Did you know ‘muffin top’ was voted word of 2006 in Australia? I’d love to meet the person who came up with the term. It’s pure genius. Once upon a time, Muffin Top was simply the name of a Seinfeld episode and only ever to be taken literally. Then all of a sudden, it was the only way to describe what was going on above increasingly plummeting waistbands.
I’d love to make up a beauty term myself. Like Panda Eyes or Bedhead or Toe Cleavage or Tanorexia. My latest favorite beauty word is Pob. As in, the Posh Spice Bob. Not that I like the actual hair. Which apparently is one of the most in-demand cuts over in England right now. Um, how? Every time I look at Posh, I’m exhausted. Exhausted in empathy - from all that effort she makes to look the way she does. The blow-dry every day. The highlights every few weeks. The nails every few days. The flawlessly applied makeup. She’s groomed to within an inch of her life and it’s terrifying as well as tiring to look at.
Anyway, back on track … The ultimate beauty term, in my opinion, is adult acne. It’s so simple and straight-forward. And, like any good new catch-cry, it created a whole new phenomenon and paranoia the instant the words were printed and spread (in other words, a marketer’s dream - not to mention that of any beauty writer looking for a new angle and coverline). I once met the professor who coined the term (in conjunction with a beauty editor who was interviewing him about pimples at the time). I was very star-struck. Some people worship Brad Pitt. Me: white-coated skin doctors who specialise in spots. There’s got to be a word for that.
