Irish founders we support

Festive Founders

At McCauley, we both support and celebrate Irish innovation and these six female entrepreneurs are glowing examples of talent and tenacity. You’ll want to put their treasures under your tree

Aimee Connolly, founder and CEO of Sculpted by Aimee

I’ve always been a fan of simplifying make-up, whether it was in the make-up looks I did as an artist, or through my teaching. I believe that with very few products or very little time you can make a big impact with make-up, take the fuss out of it, make it easy and feel great! This belief still lives at the core of Sculpted by Aimee, as we pride ourselves on making everything easier while producing quality, good-foryou products.

We are lucky that we’re very close to our customers and often have direct conversations with them, either on social media or via our Sculpted Committees. I learn so much from our customers and what they feed back to us. It’s so helpful! They often tell us what type of products they want to see and can be quite specific in their ideas. More often than not, their suggestions are already on our list of ideas, and it’s great to see how aligned we are.

It’s tough to pick just one favourite product from the range — they’re all like my children! I have lots of favourites and they can vary with the season or just how I’m feeling. A consistent hero for me and also because I understand the blood, sweat and tears that went into it, has to be our Second Skin foundation. It’s 30 shades of a super-lightweight mineral base that just works on everyone. It makes me so proud when I see it in so many make-up bags around the world!

Sculpted by Aimee Second Skin Dewy Finish Foundation Tan

€27.00 2008779

Niamh Hogan, creator and CEO of Holos Skincare

Sustainable

The vision for Holos, meaning ‘whole’ in Greek was to create a holistic skincare brand that harmonises nature, science and consciousness in skincare products that work.

We saw a huge divide in the market between ‘natural’ skincare and mainstream skincare and we wanted to bridge that gap, so we took all the things we love about ‘natural’ skincare — the nutritious plant ingredients —and then all the things we love about mainstream skincare — the scientifically proven plant actives — and we put them together in our products, which we ethically and sustainably produce and are vegan and cruelty-free.

We believe that no one should have to choose between a product that delivers results and a product that is eco-conscious. You should be able to have both!

We’ve achieved our vision through the hard work of a dedicated team and partnering with people who believe in us, like McCauley. There is immense support for Irish female founders in Ireland especially among female founders themselves.

My favourite Holos product has to be the Love Your Skin Anti-Ageing Facial Oil as it has been a staple in my skincare for years and is probably used by every single person who buys Holos Skincare. It is loved for its anti-inflammatory benefits and its ability to plump, hydrate and help reduce the appearance of fine lines.

Holos Love Your Skin Anti-Ageing Facial Oil €28.50

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Get Party Season ready with Sculpted by Aimee including everything you need for face, lips & eyes to make you feel like your best you this Christmas Season!

1. Beautiful Skin is always in

Whether you love a light tinted dewy finish, a medium radiant coverage, or a more long wearing satin finish, we’ve got something for everyone this party season. Prep the skin with our gorgeous skin serum ‘HydraGlo’ to hydrate & nourish the skin pre-makeup. Pop on your favourite skin primer Beauty Base (now available in five finishes) and finish with your favourite base ranging from Tint & Glow, to Second Skin & our brand new longwearing Satin Silk Foundation.

2. All about eyes

The perfect party season makeup look can be achieved by focusing on the eyes. Buff, smoke & shimmer your way to every event with our range of eyeshadow quads & palettes. Line and define with our Duo Liners and give the ultimate finishing touch with ‘MyMascara’ to create long and luscious lashes in seconds!

@sculptedbyaimee

3. Let your lips do the talking

To finish off any glam look this season, make it all about the lips. Prep the lips to be silky soft with Beauty Balm, a little tube of nourishing goodness especially needed in winter! Choose from Lip Duo, our specially formulated Lipstick & Liner in one handy component to line and define the lips for a glam look in seconds, or for a more subtle glowing look try HydraLip, for a glossy hydrating finish with a hint of colour.

Skingredients Skin Protein Anti-Ageing Retinoid Serum Refillable Primary Pack 45ml

€55.00 2031080

Jennifer Rock, the Skin Nerd, founder and CEO of Skingredients

When I started Skingredients three years ago, it was born out of over 10,000 Skin Nerd consultations. People kept asking the same questions about what to use, what not to use, how to use it. Those questions really informed what Skingredients is.

