'If I didn’t just go for it, I knew I would regret it': Irish beauty founders on building their brands
From left, Elanna McGowan, Laura Dowling, Áine Kennedy and Kim O'Sullivan for Simone Gannon Beauty special. Picture: Emily Quinn, photographed in The Castle Suite at Radisson Blu Royal Hotel, Dublin
Laura Dowling
Founder and CEO of fabÜ Wellness
@fabuwellness| @fabulouspharmacist
“I spent 12 years doing my research before launch. Juggling a busy day job as a pharmacist and raising three young kids did slow me down at times, but I persevered.”
While working as a pharmacist, I experienced first-hand the confusion among consumers when it came to nutritional supplements and the vast range available. I saw people coming into the pharmacy every day, looking for natural ways to help with stress and poor sleep.
I worked as a pharmacist during the years when hormone replacement therapy was (wrongfully) demonised, and women did not understand the changes happening inside their bodies due to perimenopause and menopause.
I had very little to offer these women, but I knew that I could develop products to help support their needs. People are so busy nowadays that they often do not have the time to figure out how to successfully achieve the health outcomes they’re looking for.
While studying pharmacy at Trinity College, I also specialised in pharmacognosy (the study of plants, herbs, and mushrooms). This very quickly became a passion of mine.
A combination of all of the above inspired me to create fabÜ, which launched in 2022 and is now stocked in over 750 pharmacies and health food stores in Ireland and online.
I failed miserably when I initially attempted to bring the brand to market in 2017. I went into it with a pure pharmacist/ scientist mindset. I spent seven years developing a beautiful nutritional blend, but I had zero business sense. The blend I had initially developed was not financially viable for me to manufacture.
I wanted to launch products with excellent ingredients which worked but also, importantly, that people could afford. For quite some time, I thought that all that hard work and investment would be for nothing, but I went back to the drawing board and got lots of sound business advice. That made all the difference.
I like to think of fabÜ as supporting people who want to develop a more healthy and sustainable lifestyle. FabÜ helps bring together the holy trinity of health as I see it: Sleep, diet, and exercise.
I thought initially that fabÜ might be an ‘online-only’ brand. I had some early discussions with pharmacy buyers in the lead-up to my launch, but I wasn’t convinced they fully understood the nutritional blends I had developed and the problems I was helping to solve for people.
But within just a couple of weeks of my online launch, the public support and goodwill I received were truly incredible. My Irish distributor, Wholefoods Wholesale, quickly came on board to help me launch fabÜ nationwide within a matter of weeks. Wholefoods Wholesale have been fantastic partners for me.
Another key milestone was my first reorder. I had initially manufactured just 6,000 units, but within three weeks of launch, I had to order another 20,000 units.
I could not have achieved any of this without my family. My mum and dad have always been fantastic in terms of all the help, support and babysitting. Mum has always encouraged me to reach for the stars. My husband has also been an enormous support and my biggest cheerleader. We have been together since I took him to my debs in 1998.
I couldn’t have taken fabÜ to where it is today without their love and support and the beautiful, incredible community I have online. Word of mouth is a huge part of my business. Women talk! If one woman recommends my blend at a coffee morning, all of a sudden, all her friends are trying it. You cannot pay for this type of marketing because it is real, genuine and organic.
I plan to expand the fabÜ range internationally and make fabuwellness.com the ‘go-to’ health and wellness content site. I also want to engage more deeply with the wonderful fabÜ community I have been helping to build, including live events across the country in 2024.
Kim O’Sullivan
Founder and CEO of Brow Aid
@browaidofficial | @thedublinmakeupacademy
“Working on clients daily for so many years gave me an understanding of what clients are looking for and what they don’t like in a brow product.”
My passion for makeup and my love for transforming faces began in 1999 in college. I took on a role as a part-time makeup artist in Brown Thomas for Giorgio Armani and ultimately built a career there that lasted over 13 years. I was fortunate to work alongside some makeup greats, including Pat McGrath and Linda Cantello.
In 2009, I had my first baby, and as a single parent, I was forced to reassess my working life. I spent two years building a new brow business for a beautiful hair salon in Dublin’s city centre before going out on my own in 2013.
From there, The Dublin Makeup Academy was born. In 2014, I brought PhiBrows to our shores and established PhiAcademy Ireland. And in May 2023, I launched my brand, Brow Aid.
