How Lisa McGowan Built a Multi-Million Euro Business Empire
Lisa McGowan. (Image: lisaslustlist.ie)
Below is the publication-ready version, with the financial distinctions tightened so turnover, company profit and Lisa McGowan’s remuneration are not conflated.
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Search intent: Informational. Readers want to understand how Lisa McGowan built her businesses, how much they generate, how her different companies work and what the available accounts reveal about her earnings.
Recommended SEO title: Lisa McGowan Business Empire: How She Built It
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Alternative headlines
How Lisa McGowan Turned Lisa’s Lust List Into a €10m+ Business
The Money Behind Lisa McGowan’s Business Empire
From Fashion Blogger to €10m+ Entrepreneur: Lisa McGowan’s Story
How Lisa McGowan Built a Multi-Million Euro Business Empire
Lisa McGowan has transformed an online fashion following into a collection of businesses spanning social-media marketing, fashion, lifestyle products and cosmetics — with reported combined turnover of more than €10 million in 2024.
Her journey is unusual. McGowan was working as an insurance broker when winning Best Dressed Lady at the Galway Races in 2016 helped propel her into the public eye. What followed was not simply an influencer career: she gradually converted the audience behind Lisa’s Lust List into customers for products she owned and controlled herself.
According to figures McGowan provided in an interview with Business Plus, her three principal business strands generated approximately €10.8 million in combined turnover during 2024: €2.5 million from Lisa’s Lust List, €3.3 million from Lisa & Co Cosmetics and close to €5 million from Lisa & Co’s fashion and lifestyle operation. (Business Plus)
Those figures are turnover — essentially sales before business expenses — and should not be confused with Lisa McGowan’s personal income, company profits or personal wealth.
Information checked and updated: September 2026
At a Glance: Lisa McGowan's Business Empire
• 2016 — Winning Best Dressed Lady at the Galway Races helped bring McGowan national attention.
• 2017 — Lisa’s Lust List Limited was incorporated on 16 November 2017. (RTE)
• 2020 — McGowan launched her own Lisa & Co product business, initially self-funded from her insurance earnings and sponsored-content income. (Business Plus)
• €2.5 million — reported Lisa’s Lust List turnover for 2024.
• €3.3 million — reported Lisa & Co Cosmetics turnover for 2024.
• Close to €5 million — reported Lisa & Co fashion and lifestyle turnover for 2024.
• More than €10 million — combined reported turnover across the three business strands in 2024. (Business Plus)
• €3.06 million — pay and pension package received by McGowan from Lisa’s Lust List Limited in 2024. (RTE)
• €736,075 loss — post-tax loss recorded by Lisa’s Lust List Limited for 2024, largely influenced by McGowan’s remuneration package. (RTE)
• €895,660 — post-tax profit recorded by LMLB Beauty Limited for 2023. (The Irish Times)
How did Lisa McGowan build her business empire?
It started with the Galway Races
The major turning point came in 2016, when McGowan won the Best Dressed Lady competition at the Galway Races.
At the time, she was working in insurance through her family's business rather than running a large fashion or beauty company.
The exposure helped grow her profile, and she began building what became Lisa’s Lust List — an online fashion, beauty and lifestyle platform centred heavily around recommendations, product demonstrations and interaction with her followers.
Lisa’s Lust List Limited was subsequently incorporated in November 2017. (RTE)
Unlike entrepreneurs who launch a product first and then try to build an audience, McGowan effectively did the opposite.
She built the audience first.
That distinction would become critical.
Stage one: Making money from an audience
Lisa’s Lust List originally operated largely as a content and promotional business.
Brands could gain access to an engaged audience interested in clothing, cosmetics, beauty, homeware and lifestyle products.
McGowan's website continues to feature collaborations, products and shopping recommendations from outside retailers alongside her own businesses. (Lisa's Lust List)
This creates several potential revenue streams, including:
• Sponsored brand partnerships.
• Advertising and promotional campaigns.
• Brand ambassador arrangements.
• Affiliate marketing and discount-code activity.
• Live events and appearances.
The model is attractive because a large digital audience can be monetised without initially carrying the manufacturing, stock and distribution costs associated with running a conventional retail business.
But McGowan's biggest commercial move was using that audience to sell products she owned herself.
Stage two: Lisa & Co turns influence into retail
McGowan launched Lisa & Co in 2020.
