How to pronounce every fancy-pants fashion and beauty brand.

By NICKY CHAMP

GIF is pronounced jif, quinoa is pronounced keen-wa and Ksubi is pronounced.. what now?

If you’ve ever asked for a product at a beauty counter only to have a staff member look at you blankly before a penny eventually drops and you’re corrected on your mispronunciation with a haughty laugh (while you suffer a slow, painful social death), you are most definitely not alone.

I mean, I think even the staff at L’Occitane must get it wrong sometimes.

As a beauty writer attending product launches is a phonetic minefield. I’ve most definitely mispronounced even my most favoured beauty brands at times and I’m actually embarrassed to find out now Kerastase is actually pronounced Kirra-STARSS, which means I’m retrospectively cringeing about a conversation I had with a hairdresser just this week. Gah.

BUT never be that person who mispronounces fashion labels or beauty brands again, thanks to this handy guide.

Caps equals where to put the emphasis.

Beauty

Aveda = ah-VAY-da
Bourjois = BOOJ-zwah
Bulgari = BULL-gar-ree
Chantecaille = Shan – teh – kigh
Diptyque = dip-TEEK
Dr. Hauschka = Dr. Howsh – kuh
Decleor Paris = deck-lee-OR
Guinot = GEE-no
Kerastase = Kirra-STARSS
Kevyn Aucoin = KEV-in Or-quawn
Korres = Core – ezz
Illamasqua = Ill-ah-mass-kah
Jurlique = Jerz-leek
Jojoba = hoh-hoh-ba
Kiehl’s = keels
L’Occitane = LOX-i-tayne
Lancome = Lan-cohm
Laura Mercier = LOH-ah mer-see-AY
Malin + Goetz = MAH-lin and geh-tz
Sisley (sis-lay)
Serge Lutens =SAIR-rzh LU-tahns
Shu Uemura = SOO oo-moo-ERAH
Shiseido = shi-SAY-doez
Stila = STEE-lah
St Tropez = Saint TROP-ay
Thierry Mugler = TEE-ary MOO-gler

And if you take fashion as seriously as Rachel “Just throw me in my coffin now with those earrings on” Zoe then you’ll know one slip up in pronouncing a label as important as Balenciaga will have your street cred going down with last season’s sneaker wedges.

Fashion

Anna Sui = ANN-a SWEE
Balenciaga = ba-en-SEE-ah-guh
Balmain = bahl-MAHN
Bassike = bay-SICK
Christian Louboutin = KRIS-chen LOO-boo-tahn
Givenchy = gee-VAHN-shee
Gucci = GOO-chee
Haute Couture = OAT KUH-tyur
Havaianas = HA-vee-AH-nahs
Hermes = er-MEZ
Issey Miyake = is-SEE mee-Yah-Kee
Ksubi = SOO-bee
Lacoste = la-COST
Ladakh = LA-duck
Lanvin – Lahn-VAHN
Louis Vuitton = Loo-ee VWEE-ton
Manolo Blahnik = ma-NO-lo BLAH-nick
Marchesa = mar-KAY-sah
Miu Miu = MEW MEW
Miuccia Prada = MYOO-cha PRA-da
Moschino = mo-SKEE-no
Prabal Gurung = PRAH-bal goo-ROONG
Proenza Schouler = pro-ENZA SKOO-ler
Swarovski = swar-OV-skee
Shakuhachi = sharc-HOO-ha-CHEE
Yves Saint Laurent = EVE sahn LO-rahn
Target = Tar-jay (obvs)

Have you ever butchered a fashion or beauty brand’s name? Tell us your worst.