We o er a capsule skincare of just seven pieces and our ‘Key Four’ are what you use every day. Clients want simple, a ordable, sustainable skincare that’s not oversold or misleading and that’s what we do.

We make our products from scratch and our focus is on having the right level of ingredients to match salon or cosmeceutical ranges. We have a resident cosmetic chemist and she formulates the products and makes sure, when they are manufactured, that they meet our standards.

In my opinion, Skingredients Skin Protein is a game-changer product and our customers seem to feel the same. It is retinoid based, which means it has a pro-ageing benefit, but in a formula that your skin can adapt to quite easily. Also, it’s a face cream, an eye cream and a neck cream, so it’s cost-e ective, too. When you commit to it, it’s the product that has the biggest impact. With our Skin Veg Serum, you see an instant e ect, but with Skin Protein, it takes a commitment of at least 30 days, and then you get the big impact. With Skin Protein, it’s a labour of love. Our customers don’t go anywhere else because they are committed to the results.

Aideen Kate Murphy, founder of True Beauty by Aideen Kate

Before we even decided on the name True Beauty by Aideen Kate, I had a clear vision that I wanted it to be minimal in design, as I want it to be timeless. The nude and black colours are perfect — simple, yet it stands out.

True Beauty is easily summed up as a ordable, high quality, luxurious make-up. That was the vision and that has absolutely been achieved, which is really the best part of creating your own brand. Seeing it become a reality is amazing. I love how something that started o as just a drawing has come to life. It’s so satisfying!

So far, the range includes a face palette, lip products, and of course, our much-loved lashes. We really listen to feedback from our clients, however, and they’re telling us that they’re dying for us to launch foundation and eyeliner.

I adore everything in the range, but If I had to choose one, the True Essentials Face Palette is my favourite. It works for day and night, with eight cream and powder blushes and bronzers, as well as two highlighters. There’s such variety and versatility in it and I use it myself every day, on face, eyes and lips.

We have some exciting products launching soon and other projects in the pipeline, so I’m really excited to see what the future holds.

True Beauty Ultimate Face Palette

€39.99 2036753

Laura Dowling, pharmacist, founder and CEO of fabÜ wellness

I’ve been working in pharmacy for over 20 years and so many people would come in looking for natural remedies, particularly for sleep and general restlessness during the day. They wanted to avoid anxiety medications and sleeping tablets, but they needed something.

My area of specialist study in college was pharmacognosy — the study of plants and herbs as medicine — so I’ve always been interested in mushrooms and their health benefits. They are huge in the US, but there wasn’t much awareness here.

FabÜ Wellness is the merging of the power of nature with the precision of science. It took five years to get here with fabÜ Wellness Shrooms Immune and R&R. Shrooms Immune has chaga and cordyceps mushrooms for energy and R&R has ashwaghanda, camomile and magnesium and helps to calm the nervous system. In the western world, we pooh-pooh ingredients that have been used in India for thousands of years, but I think, why not use this knowledge?

I’ve been amazed how quickly people have taken to the products and lots of people have been asking will I develop something for children. With R&R, it came out of the traps running and people really saw that it helped their sleep, but it has been incredible to see how Shrooms Immune took more time, but now people are telling me how it’s improving their hair and nails, as well as improving their energy levels. That has been really amazing to see happen.

Fabu Shrooms Immune €23.99 2037281 Fabu R&R Relax €28.99 2037282

Love Irish

Pestle & Mortar Superstar Night Oil 30ml €80.00

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Sonia Deasy, co-founder and CEO of Pestle & Mortar

As a busy mum of five, I understand how di icult it can be to find a simple skincare routine that slots e ortlessly into your daily life and actually works.

Here’s the thing – skincare shouldn’t be complicated. I launched Pestle & Mortar in 2014 with a single product – our now-iconic Pure Hyaluronic Serum – and a mission to simplify skincare.

Since then, working alongside our brilliant team of cosmetic chemists, I’ve added over 20 products to the range and the brand has garnered a loyal and global customer base.

Pestle & Mortar’s philosophies are rooted in my Indian heritage in natural healing. By combining high-performance active ingredients with nourishing natural extracts, we create skincare products that are easy to use, suitable for all skin types, and highly e ective.

I wanted to create a luxurious night oil to give skin deep retinol benefits without the risk of irritation. Superstar combines two types of fastacting retinol with steam-distilled, cold-pressed natural oils. It literally supercharges the skin while you sleep. That’s why I called it Superstar!