According to her interview with Business Plus, the venture was self-funded using money generated from her insurance career and sponsored-content work. (Business Plus)
The first Lisa & Co product was fragrance.
Launching perfume online was a significant test because customers could not smell the product before ordering it.
McGowan said the first fragrance sold out within hours.
The range subsequently expanded beyond fragrance into fashion, accessories, bodycare and other lifestyle products.
The Lisa & Co online store currently lists categories including clothing, belts, handbags, bodycare, fragrances and leisurewear. (Lisa & Co)
This marked a major change in McGowan's business model.
Instead of earning only a marketing fee for helping another company sell a product, she could now earn retail revenue by selling products under her own brand.
That potentially gives an entrepreneur considerably greater upside — but also introduces significantly greater risk.
Stage three: Lisa & Co Cosmetics
McGowan subsequently expanded into beauty through Lisa & Co Cosmetics.
The cosmetics business now sells products including Skin Luxe, primers, concealers, bronzers, lip products, brushes and makeup palettes. (Lisa & Co Cosmetics)
One product in particular became important to the company's growth: Skin Luxe.
McGowan told Business Plus that one launch resulted in 10,000 bottles being sold within a matter of hours.
At the time of the March 2025 interview, Skin Luxe was stocked in 12 Dunnes Stores locations, while pre-orders had exceeded 22,000 units. (Business Plus)
That demonstrates another important stage in the evolution of the business.
McGowan had moved from:
social-media recommendations → influencer marketing → direct-to-consumer products → physical retail distribution.
That is a considerably broader business model than conventional influencer marketing.
The companies behind Lisa McGowan's businesses
Understanding the corporate structure is important because the names consumers see are not necessarily the legal companies filing accounts.
Lisa's Lust List Limited
Lisa’s Lust List Limited was incorporated in November 2017.
The business has historically contained McGowan's social-media and promotional income.
Its financial performance has been particularly well documented because McGowan's remuneration appears in its filed accounts.
LMLB Beauty Limited
LMLB Beauty Limited, company number 674977, was incorporated in August 2020 and trades as Lisa & Co. (SoloCheck)
The Lisa & Co website identifies LMLB Beauty Limited as the company behind the operation. (Lisa & Co)
The company generated €895,660 in post-tax profit during 2023, according to accounts subsequently reported by RTÉ and The Irish Times. (RTE)
Accounts covering the year ended 31 December 2024 were subsequently filed in July 2025, according to company-record information published by SoloCheck. (SoloCheck)
Lisa & Co Cosmetics
Lisa & Co Cosmetics operates separately from the main Lisa & Co website and its official website lists company registration number 741551. (Lisa & Co Cosmetics)
McGowan has described her operation publicly as consisting of three businesses: Lisa’s Lust List, Lisa & Co and Lisa & Co Cosmetics. (Business Plus)
Media reports have also identified Jentro Limited, established in 2023, as part of McGowan's expanding corporate interests. (RTE)
The legal structure is therefore more complicated than simply three brand names, which is why individual company accounts should not automatically be treated as representing the entire Lisa McGowan business operation.
How much revenue do Lisa McGowan's businesses generate?
The clearest overall turnover breakdown comes from figures McGowan provided to Business Plus covering 2024.
Reported 2024 turnover
• Lisa’s Lust List: €2.5 million
• Lisa & Co Cosmetics: €3.3 million
• Lisa & Co fashion and lifestyle: close to €5 million
• Combined: more than €10 million
Adding the disclosed figures gives approximately €10.8 million, although the Lisa & Co figure was described as “close to €5 million”, meaning €10.8 million should be treated as an approximate calculation rather than an audited consolidated revenue figure.
There is another important caveat.
Lisa’s Lust List Limited files abridged accounts that do not disclose its turnover publicly, so the €2.5 million figure is based on McGowan's reported disclosure rather than a revenue line visible in those abridged accounts. (RTE)
Where the €10m+ appears to come from
Using the reported 2024 figures gives an interesting picture of how McGowan's business has evolved.
If total turnover is approximated at €10.8 million:
• Lisa’s Lust List: approximately 23%
• Lisa & Co Cosmetics: approximately 31%
• Lisa & Co fashion/lifestyle: approximately 46%
This calculation is illustrative because the Lisa & Co turnover was described only as being close to €5 million.
The important point is that roughly three-quarters of the reported turnover now appears to come from owned products rather than the original Lisa’s Lust List promotional business.
That may be the most significant number in the entire story.
