The first thing that Irish Country Living notices about Dolly Buckley is her pair of sparkly brogues.

“I have a thing about glittery shoes,” laughs Dolly, whose trademark look also includes a pop of fuchsia lipstick and a pink bloom pinned to the side of her blonde bun.

“I remember being in Downing Street to work with John Major. His wife, Dame Norma, came out and she said: ‘Dolly, can I just try on your shoes? They are just fabulous.’

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“The next thing she was doing the cha-cha down Downing Street.”

However, since moving to a tillage and beef farm in Co Offaly over a decade ago, the top makeup artist – who has primed and primped everybody from pop stars to politicians – is just as comfortable in a pair of wellies.

After all, it’s in her blood: Dolly’s mother Sonia Burt is the top breeder behind Walstead Stud in the UK, which specialises in Connemara ponies. As a teenager, Dolly herself was a champion rider, but after leaving the UK at 19 to go travelling, she met a makeup artist in Australia who inspired her to return to London to study at the Greasepaint academy.

Her early career, however, was far from glamorous.

“My first ever paid job was actually making up a page-three girl,” she laughs. “I didn’t realise – all I heard was that it was going to pay £50.”

Determined to break into TV and magazine work, Dolly wrote letter after letter looking for experience until one makeup designer took her under her wing.

And so began a high-flying career which included touring with singer Annie Lennox and violinist Vanessa Mae, working with politicians like Margaret Thatcher and John Major (The Telegraph once ran her picture on the front page with the headline “This is the woman who makes the prime minster blush”) and spreads with Hello! and Marie Claire magazine, as well as TV, film, commercial and celebrity work.

“There was one person that I worked with and I got offered £3,500 to tell my story,” Dolly recalls. “In those days I could have really done with the money, but, of course, I never would have told. I had paparazzi outside my flat.”

However, life took an unexpected turn when Dolly met Frank Buckley, whose family founded the FX Buckley butcher and steakhouse chain. Having studied agriculture in Warrenstown, Frank moved to London, where he set up a business supplying Irish beef to butcher shops, bars and restaurants, as well as importing products like Tayto crisps and Club Orange.

Indeed, it was Irish sausages that inadvertently brought Frank and Dolly together.

“We met through a flatmate,” explains Dolly. “The first day I saw Frank I had four wisdom teeth taken out. Frank was kindly dropping off some sausages and black pudding and I remember saying hi and charging off into my room, thinking: ‘How embarrassing. This handsome man has just walked into our flat and I look desperate.’”

Frank was obviously undeterred – the couple got engaged after a year and married in 2000. While expecting their first daughter, Ruby, they began to discuss their future, as neither of them wanted to raise a family in London.

Which is how Dolly came home one evening to find an aerial photograph of Thomastown Farm near Edenderry – which Frank’s grandfather bought in 1980 – sitting on the kitchen table. And so began a new adventure – though Dolly admits it was not easy to settle at the start, recalling one excruciating experience at an antenatal class in a nearby town.

“Frank said: ‘Why don’t you stand up and say my name is Dolly, I’m new in this country and I was just wondering if anybody would like to have a cup of tea after the class?’” she explains.“It was so embarrassing. I stood up and I said that ... and there was just silence. The teacher very sweetly came up and said: ‘Thank you very much Dolly, but I have another class to teach after this. I’ll see you next week.’ I cried all the way home and I never went back.”

Today, however, Dolly is at the heart of her community through her involvement with Meals on Wheels and a local running group. She and Frank’s dream of raising a family in the country is also complete with Ruby (now 13), Lydia (12) and Toby (10).

But while Dolly was the go-to girl for makeup in London, she had to build her business from scratch in Ireland.

“I didn’t even know where to start,” she recalls.

One of the first things she did was ask her local newsagent for the name of an Irish glossy magazine – in that case, VIP – and wrote the editor a letter outlining her experience. Within a month she was working on celebrity shoots. She was also a makeup artist on Off The Rails and is involved with the Rose of Tralee festival through her agent, The Powder Room Girls, but is just as passionate about sharing her skills for weddings, debs and special occasions – especially if somebody is going through a serious illness like cancer or simply lacks confidence.

“The great thing about makeup is it’s not to be feared, it is to be fabulous,” she says. “And it’s so easy to make people feel fabulous.”

And whether she’s wearing her glittery shoes or her wellies, Dolly is doing just that.

Dolly’s 10 Top Tips

Dolly Buckley has these top 10 tips to keep you looking fabulous

1 A simple and effective beauty regime is to cleanse, tone and moisturise your skin every day. Cleanser takes off your makeup, toner will clear out your pores and leave your skin feeling fresh, while moisturiser will keep your skin hydrated and in turn looking younger. If you don’t want to spend money on a separate day and night cream, choose an anti-aging moisturiser with SPF protection. My personal favourite is the renowned Estée Lauder skincare range, while I also love Boots’ No 7 range.

2 Don’t forget that your hands and feet deserve a bit of TLC too. Keep a tub of E45 cream (it can be purchased in any good chemist for under €6) on your bedside table and massage into your feet, hands and neck just before bed. You will really see softer skin after a few days.

3 One of my favourite foundations is Estée Lauder Double Wear Light. Always apply with a makeup brush rather than with your hand as the heat from your fingertips means you end up wiping most of it away.

4 Keep eyeliner and lipliner pencils sharpened and always make sure there is a lid on them, even if you have to use an old biro lid.

5 I recommend investing in a good foundation and blusher brush – one of my favourite brands is MAC. Cotton buds are great for blending in your eyeliner, and you can spray a toothbrush with hairspray to comb and shape unruly eyebrows.

6 One of my favourite mascaras is Double Extension by L’Oréal. I always apply one coat, let it dry, and then apply a second coat.

7 A sweep of blusher or bronzer across the cheekbones can make all the difference in lifting a complexion. One of my favourite budget buys is Santa Rose blush by Rimmel. Apply to the apple of your cheeks for a fresh, dewy look.

8 Vaseline is a girl’s best friend. Rub it on to your finger nails if your cuticles are dry or your nail polish is looking dull, use it to moisturise the sensitive skin around your eyes, use it on dry chapped lips, and apply to your lashes to make them look shiny and fuller.

9 If you are looking for an affordable compact powder, Maybelline’s super stay 24-hour powder is a winner.

10 Before you apply lipstick, dab foundation on your lips with your fingertips and then use a sharp lip pencil to line your lips to make them look fuller. Maybelline Super Stay 14hr lipstick is a favourite of mine. It retails for around €10, gives you lush lips and the colour range suits all ages and occasions.

Email dolly

Have you got a makeup dilemma? Then it’s Dolly to the rescue. Email dollybuckley1@gmail.com

with your queries for her new Irish Country Living column coming soon.