Emer O'Callaghan's beauty checklist for Christmas

Hello, December, chapter 12 of 12 - the month so many make a dash for the line on the beauty front in a last effort to look well at Christmas.

Many others are finding vouchers they should have used earlier in the year, and wonder why they can’t get an appointment when they call in the busiest month of the year!

So many of my clients were glad to see the back of November, it’s quite a tough month for anyone grieving, Holy Souls time can affect people a lot, not to mind the grey, dull, depressing weather we got.

I see this every day in my job as a beautician working with the public for 25 years, how certain times of the year really do affect people’s mood.

I personally see November as a great incentive to give something up, like a second lent before the excess of Christmas. This year I gave up coffee - quite a tough one for me as I’m a big coffee girl for years - and I don’t miss it now.

It’s funny how others react when you say you’re doing something different. I met my friend’s dad the other day in the shopping centre. He was all chat and wanted to get a coffee. I was rushing back to work and said I was off the coffee for the Holy Souls.

“Jeez, Emer, I’d love your discipline, but the way I see it now, I’m a lot closer than you to meeting any souls, and I think if they were still here they’d be drinking the shagging coffee, this life is tough enough,” he said.

I see his point, but I’m a traditionalist and we have to keep some traditions going or they will die off.

It’s manic season again in Emerald Beauty Clinic, I swear it’s like being on a merry-go-round if you’re a beautician or hairdresser these few weeks. The days are so busy they melt into one, it’s bed to work season, I say at home.

No-one sees me in December unless you book a treatment, I’m so busy. I’ve sold out of some beauty and make-up sets already.

I’m delighted to see so many shopping local and supporting us local beauticians, this loyalty is vital now.

I heard we sadly lost three more beauty salons last month, and there are fewer and fewer now in Cork.

I did a recent beauty video on this and you can watch it on our Emerald Beauty Clinic Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok pages now.

I stressed the importance of buying your skincare and few bits from your local beautician to keep those services in your area.

Show me a woman who’s not over- stretched, overworked, and exhausted at this time of year, yet looking good is so important too.

No-one wants to be landing into the work Christmas party or the family dinner like Lapsy Pa, so this week I want to give my top tips for sparkling all Christmas and making the time for you to prioritise you too.

START EARLY

As we enter party season, the biggest thing I would say is this: be beauty prepped early, like, get your nails, hair removal, and facials all done early so you get the benefits of them all Christmas long.

FACIALS

Your December facial is by far the most important one all year, and it’s the one so many cancel and pay a huge price for in January.

December is so harsh on all our skin, the heating, the cold, late nights, diets are bad, people are drinking more... so if ever there was a month everyone’s skin is crying out for a facial, it’s December.

Don’t be a martyr and miss out on a facial to look after others. After all, it’s only an hour of your day, and you will be sorry when you see your exhausted complexion staring back at you in all the family photos.

MAKE-UP

You can’t beat a professional job, I can tell a mile away who DIYs their own make-up at a Christmas event and who got the professional job.

Parties are a fabulous excuse to glam up and get the professional job done, and the smart lady knows this - the tan, the make-up and nails all look better done by a professional.

Some of my clients get their festive party make-up done in the morning to get the whole day out of it as it lasts, others came on their lunch break, and many others straight from work with their dresses with them, ready to go from the clinic.

Eye make-up is not that easy to do and we pros can do it, your make-up will last and look flawless also.

NAILS

Every year, I see women with nails that need to be done all December, but they hold off for Christmas week.

The smart lady gets hers done early in December, then has her nails done for all the events and meeting people, and that is what I would advise.

Red is a festive favourite, always be sure to pop on a nice red lipstick to match and look elegant.

Burgundy, plum and chocolate brown are the hit shades of Christmas 2025, and if they are not to your liking, you will never go wrong with classic French manicure polish which suits everything.

Don’t forget the toes and match with the hands. You will be glad you did that when you pull out the strappy heels.

TANS

This was the year so many finally came back to professional tanning and stopped DIY jobbing their own at home.

Jeez, I have seen more bad tan than nice tan the past five years, you will never beat professional false tan application as we have all the tricks and the better quality products. When you buy cheap, you get cheap.

My top two favourite tans are St Tropez - get it sprayed or rubbed on professionally if you have a wedding or event - and Top Image Cream Tan - again, just a beautiful golden natural tan, neither of these have any orange pigment in them and suit all ages.

LASHES

Are we over the big fake 3D eyelashes yet in Cork? It’s the one thing I notice when I’m out. Even coming back from France last month, you could spot the Cork girls straight away with the huge lashes in the airport.

False lashes done correctly look natural and subtle and are supposed to look like your own, this is actually the whole concept of every beauty treatment, to enhance your own natural beauty.

These high volume thick lashes even the giraffes in Fota wouldn’t have, it’s all so over-done and obvious, and that’s not how its should be in my opinion.

Lots will use stick-on lashes for the Christmas party season, and these are a fabulous idea as they can really enhance party make-up.

I use these myself and the best part is you can just pull them off after with no damage to your own lash.

FESTIVE GLAM

Sequins and sparkles are a must this month, and NO, you are never too old to wear them.

My eldest client is now 90, and is coming to me for 15 years, and she will arrive in this month in a lovely festive sequin top as she does every year, and dead right too.

I see Christmas as a time to bring out your sparkle and you will never go wrong with black and some bling.

Whatever you wear, be sure to wear it with confidence and enjoy every night out and event you go too, it’s the season to shine.

• Emer O’Callaghan is a Beauty Doctor and Skin Specialist who won Irish Beauty Therapist of the year and works at Emerald Organic Beauty Products Ltd, trading as Emerald Beauty Clinic, 021 4365949. A Multi Award Winning Gold Standard Clinic, 2008-2025 - www.emeraldbeautyclinic.ie
• SPECIAL OFFER: All next week, our Guinot Radiance Facial, 90 minutes, is reduced from €125 to €95, includes a full skin analysis, eyebrow shape and heated hand treatment worth €45. Appointments necessary, to book call Emerald Beauty Clinic, 021 4365949. Free parking for clients.