastase
The wrong way: Kera-stace
The right way: Care-a-stoss
What the other half uses.
3.
Phyto
The wrong way: Phy-toe
The right way: Fee-toe
Rhymes with neato.
4.
Glossier
The wrong way: Gloss-i-er
The right way: Gloss-i-yay
As in, “Yay, my back-ordered lip balm is finally here!”
5.
Lancôme
The wrong way: Lan-comb
The right way: Lahn-comb
Pass the eye cream, dahhling.
6.
Givenchy
The wrong way: Give-en-chee
The right way: Gee-von-shee
Designer lipstick > designer bags (or so we tell ourselves).
7.
Chantecaille
The wrong way: Chan-te-kale
The right way: Sean-tuh-kye
We’d applaud anyone who got that on their first try.
8.
L'Occitane
The wrong way: Loc-say-tane
The right way: Lox-ee-tan
French is hard, oui?
9.
Guerlain
The wrong way: Goor-lane
The right way: Gare-lahn
You’ll feel more sophisticated just saying that.
10.
Caudalie
The wrong way: Caw-daly
The right way: Ko-da-lee
One of the original purveyors of fancy face mists.
11.
Shiseido
The wrong way: Shih-say-doe
The right way: She-say-doe
Or say it really fast so no one notices the difference.
12.
Shu Uemura
The wrong way: Shoe-yoor-ma
The right way: Shoe-ooh-ay-moo-ra
Arigato, Mr. Uemura, for your bomb lash curler.
13.
Stila
The wrong way: Still-ah
The right way: Steel-ah
Stealin’ our hearts with those liquid lipsticks.
14.
Ciaté
The wrong way: See-uh-tay
The right way: See-ahh-tay
Emphasis on the ahh.
15.
Korres
The wrong way: Coors
The right way: Coh-rezz
So as not to be confused with the boozy beverage.
Beauty Director
- Oversees all beauty content at PureWow
- Has over a decade of experience in writing and editing, both in print and digital media
- Produces 'Youngish' newsletter, a guide to beauty in your 30s and beyond