McGowan's social-media following remains the marketing engine, but selling products appears to have become the much larger commercial opportunity.
How profitable has Lisa's Lust List been?
Profit and turnover are completely different measurements.
Turnover measures the money generated through sales or business activity before expenses.
Profit is what remains after relevant business costs.
Historic accounts for Lisa’s Lust List Limited show how rapidly the original operation grew.
Post-tax profit history
• 2018: €115,668
• 2019: €127,692
• 2020: €397,966
• 2021: €603,912
(RTE)
The company subsequently recorded losses:
• 2022: €22,246 post-tax loss.
• 2023: €27,240 post-tax loss.
• 2024: €736,075 post-tax loss.
(RTE)
At first glance, a €736,075 loss might appear to suggest the business had deteriorated dramatically.
That would be misleading without examining why.
Why Lisa's Lust List recorded a €736,075 loss
The major factor behind the 2024 loss was McGowan's own remuneration.
Lisa’s Lust List Limited paid McGowan:
• €2.679 million in emoluments, effectively director remuneration/pay.
• €384,002 in pension contributions.
• Total remuneration package: approximately €3.063 million.
(RTE)
The previous year's package had been approximately €1.29 million, comprising €949,575 in pay and €342,001 in pension contributions. (RTE)
That means the total package more than doubled between 2023 and 2024.
The company subsequently reported a €736,075 post-tax loss and its accumulated profits fell from approximately €1.195 million to €459,677. Its cash balance also declined from approximately €1.3 million to €727,254. (RTE)
This demonstrates why readers should not interpret company profit in isolation.
A company can make substantial operating income but report a much smaller profit — or even a loss — after paying a director significant remuneration.
How much has Lisa McGowan paid herself?
Available accounts show a dramatic increase in remuneration as the business developed.
2021
No director's pay was recorded.
2022
McGowan received €939,024 in pay. (BreakingNews)
2023
She received:
• €949,575 in pay.
• €342,001 in pension contributions.
• Total: €1.29 million.
(RTE)
2024
She received:
• €2.679 million in pay/emoluments.
• €384,002 in pension contributions.
• Total: €3.063 million.
(RTE)
It is important not to describe €3.06 million as her annual “profit”.
It was remuneration provided by one company.
Similarly, it should not automatically be treated as her after-tax personal income.
Income tax and other tax considerations can apply to remuneration, while pension contributions are different from cash salary.
Putting Lisa McGowan's €3m remuneration into perspective
The scale becomes clearer when compared with Irish earnings.
The Central Statistics Office reported average weekly earnings of €1,046.88 in Ireland during Q2 2026. (Central Statistics Office)
Annualising that weekly figure gives approximately:
€1,046.88 × 52 = €54,438
McGowan's 2024 pay and pension package of approximately €3.063 million was therefore equivalent to around:
€3,063,000 ÷ €54,438 = 56 times
the annualised average employee earnings represented by the Q2 2026 CSO figure.
This is only an illustrative scale comparison: the figures relate to different reporting periods and McGowan's €3.063 million includes pension contributions, while the CSO statistic measures gross employee earnings.
What explains Lisa McGowan's business success?
Several factors stand out.
1. She built the audience before the products
Customer acquisition is one of the biggest costs facing an online retailer.
McGowan already had hundreds of thousands of potential customers watching her content before launching Lisa & Co.
That meant product launches could be promoted directly without building an audience from scratch.
2. The relationship with followers became a commercial advantage
McGowan has repeatedly attributed much of the success to her relationship with her followers.
She told Business Plus that she personally responded to messages and kept control of her own social-media accounts. (Business Plus)
For a conventional retailer, social media is part of the marketing department.
For McGowan's businesses, social media is effectively both the media channel and customer relationship platform.
3. She moved from advertising products to owning them
This may be the most important strategic decision.
An influencer recommending somebody else's €50 product earns only whatever advertising or affiliate fee has been negotiated.
A business selling its own €50 product receives the retail revenue — although manufacturing, VAT, distribution, marketing, wages, returns and other costs then have to be paid.
The upside is considerably larger if sales volumes are high.
4. She targeted an underserved demographic
Rather than competing exclusively for teenage or twenty-something beauty consumers, McGowan's branding has placed a considerable focus on women in their 40s, 50s and beyond.
Lisa & Co Cosmetics describes its brand as “pro age” and focused on women of all ages. (Lisa & Co Cosmetics)
McGowan has also argued that older consumers can have greater disposable income than younger audiences. (Extra.ie)
Commercially, that gives the business a clearer target customer than attempting to appeal equally to everyone.
