Cork beauty salon owner wins European award for Blumáin range

A Co Cork-based beauty therapist has won a Free From Skincare Award 2021 for her Geranium & Orange Cleansing Oil, which also won a Green Parent Natural Beauty Award in 2020.

Owner of Finishing Touch Beauty Salon in Ballydesmond, Sinéad Murphy is the founder of  Blumáin Organic Skincare. After opening her salon in 2010, she realised her passion lay in skincare, and she began studying natural cosmetics and researching her own range. She believes her hands-on experience in the salon played a major role in the success of her start-up.

”I knew my clients wanted luxurious products that were effective, and that they could afford – and that is what Blumáin is all about. I create products to address issues I keep seeing my clients coming up against in the treatment room. I don't create products because they are the new ‘in’ thing, they have to be genuinely beneficial for my clients. It is just the icing on the cake that I get to see the results of my products doing facials in the salon.”

As she manufactures all the products herself, Murphy initially got a grant from the Local Enterprise Office. “This was a great help for buying equipment. Last year then I was able to get a grant to redo my website, which was fantastic. The rest has all been self-funded. I’m investing all the money back into the business to grow it further, but it has been so rewarding.”

Murphy believes that clients have never been more invested in skincare. “They have more time now, with many working from home and not spending an hour or two commuting. Also, the world has changed so much in the last 18 months; before the emphasis was on weddings and holidays. But now clients aren’t spending all their money on these things, instead they are spending it on more luxurious treatments and self-care.”

She is now supplying other salons with her Blumáin range. ”All the products come in salon sizes too. I think it’s very important for any salon to offer retail products as it really raises the bottom line; once you recommend the right product to your client, you have repeat business right there as they’ll keep coming back to buy it again.”

In terms of future goals, Murphy says she is developing new products. “I'm planning on having three out by the end of the year, and I’m busy getting all the Christmas stock sorted. The salon has also never been busier. There’s nothing like being a job that you love – it never feels like work.”