Health, Beauty and Lifestyle with Denise McNamara

Fiona Coyne worked with a candlemaker at the Spiddal Craft Village from when she was 16, spending summers looking out at the sea in between the succession of tourists. When she went on to run her own beauty businesses in Galway for nearly two decades from the tender age of 22, she would pass by the picturesque huts of An Ceardlann, wishing that someday she could return.

That dream came true three years ago, signing the lease for the one nearest the beach just before the lockdown.

From here Fiona does bespoke facials, makes up her own natural skincare range and does refills for customers who want to reuse the bottles to save money and cut down on waste.

The mother of three decided to create her own brand of cosmetics after so many of her clients were coming before their weddings confused about the amount of products out there and what to do with them.

She and a best friend from school had the Heaven Scent beauticians on St Augustine Street for over a decade. Fiona became very busy as a bridal makeup artist and found that a lot of her work was in the evenings and at weekends and turning up on weekdays as well was leading to burn-out.

So when the lease was up she moved to a studio on Dominick Street beside the Vintage Pearl bridal boutique which was a happy synergy as most of her clients were prospective brides.

“Some were coming in red raw from overusing actives, they were stripping their skin with peels, they were trying to regenerate their skin too much. They were doing these harsh peels as a quick fix before a wedding, which doesn’t work and could cause more damage,” she reveals over a cup of peppermint tea at Builín Blasta.

“I remember one bride who had beautiful skin had gone for a peel two weeks before the wedding and the tan kept peeling off the day of the wedding. I had to really use heavy makeup to cover it. It was then I decided to focus more on the balance, repair and hydration of the skin.

“Western skincare really pushes actives, but Korean skincare is about working in harmony without own body and skin, which is our biggest organ. Getting what the skin needs in plant form means it can be received better – hibiscus and rosehip are both so potent in Vitamin C.”

She underwent a diploma in natural skincare formulations and created a range of products under her C Beauty range – C for Coyne and her married name Costello – which she believes are essential for a healthy skin.

 Pictured: Fiona Coyne and her daughter Orlaith’s Instagram post using the gua sha stone and roller proved a huge hit.