5. The products span several categories
McGowan is no longer dependent on one product.
The wider ecosystem now includes:
• Fashion.
• Fragrance.
• Cosmetics.
• Skincare-related beauty products.
• Accessories.
• Bodycare.
• Lifestyle products.
• Sponsored content.
• Affiliate marketing.
That diversification reduces dependence on any single source of revenue.
6. Physical retail expanded the potential customer base
The expansion of Skin Luxe into Dunnes Stores demonstrates the potential for an influencer-led company to move beyond direct-to-consumer ecommerce.
Physical distribution exposes the product to shoppers who may not follow McGowan online at all.
It also gives the brand a retail presence independent of Instagram or Facebook.
Timeline: From insurance broker to €10m+ turnover
2016
McGowan wins Best Dressed Lady at the Galway Races and attracts significant public attention.
2017
Lisa’s Lust List Limited is incorporated.
2018
The company records post-tax profit of €115,668.
2019
Post-tax profit rises to €127,692.
2020
Lisa & Co launches, initially funded from McGowan's insurance income and sponsored-content earnings.
Lisa’s Lust List Limited records €397,966 post-tax profit.
2021
Lisa’s Lust List Limited generates post-tax profit of €603,912.
2022
McGowan receives €939,024 in director remuneration from Lisa’s Lust List Limited.
2023
Her Lisa’s Lust List remuneration rises to approximately €1.29 million when €342,001 of pension contributions are included.
LMLB Beauty Limited records €895,660 post-tax profit.
2024
Reported turnover across Lisa’s Lust List, Lisa & Co and Lisa & Co Cosmetics exceeds €10 million.
McGowan receives a €3.063 million remuneration and pension package from Lisa’s Lust List Limited.
2025
McGowan tells Business Plus that she wants to continue expanding the operation and that international customers already buy through the online businesses.
Worked example: Why owning the product changes the economics
Consider a simplified example.
Assume an influencer promotes another company's €40 product and receives a hypothetical 10% affiliate commission.
For 10,000 sales:
10,000 × €40 = €400,000 retail sales
At a 10% commission:
Potential influencer revenue = €40,000
Now imagine the influencer owns the company selling the €40 product.
The same 10,000 sales would create:
€400,000 in gross retail turnover
That does not mean €400,000 profit.
The business would still have to fund VAT where applicable, manufacturing, packaging, warehousing, staff, delivery, returns, payment charges, marketing and other operating costs.
But the example shows why moving from promoting other people's products to owning the product itself can dramatically increase the potential revenue available to the business.
The 10% commission in this example is purely illustrative and does not represent McGowan's actual commercial agreements.
The advantages of Lisa McGowan's model
A ready-made customer base
Product launches can immediately reach hundreds of thousands of followers.
Lower dependence on traditional advertising
McGowan controls an established digital distribution channel through her own social accounts.
Multiple revenue streams
The business is not solely reliant on advertising or sponsored posts.
Direct customer feedback
Social media provides instant information on demand, product preferences and customer reaction.
Strong founder association
Customers immediately know who is behind the brand.
The risks and limitations
The same model also creates significant risks.
The brand is closely tied to one individual
A large part of the commercial value depends on McGowan herself remaining visible, trusted and active.
That creates what businesses sometimes call key-person risk.
A conventional fashion company can replace its chief executive without necessarily changing how customers perceive the brand.
That is harder when the founder's personality is the brand.
Social-media platforms are outside her control
Instagram and Facebook are vital distribution channels but McGowan does not own either platform.
Changes to algorithms, account access or how sponsored material reaches followers could affect engagement.
Building direct ecommerce customers and email databases can help reduce that dependency.
Retail creates more financial risk than influencing
Selling products introduces:
• Stock risk.
• Manufacturing costs.
• Warehousing.
• Returns.
• Distribution costs.
• Unsold inventory.
• Product-development costs.
• Retail competition.
Greater revenue potential comes with greater operational complexity.
Turnover does not equal wealth
Perhaps the biggest misconception surrounding successful entrepreneurs is assuming that business sales equal personal wealth.
A business recording €10 million in turnover does not mean its owner “made €10 million”.
From turnover must come costs such as stock, staff, suppliers, marketing, VAT and other taxes, warehousing, professional fees and logistics.
Likewise, money retained by a company remains company money unless distributed appropriately.
