In RSVP, we love to celebrate innovative and hard-working women who have taken the initiative to start their own businesses.

Here, we speak to Aoibhinn & Bláthnaid Murphy of BiaBelle Beauty about what it's like working with your family, their skincare and beauty secrets and what they've learned in business.

What gave you the push to start BiaBelle Beauty?

We saw a gap in the market to start selling exceptionally high quality products at an affordable price. As a team of three people with completely different strengths, we decided to join these strengths together and create BiaBelle Beauty. Bláthnaid studied Beauty Therapy in college and was a make-up artist for five years; Susan studied aromatherapy, nail artistry and also did a spray tan course which she did on customers for a number of years while also working a full-time job as an accountant; and Aoibhinn studied Social Science and was an assistant PA to a business owner for a number of years.

Why is it important to you to have the tan fully developed and manufactured in Ireland?

We fully believe in supporting Irish businesses where possible. Not only is our tan range manufactured and developed in Ireland, it also contains Irish seaweed extracts which are extremely nourishing for your skin. The box containing our foam tan was also developed and manufactured in Ireland, something we are incredibly proud of.

What is it like creating a business with family, does it impact your relationship or make it hard to switch off?

We absolutely love being able to work with family but like anything it does have its ups and downs. For the first two years of business, we worked from our kitchen table in our home, and our warehouse and packing station was our sitting room, so this made it virtually impossible to switch off. Luckily, we now have our own warehouse and offices so it does make it that little bit easier to wind down when we come home.

What would you say to any women who would love to start their own business?

Go for it! It’s a leap of faith but it is definitely worth pursuing your passion. Never be afraid to reach out to other business owners to seek advice – people can be more helpful than you might even realise. There is also so much help and different services available in the Local Enterprise Centre.

What skincare or beauty secret do you swear by?

If you followed us before BiaBelle even launched, we have always said that fake tan is our go-to beauty product. Even on holidays applying the lightest layer would work wonders for that natural sun-kissed glow. Not only does it have a physical change but it always has a way of improving our mood.

What is a typical day for you?

Last year, pre-Covid, we would start work in our offices first thing in the morning, packing up orders from the previous day. This would take up the majority of the day and with the remaining few hours we would focus on admin and all other aspects of running our business. When we returned home we would then focus on the social media side of the business, replying to DMs, posting stories, etc, with the help of our social media manager, Olivia. Currently, we now have our cousin Lisa working as our warehouse manager. She packs up all our orders for customers and pharmacies, which allows us to fully focus on the business side of BiaBelle Beauty in our offices. During 2020 we hired a new sales and development manager, Craig, who now helps us to grow our business and hopefully expand into the international market.

The biggest lesson you’ve learned?

There’s a lot more to owning your own business than you could ever even imagine. When you look at a product in a shop you wouldn’t believe the amount of hard work and long hours that went behind it to get it on the shelves. However, there is no greater feeling than seeing your own creation on the shop floor for customers to buy.

Web: www.biabellebeauty.com
Insta: @biabellebeauty