Cork beauty professional Sinead O’Keeffe has launched a skincare brand that is aimed at the more mature woman.
Cork’s Red Clover Farm is a range of skincare products and herbal tea for women in the perimenopause/menopause age group.
O’Keeffe is originally from the city, but moved to Mallow to run a farm with her husband during the pandemic.
After beginning her career in the industry in 2009, she went on to open Tiger Training Academy, which offers a range of brow, lash and make-up courses that are certified by VTCT. She also owns the Tiger Beauty brand, which includes a line of professional products for salons.
Now she is moving into the skincare sector with her Cork’s Red Clover Farm offering. According to O’Keeffe, red clover is very nutritious and used by herbalists to treat hot flushes in perimenopause and menopause. After entering perimenopause herself, she was drinking the tea a few times a day and found it very helpful. She decided there was commercial potential in an Irish-produced red clover tea and began to consider the benefits of red clover in skincare as well.
“Red clover is very nutritious and contains isoflavones, phytoestrogens and protein, all of which benefit ageing and more mature skin,” she said. “Our products provide hydration and moisture – two things ageing skin really needs.
“I wanted to build a business that combined my beauty background with my husband’s farming background, Growing red clover provides biodiversity, the bees absolutely love it and it’s an alternative to traditional farming. We have plenty of space to grow the clover here in Ballinvuskig in west Mallow and even a small harvest is enough to make the skincare products in volume.”
O’Keeffe said she got great support from the Local Enterprise Office (LEO) Cork North and West, from early branding advice and mentoring to financial support, and the investment in Cork’s Red Clover Farm so far is about €30,000.
So far, there are cleansers available online, with plans to expand to salons, pharmacies and retail outlets. “We are also launching a professional cosmeceutical range into salons, which will include a retinol serum, vitamin C serum and enzyme peel, and we will be offering training,” she added.
Meanwhile, the brand has been selected to represent its region at the LEO’s Showcase Ireland 2025 in the RDS in January. “This is an unbelievable opportunity to showcase our skincare products,” said O’Keeffe. “Buyers from all over the world attend this prestigious event, which has been the making of many successful brands.”
