Having previously had an illustrious career as a chef in the UK to the Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson, Lucy Hagerty now has an equally colourful one as an expert perfumer.  After she married an Irish man, had children and eventually settled here after a life abroad, what she wanted to do was create the perfect candle. 

“I think taste and smell are quite similar,” she says.  The perfume world is a closely guarded one, but she spent 7 years learning its secrets and a further 2 learning how to create the candles herself.

La Bougie launched in the summer of 2012 and is now stocked across Ireland.  These artisan products are hand-poured and have a devout following with candle connoisseurs and perfume lovers.  Her working life is non-stop, with the launch of new perfumes, custom fragrances for luxurious properties and Hollywood royalty, and introducing La Bougie to exclusive retailers across the US and UK.  However, you will often find her working in her Perfumery in Kinsale and this is where she is at her happiest.