It was years in the making in every sense of the word! I was held back by financial constraints, time constraints, you name it. There was always something in the way. In 2020, however, covid arrived and forced the immediate closure of my businesses. For the first time, I had the luxury of time and the chance to turn this huge dream into reality.
"I was lucky to have secured a place on KPMG Going for Growth a month before shut down, and Oonagh O’Hagan of Meaghers Pharmacy was my mentor. Together, we put a plan in place to set the wheels in motion. She was, and still is my greatest support system. There would be no Brow Aid were it not for her.
I began the process in February 2020 with product development. Trialling and testing different formulations and packaging. I poured every ounce of my knowledge and expertise into each element of the products.
I wanted Brow Aid to be everyone’s essential brow wardrobe, dedicated to optimising the health of your brows. They are brow styling staples stacked with superfoods that will help you regrow, repair and replenish while being able to tint, tame and treat in one quick and easy step.
The first milestone was launching in Brown Thomas a few short weeks after launch, followed by having Brow Aid stocked nationwide with the fabulous team at McCauley. After this, it launched in Meaghers Pharmacy, which was a particularly special moment, as without Oonagh’s support, I would have had no brand to launch.
When we initially launched, we sold through stock much quicker than I anticipated. Getting more to the consumer while the demand was high was a little stressful, but we managed. Brow Aid is manufactured in Italy, and lead times with manufacturers there can often be tricky to navigate.
The brand’s success to date has been so organic, which I am incredibly thankful for. We’ve been so lucky to have had so many respected journalists, influencers, and global makeup artists from Hung Vanngo to Nicola Chapman and Katie Jane Hughes give Brow Aid their approval, and my clients in The Dublin Makeup Academy are, without a shadow of a doubt, some of the most incredibly loyal, kind, supportive people. I owe so much to them.
There’s so much to come for the brand in 2024. We have just launched the Masterstroke Brow Trio, a multitasking 3-in-1 product with a brow pen to fill, waterproof pencil to shape and shade, and a brow brush to blend and comb. Many projects I’ve been working on for years will come to fruition in the coming weeks and months, including more new product launches. I’m truly hoping Brow Aid will be everyone’s one-stop shop for all things brows.
It’s still new, and I’m still finding my feet, but I’m so proud of what we’ve achieved in such a short time. It excites me to think about what we can achieve with added time and knowledge. Launching Brow Aid has been a dream come true, and I feel so blessed to have such fabulous customers who have been with me from the start.
Elanna McGowan
Founder and CCO of Pearl Beauty
“I always knew I wanted to create a beauty brand. I created the current Pearl Beauty Instagram account when I was 20 years old, knowing it would someday become my brand, and amazingly, ten years later, it became a reality!”
I was born and raised just outside of Toronto, Canada and from an early age, my passion for beauty was incredibly evident. I started out as the girl who did everyone’s hair and makeup in the friend group, constantly watching YouTube tutorials to learn as much as possible to test all my new tricks and techniques on anyone willing.
I loved the process of doing someone’s makeup and started to notice the confidence that a small amount of makeup provided. This led to an eagerness to encourage others to look and feel their most beautiful, which quickly developed into a YouTube Channel.
I posted weekly tutorials on all things beauty, and over time and with consistency and good fortune, my following grew and expanded into the development of my makeup brand, Pearl Beauty.
From the beginning, I focused on creating user-friendly, fuss-free products that anyone can use, regardless of makeup experience. Beauty, to me, is fun, life-giving and expressive. I have seen the confidence burst in someone after they see a subtle transformation. I wanted to encapsulate that with products that are beautiful and easy to use but aren’t overwhelming in direction or choice.
The process of starting Pearl Beauty was challenging. We began researching manufacturers in 2019/2020, and right on cue, covid arrived.
As a result, we weren’t able to travel, attend trade shows, or meet potential partners face to face, but with a lot of time, emails and in the midst of the birth of our second born, we found a manufacturer in South Korea that met the standards we wanted, and so, the brand was back on track.
I was in a bit of a baby blur in the beginning, and Paddy, my husband, was more on top of it than I was. We’ve worked together from the start, which saved any chaos or overwhelming feelings because I had him and his support through it all. I am more of an optimist, glass-half-full personality, so I leave the stress and problem-solving to Paddy!
