Emer O'Callaghan: This award means I’ve joined the elite

I have such good, positive news to deliver today - now that’s something we don’t hear too much of these days! I am delighted to reveal that Emerald Beauty Clinic has just been crowned a Guinot Gold Crown Elite Clinic 2026.

I am proud of this award for so many reasons, mainly because I am the first person ever to be given this honour for a boutique-style clinic. Anyone who has ever got Elite status before me did so with huge salons and clinics with several treatment rooms and staff, and had big shop fronts in a big city centre.

I love being the first at anything in my profession, at 22 years of age I won Irish Beauty Therapist of the Year, and now, 20 years later, I have the Guinot honour.

I am so proud to be setting down markers in my industry, and also delighted for my loyal clients.

I did one of my popular beauty videos on this award last week and you can watch it on our Emerald Beauty Clinic Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok pages now.

I personally invest in my clients, I listen, I take note of what they are sharing with me about their lives, and I provide a safe space for them so that they can relax.

I am a very competitive person, that’s in my blood, I don’t do anything in half measures and I really think a lot of my drive comes from my upbringing.

I am also self-made, nothing was handed to me, I had to work at it. That made my hunger and drive to succeed stronger.

My career was never a hobby for me, it was an investment to secure a better future for myself, and I have always known that.

Back when the pandemic hit, and we beauticians were out of work, it afforded me time to think and reflect more on what direction I wanted my business to go in.

My original clinic was down in the middle of Douglas village, I had a full time receptionist and three other therapists and it was non-stop, all day, every day. It was great but in my heart it still wasn’t the vision I had in my head for my clinic.

I wanted a bespoke, boutique style clinic, and that is what I built.

I love that once clients come to me, they stay, I’m in it for the long haul with them. I want to give them not just the best facial and experience, but the best skincare products to use at home, and this is why I have always been so fussy about what brands I work with.

I was the first to bring Dermalogica to Cork 17 years ago, and trained for weeks up in Dublin - I couldnt wait to get home to Cork again!

I have been a Dermalogica centre of skin excellence since 2008 and now it’s a household name in Cork.

I brought Guinot into my clinic over three years ago, having worked with them 20 years ago. I knew the brand and the facials and I love how they have evolved over time.

They are No.1 in France, and the French know a thing or two when it comes to skincare.

I also wanted to offer a brand tailored more to the over 40 age group once I turned it myself. I knew the market in Cork, and it’s a milestone turning point in many women’s lives, when they know it’s time to invest in better skincare and treatments.

We are doing this all the natural way - no botox, no injections, no harsh cosmetic treatments, just natural beauty enhanced by monthly facials and an amazing skincare regime and products to do twice a day at home.

Years ago, I realised people wanted more from their beautician. They wanted a peaceful, tranquil, safe space where they could go and forget about the stresses and strains of their life for 90 minutes or two hours, they wanted escapism, and they all needed a safe sanctuary to rest and recharge in.

I love my job and I took my profession seriously from the very first day I started beauty college.

I don’t forget what I came from, or how hard it has been, and I have a very good perspective on life - that is what’s given me the drive to always keep pushing on, keep bettering myself. I believe beauty treatments are for everyone.

I was delighted to see how much this Gold Crown Elite award meant to my clients, they were delighted, and that meant a lot to me.

I opened my clinic in 2008 at the start of a recession, then we got a pandemic, and now we have a cost of living and energy crisis, and we are still standing, still delivering.

Emerald Beauty Clinic is my baby, I built it from nothing, and it’s now established, not just in Cork but on the European stage.

I will never stop banging the drum for better education on skin. May was classed as Melanoma Awareness Month and June is Acne Awareness Month, and this is all huge progress in getting the public more skin aware, to know that our skin is a vital organ.

I keep saying it - education is the key, because when people are informed, they can make better choices. People really do better when they know better.

I am also working a lot on the animal cruelty side of things in the beauty industry at present.

As an animal lover myself, it’s shocking to see how many big name beauty and skin brands are still testing on animals.

This is something I want to see stopped bevause it is cruel and unnecessary. No animals need to be put through this today, and we need our industry to get more proactive on this fast.

People power is the key, and by choosing to do your research and not support brands that test on animals, you will hit them where it hurts them most - their pockets.

We all share this planet and not every living creature has a voice, so we must do our part to protect animals.

It’s fair to say I won’t change the world, that I do know, but I’d like to leave it one day knowing I made some difference in the work I did here and in people’s lives.

I love meeting my clients every day and I want to thank them all for all the support and loyalty over the many years.

I believe this life is so short, I could never just settle for any aspect of my life that I was not truly happy, content, respected and valued in, and as much as I love my job, getting older allows me to say I enjoy my days off too with no guilt.

As every business owner will know, there never is a full day off, every day there are jobs that need to be done, but I make sure I get to do the things I love to do on the days the clinic is closed.

One of them will always be a nice dive into the sea and a good swim to forget about work and life - for a while anyway.

I see the value now in having a work/life balance and I protect that. When I am working, I am 100% on, and when I am off, I am off.

I am very proud to be recognised on the European stage now for Gold Standard Crown Elite beauty right here on Leeside, that is something the people of Cork truly deserve.

• Emer O’Callaghan is a multi-award-winning beauty doctor, skin specialist and winner of Irish Beauty Therapist of the Year who works at Emerald Organic Beauty Products Ltd, trading as Emerald Beauty Clinic, 021 4365949. A Guinot Crown Elite Clinic and Dermalogica Centre of Excellence 2008-2026, www.emeraldbeautyclinic.ie, follow us on Facebook/Instagram/TikTok.
• OUR SIX WEEK SKIN KICKSTART: This includes three professional grade facials and a customised skincare plan for you to follow at home to take ten years off your skin. You can start your six weeks at any time by simply calling Emerald Beauty Clinic, 021 4365949, appointments only, free parking for clients.