I had an epic fake tan disaster on my wedding day — now I run a beauty empire

A fake tan failure on her wedding day was the spark for an entrepreneurial journey that has seen Linda Stinson develop her highly successful brands Bellamianta and Iconic Bronze, writes Gemma Fullam

Co. Tyrone entrepreneur Linda Stinson, founder of Bellamianta and Iconic Bronze.

‘I just could not stop thinking about owning my own business. It was like a burning desire. I used to get angry every year when I hadn’t done it. And every year that I got older and with every business idea I’d thought of that somebody else then started, I was like: ‘Fuck sake, I thought of that! Why didn’t I just go and do it?’ ”

In 2015, Linda Stinson finally did just go and do it, and a decade on, the 42-year-old mum of three from Pomeroy in Co Tyrone is chief executive of a beauty empire that’s set to hit a £10m (about €11.5m) turnover this year, with her brand sold in 10 countries and stocked in retail giants such as Boots, Dunnes, and Primark.