Gillian established Fuschia in 2004 when she saw a niche in the market for a make-up outlet outside of Dublin.Gillian had always been really interested in make-up and wanted to create a brand that would help women look and feel better about themselves, this ethos is reflected in the choice of name, Fuschia was chosen by Gillian as she felt with all of the different species and colours of the fuschia flower along with the fact that its so pretty reflected the women she was aiming to create the brand for.Gillian initially began by working with small factories that would fulfil low order quantities for her followed by the opening of her store in Drogheda which unfortunately opened just as the recession hit.
This was probably the worst possible time to begin a business. The original model was to have a store in every major shopping centre in Ireland but Gillian has told me that her business model needed to change several times in order to keep going in the economic conditions that faced her. Fuschia make up began selling their make up to beauty salons throughout Ireland and the UK. They are now available in salons in every county in Ireland.
Not only did Gillian keep going through the recession but she has grown her company from just herself to employing 20 people. She has won and been nominated for numerous awards including Best new Business, Best Small Business, Best Sales & Marketing, Best Customer Service and Gillian has been a finalist for Business Woman of the Year.
Fuschia Make-up is rapidly expanding and really is one to watch, they opened a new store in Swords in 2013 and began supplying Pharmacies nationwide including Cara Pharmacy and Sam McCauleys among others. They now have their own warehouse in Drogheda where they package and fill the majority of their line. Watch this space as Fuschia will be launching a very exciting new phase in 2015 in the form of an 'export model'!
As always my beautiful Irish Brands post would not be complete without showing you some of their beautiful offerings. Gillian has kindly sent me a bit of a Fuschia Make-up haul to show to you today. I have had a huge amount of fun over the last while testing all of these babies out! I was going to show you just a few of my favourites but I really liked them all so although the post is a lot longer than normal I felt It was justified as Its jam packed with lots of pretty girly things to make up for the length.
I will introduce you to each product but I wont have the space here for pictures so here is a link to my instagram (follow me!) for pictures of each product swatches ect!
First up is the Mineral Make-Up Try me Kit. The Kit includes 3g Mineral Foundation 3g Rice Powder 1g of blush and a Kabuki Brush. I absolutely love Mineral foundation It really agrees with my mostly dry skin. I normally use Mineral foundation over regular foundation instead of powder to give a really flawless finish. I have absolutely adored using this kit. The fuschia mineral foundation is so much lighter than the ones I am used to using but gives the same coverage. The shade bare is the perfect shade for me( Im normally a mac nc20-25 estee lauder tawny, just for reference). I had never used a Mineral blush before and this one in shade glow was a really nice bronze colour. The addition of a (really good)Kabuki brush is a lovely touch any kits Ive gotten like this in the past the Kabuki brush has fallen apart at first touch, this one is lovely and soft blends good and I have not had any shedding yet. This is a brilliant kit for anyone who wants to introduce themselves to Mineral Make-up.
Ive also gotten a Mineral Eye Dust in shade EggPlant, Perfect for adding a bit of colour to a Smoky eye. This eye dust was really easy to work with and had a lot less messy fall out than I expected from an eye dust.
Next is the Brushes Jumbo Buffer & Flawless Finish Foundation. The Jumbo Buffer and me have fallen in love! This is such a dream of a brush to use Its chunky handle combined with the full soft hairs are so luxurious. It has basically the same top as the Kabuki brush from the mineral kit but with the ease of a long handle so I have been using this for buffing in my mineral make up.
The Flawless Finish Foundation brush is exactly the type of stipple brush that I always use for applying my foundation and this one hasn't been a let down perfect for liquid foundation and no shedding.
The Sweet Cheeks Kit is a fab little gift set containing a sample primer, Moisture foundation, mascara, lip lacquer and 2 powder blushes. This reminds me of Benefit gift sets only way better value with this one coming in at €25. Keep your eyes peeled for this one in my Christmas Gift Guide coming later this month!
Next up I've got a bronzer and powder blush. Ive been using these two together to (try) do some contouring! The bronzer is in shade cocoa bronze and is just the right shade for contouring my cheek bones. The blusher is shade #7 Its a gorgeous pinky/peach with some shimmer, a really lovely girly blush. Its light enough that it can be used as a highlighter but can be layered a little to give a more defined blush look.
I also got a Liquid Blush which is named Ruthie Rose Blush. Its colour definitely reminds me of benetint but it is a thicker consistency lovely for a flushed look without lashings of blush!
Finally Ive got two lip lacquer's Party Girl and Love affair. Party girl is a really wearable Barbie Pink colour I adore it and It reminds me of Urban Decay Anarchy Lipstick. Love Affair is a mauve colour which will be so nice for Autumn. The colour payoff on these Lacquer's is amazing and they last for hours, seriously impressed with these.
Last but definitely not least are the lipsticks in shade Wine Divine and Posy.Wine Divine is a lovely berry shade and although I liked the colour in the tube It didn't wear the same way I'm pretty sure this was down to the fact that I hadn't gotten the lip liner to match. Posy however really impressed me It is the perfect nude shade just stunning and has been added as a make-up bag staple.
I hope you have loved reading Gillian & Fuschia Make-Up's story. Don't forget to check out all of the pictures on my Instagram page. Have you tried Fuschia Make-Up or spotted anything here you want to give a try to, Let me know in the comments x
