Bare-faced cheeks as Pippa puts make-up bag to one side
GOING without make-up when off duty is no big deal for Pippa O’Connor – the model and blogger says simply being herself is part of her appeal.
The mother-of-one is a regular on the red carpet and is often photographed when out and about with her husband Brian Ormond.
But Kildare native Pippa insisted it’s her laid-back, no-fuss approach when she’s not working that has helped her garner such a massive following online.
Pippa told the Irish Daily Mail she never minds being snapped when she’s strolling the streets of Dublin – and she also doesn’t mind if she’s spotted looking less than picture perfect.
‘I’m not precious like that and if I’m not working I’ll have no makeup on. I think that is why people are liking what I’m doing, because I’m not trying to be done up and made up all the time.
‘I’m just being myself and thankfully that’s working.’
The model mum, 31, is now a successful entrepreneur with her self-titled website and Fashion Factories, a series of nationwide style events where she offers her top style tips.
Her website Pippa.ie boasts more than 20,000 views per day. And the catwalk queen, who yes- terday helped launch Centra’s Live Well food initiative alongside Kilkenny hurler Henry Shefflin, told the Mail she owes it all to her husband of four years, RTÉ host Brian Ormond.
‘It was his whole idea... I’m good when I get going but sometimes I need a bit of a push so he was the one who encouraged me. He was the one who came up with the idea for Fashion Factories.
‘Brian is a real doer and if he says he’ll do something he’ll do it but I’m a bit more laid-back.
‘I wasn’t nervous at all, I was just thinking, “I’ll get to that”, but you need to make me do it.’
Pippa admitted that she never imagined her website would become popular so quickly.
‘It’s been like a domino effect that has spiralled and I think I’m good at taking opportunities when they’re presented to me.
‘I’m appealing to a wide audience – girls in their late teens and twenties, but also those in their thirties like me, and I’m a mum. It’s all everyday stuff and mainly high street.
‘I know what I like and I’m not trying to pull the wool over anyone’s eyes by trying to do something I know nothing about. So I just stick to what I know and like, and I think that’s noticeable.’
‘I’m not precious like that’