AWARD-WINNING beauty blogger, writer and entrepreneur Aisling McDermott has died suddenly.
Her sister Kirstie McDermott took to Twitter this morning to share the news of her death and pay tribute to her life.
“I raise all the lipsticks in the world to someone who fought so bravely for so long and left behind such a legacy,” she wrote.
“Sleep well, Aisling. We loved you hugely.”
Ms McDermott said her sister had aggressive MS for 20 years.
“She was getting worse, but she still looked so glam,” she added.
Kildare native Aisling McDermott and her sister Kirstie founded the beaut.ie website in 2006, which they then sold in 2014 to Entertainment Media Networks.
As well as founding the award-winning site, Ms McDermott was a best-selling author of books including Gorgeous to Go and The Beaut.ie Guide to Gorgeous.
She was also a columnist for The Irish Times and has built a reputation as one of Ireland's foremost beauty writers.
Author Marian Keyes expressing her shock at her friend's passing.
She described Aisling McDermott as 'clever, kind, astute, sweet and very courageous'.
I just can't believe it. I keep reading the words and they won't make sense
She was my friend, I loved her very much. She was a person with rare qualities: clever, kind, astute, sweet and very courageous
Aisling McDermott has died https://t.co/ZtnDUiFKmq via @IrishTimesLife— Marian Keyes (@MarianKeyes) 11 January 2018
Read Kristie McDermott's tribute to her sister below...
This is the story of a hair turban and a beauty-obsessed sister. On Tuesday, I bought @aismcdermott a hair turban I’d been promising her. I knew I’d see her the next day. She’s had aggressive MS for 20 years and she was getting worse, but she still looked so glam
— Kirstie McDermott (@kirstie) 11 January 2018
She loved beauty. We both did. Lots of you know us both because we founded @beautie back in 2006. Lots of you follow us on Twitter still. The reason I tweet this now is to let you know that a great originator and founder of Ireland’s online beauty blogosphere has left us
— Kirstie McDermott (@kirstie) 11 January 2018
So I never got to give her that turban. But I raise all the lipsticks in the world to someone who fought so bravely for so long and left behind such a legacy. Sleep well, Aisling. We loved you hugely x
— Kirstie McDermott (@kirstie) 11 January 2018
The beautiful, talented, hilarious, generous & strong Aisling McDermott. She was gorgeous inside & out. She was loved. And she was brave. I loved her light & spirit & I will miss her so much it hurts my insides. Honoured to have been her friend ❤️https://t.co/w6LnkjdPtm
— Roisin Ingle (@roisiningle) 11 January 2018
Our thoughts go out to the family & friends of Aisling McDermott, co-founder of Beaut.ie, a brilliant writer & wonderful person. Her talent and personality touched people far beyond the beauty world but she was a genuine groundbreaker in the industry. She will be greatly missed.
— beautie (@beautie) 11 January 2018
