With the long awaited grand stretch in the evening finally arriving, now is the the perfect time to spring clean your beauty routine and invest in some products that will leave your skin glowing.
As a lifestyle journalist, I am forever on the hunt for the next great thing - and if the product is Irish-made, all the better.
Thankfully, there have been some incredible new product drops, as well as some familiar favourites, to be found within the Irish beauty market, ranging from retinols and moisturing masks, to make-up melting cleansers and spf-infused serums.
Here are just some of my tried and tested picks that I will undoubtedly be getting again.
Jennifer Rock (aka The Skin Nerd) has made quite the mark on Ireland's beauty scene over the years. From serums and moisturisers, to exfoliators and cleansing mitts, Skingredients has become a go-to for just about every skin type.
Earlier this year, the brand dropped a new product that has become my holy grail: Retinol + B3 Anti-Ageing Night Serum.
As a woman in my mid-30s, I have tried a myriad of retinols and active ingredients in the hopes of reducing fine lines and banishing dead skin cells, but I found many of them to be lacklustre at best and damaging at worst. This product changed the game.
Within two weeks of using the €49 retinol, I could see a marked difference; not only were fine lines reduced, but my complexion was noticeably improved, and I found the texture to be gentle on my typically sensitive skin.
Conceptualised in Ireland and made in Italy, Poco Beauty is the brainchild of entrepreneur and influencer Pippa O'Connor-Ormond.
Her vegan products are cruelty-free, paraben-free, alcohol-free, and contained in chic eco-packaging. I've been lucky enough to try out a few of her products and, so far, all of them have delivered.
My favourite find is the universal glow treatment as it's perfect for mornings when I can't be bothered with make-up but don't want to look totally bedraggled. The €30 serum offers a luminous glow, SPF 30, and is a great primer for under make-up.
My second go-to is the TFD brow blade. As someone who is completely useless at finessing my eyebrows into works of art like the MUAs of Instagram, I found the €20 tubes exceptionally easy to use thanks to a built-in grinder that ensures an ultra-thin application as well as a forgiving formulation that cleans up easily if mistakes are made.
MUA turned entrepreneur Aimee Connolly has built an empire with her award-winning makeup. A favourite among beauty-lovers, the brand boasts a wide range of products including pearlescent beauty bases and hydrating sheet masks.
My top pick from the brand came to me last summer, when I was in the depths of day two at Electric Picnic (if you know, you know). In August of 2023, it felt like the grounds of Stradbally were located mere metres from the sun, but as festival-goers shelled out for bucket hats and baggy t-shirts to avoid the burn, I topped up my sun-protection throughout the day with Sculpted's €22 Sun Mist.
The beauty of the invisible mist is that it has broad spectrum SPF 50 but can be applied both under and over make-up. I was able to spritz throughout the day to protect my skin, without smearing glitter around my face. Win win.
Ella & Jo cosmetics was created in 2017 by makeup artist Charlene Flanagan and skin therapist Niamh Ryan. Their goal was to develop products that tackle two of the main skin conditions women have: dehydration and ageing.
While the brand is known for their collection of hydrating hyaluronic serum and skin mists, I personally fell in love with their make-up melting cleansing balm. Appropriately named 'Melt the Day Away', the €38 balm will gently dissolve even the most stubborn mascara, all while cleansing and hydrating the skin.
For weeks when your skin needs a proper boost, I found a round of the Enzyme Mask (€36) followed by the Miracle Mask (€36) to be an unbeatable combination.
