RTÉ has spent over €140,000 on cosmetics in the past two years, with nearly half of the amount going to the luxury retailer Brown Thomas, reports Breaking News.
The national broadcaster said the make-up was used across the many thousands of hours of TV content it produces annually.
From January 2023 to March of this year, the total spend on cosmetics came to €144,081 – which works out at roughly €5,300 per month, reports Breaking News.
Records of the spending show Brown Thomas topped the list of suppliers, with €67,000 spent at the store.
Roughly €3,000 went towards Amazon purchases, €4,500 at Tesco, and nearly €4,100 was spent at Boots Chemists.
Some individual items on the list included €32.79 for false eyelashes and glue, €26 for hairspray and wipes, and a €28 purchase at Partyworld, reports Breaking News.
Nearly half of the overall €144,000 spend came from RTÉ’s central make-up team, but other prominent shows generated their own expenses.
Fair City accounted for €16,705 of the total, while over €3,800 was linked to the Eurovision Song Contest, reports Breaking News.
TG4 make-up costs came to almost €4,600, while the Today Show had a bill of just over €15,000,
Other figures include €3,400 for the Late Late Show, including its toy show edition, and €5,300 spent on weather segments, reports Breaking News.
Smaller amounts include €44.96 for the Sunday Game and €53.56 spent on Champions League coverage.
An RTÉ information note explained: “Make-up is used to ensure that presenters and guests look natural on television screens while in a professional setting. [It’s also used for] creating special effects such as wounds, bruises, tattoos, prosthetics and to create the correct appearance for actors depending on the desired effect,” reports Breaking News.
According to the note, products must be compatible with high-definition cameras and able to endure long hours of filming.
RTÉ also stated: “A broad range of brands are used while checking for allergies or sensitivities and will include vegan and cruelty free ranges.[Our] make-up team work closely with both the lighting department to consider how lights will impact on the appearance of the skin in both studio and external locations and colleagues in the costume department to ensure a cohesive look,” reports Breaking News.
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