We were fortunate to have a mutual friend who runs a highly successful business in our area. With his guidance, knowledge and overall support he helped us start our journey in the business world and continues to be pivotal for Pearl Beauty. We’re forever grateful for the trust and undeniable support we have received and aren’t sure where we would be without this help.
Our first six months were successful, considering we only had one product launch and constant repurchases. We knew we had the support purchases from my social media following, but the repurchases surprised us and the immediate trust and love for the brand. To date, we have sold to over 53 countries.
As our brand grows, I think our biggest challenge will be navigating distributors, retail and where to stock our products that align with our values. The more we learn and chat with others, the more we realise it’s not always about being in a certain chain where you can easily get lost amongst the noise.
Since we’re in the early stage of growth, we want to be sustainable in scaling the business, looking for steady but manageable growth.
Living here now for eight years and having Pearl Beauty for two, I would say that the brand is built on support from our community. We credit a lot of our success to the people who have spread awareness of our brand and helped us grow sustainably and successfully. Word of mouth is the best marketing tool. Hearing someone rave to you about your
products and how much it’s changed their approach to makeup will never get old.
We have a few more exciting product launches coming this year, which I can’t wait for, one being a mascara, which will be show-stopping. We’re also venturing and expanding into some online retailers in north America and Europe.
I am excited to grow Pearl Beauty into a brand that inspires and empowers.
Áine Kennedy
Founding Director and CEO of The Smooth Company
@thesmoothcompany__| @ainekennedyyy
“If I didn’t just go for it, I knew I would always regret it and wonder ‘what if’?”
After working in the beauty industry for eight years and graduating from Maynooth University with a degree in entrepreneurship, I started my company, The Smooth Company, in February 2022.
I always struggled with my flyaway, crazy, untamed hair. It was something I was always conscious of. Before the pandemic, I started researching what other girls do to combat this and noticed a common trend on social media of girls using gel and a toothbrush to slick their hair back. I hate putting gel in my hair, and from there, I noticed a gap in the market for a hair hero that could control the flyaways and baby hairs how I wanted them to.
The first product I brought to market was the Smooth Stick, a premium hair-taming wand designed to tame flyaways and smooth the hair in seconds.
Its unique formula will not leave hair greasy or hard as many other hair-styling products can. It is formulated with hair-loving ingredients, including Biotin, Vitamin E and Aloe Vera.
Creating the Smooth Stick was a long process. It took me two years from first exploring the idea to finding manufacturers, trialling hundreds of samples and formulas, coming up with a brand name, building a website and designing the packaging. I did it all myself to save costs while working full time, so it was a long, often frustrating, process.
I remember, in particular, spending two weeks trying to figure out how to get a barcode on a product. I watched every YouTube video, trying to figure out how to do it. I finally gave up and asked my former manager, Charlotte, for help. Within five minutes, she had a barcode for me ready to go on the outer packaging. She was and still is, such a fantastic support to me.
I got some help closer to launch when it came to registering the business, as that was an area I needed to gain experience with. I then reached out to my Local Enterprise Office, which was a massive help at the beginning of the business, and are still the biggest support.
We faced many challenges when fulfilling Smooth Stick orders in the early days. We packed all the orders upstairs in my attic; I roped all of my family members into helping me, my grandad, mam, dad, younger cousins — you name it, no one got out of it. We now work with a fantastic 3PL company, which has made it so much easier for us to get our orders to our customers.
We started as an e-commerce brand but our products are now stocked in Brown Thomas and Arnotts stores nationwide, selected Kilkenny Design and McCauley stores, Cloud10 Beauty, and DanceWorld, and we have launched into the UK on Sephora.co.uk and into the US on Amazon.com.
From the beginning, I documented our small business journey on TikTok and did many TikToks with my 84-year-old Grandad Billy. It’s our favourite thing to do when we aren’t working on the business!
I wanted to bring our customers along with us — show them the ups and downs of running a start-up. This approach helped us get market traction for The Smooth Company, and we now have over 95m views. It’s helped the brand become internationally recognised. We have thousands of customers in over 46 countries around the world, as far as Chile.
Almost every day, a customer tells me that they don’t know how they lived without the Smooth Stick before and that it gives them so much confidence.
Our customers range in age and demographics. In particular, we have a considerable customer base of postpartum women suffering from baby hair after giving birth.
It makes me proud that we have created a product that our customers love, and I am so happy that we have made a difference to help their day run more smoothly.
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