So is Lisa McGowan worth €10 million?
There is no reliable public evidence allowing Digital Dinny to state an exact personal net worth for Lisa McGowan.
McGowan told Business Plus that she valued her three businesses at a combined €7 million at the time of its March 2025 interview. (Business Plus)
That is the founder's own valuation rather than evidence of an independent transaction valuing the businesses at €7 million.
Business valuations are also different from personal wealth.
McGowan may personally own assets, investments, pension savings or liabilities that cannot be determined from company accounts.
For that reason, claims about her exact “net worth” should be treated cautiously.
What can be verified is substantial business activity, multi-million-euro turnover and significant remuneration from Lisa’s Lust List Limited.
What entrepreneurs can learn from Lisa McGowan
The most interesting lesson from McGowan's success is not simply that social-media influencers can make money.
It is what happened after the audience was built.
The progression was broadly:
Build trust → attract an audience → monetise advertising → launch owned products → expand product categories → enter physical retail.
Many creators remain dependent on brands paying them to access their audience.
McGowan increasingly turned the audience into a distribution network for businesses she had a direct financial interest in.
That creates considerably more commercial upside.
It also makes the business considerably harder to operate.
Frequently Asked Questions
What businesses does Lisa McGowan own?
McGowan publicly describes her three principal businesses as Lisa’s Lust List, Lisa & Co and Lisa & Co Cosmetics. Different legal companies sit behind elements of those brands, including Lisa’s Lust List Limited and LMLB Beauty Limited.
How much turnover do Lisa McGowan's businesses generate?
McGowan told Business Plus that the three businesses generated more than €10 million in combined turnover during 2024, based on €2.5 million from Lisa’s Lust List, €3.3 million from cosmetics and close to €5 million from Lisa & Co fashion and lifestyle products. (Business Plus)
How much did Lisa McGowan pay herself?
Lisa’s Lust List Limited provided McGowan with approximately €3.063 million in remuneration and pension contributions in 2024, consisting of €2.679 million in emoluments and €384,002 in pension contributions. (RTE)
Did Lisa McGowan make €10 million personally?
No. The more-than-€10-million figure relates to reported business turnover, not personal income or profit.
How much profit does Lisa's Lust List make?
Lisa’s Lust List Limited recorded a €736,075 post-tax loss for 2024, after recording smaller losses in 2022 and 2023. The 2024 result was heavily influenced by the €3.06 million remuneration and pension package paid to McGowan. (RTE)
Earlier years were profitable, including €603,912 of post-tax profit in 2021. (RTE)
What was Lisa McGowan's job before becoming an influencer?
McGowan worked as an insurance broker in her family's business before moving full-time into her own fashion, social-media and retail operations. (RTE)
When did Lisa McGowan start Lisa & Co?
McGowan launched Lisa & Co in 2020, initially funding the business herself through income from insurance and sponsored content. (Business Plus)
Is Lisa McGowan a millionaire?
Publicly available company accounts demonstrate that McGowan has received several million euro in remuneration and pension contributions over recent years. However, an individual's exact net worth cannot be calculated reliably from company accounts alone, so Digital Dinny does not assign her an estimated personal net worth.
Conclusion
Lisa McGowan's success demonstrates how the economics of social media change when a creator moves beyond advertising and begins selling products under their own brands.
What started with an online audience following a former insurance broker after her Galway Races success developed into Lisa’s Lust List, Lisa & Co and Lisa & Co Cosmetics.
By 2024, McGowan said those businesses were producing more than €10 million in combined turnover, while the remuneration package she received from Lisa’s Lust List Limited reached approximately €3.06 million.
But the figures need to be interpreted correctly.
€10 million of turnover is not €10 million of profit. Company profit is not the same as a founder's salary. And neither company assets nor company sales automatically represent an owner's personal net worth.
The bigger business story is how McGowan turned attention into an audience, an audience into customers, and customers into a range of owned products capable of generating millions of euro in annual sales.
Methodology and financial-information note
This article uses figures from published company-account reporting, official company websites, interviews with Lisa McGowan and reputable Irish news organisations.
Where turnover figures are based on figures supplied directly by McGowan rather than revenue disclosed in publicly available abridged accounts, this has been stated.
Company financial results can change when later accounts are filed. Readers conducting commercial due diligence should obtain the latest filings directly from the Companies Registration Office and seek professional accounting or financial advice where appropriate.
This article is for general information and does not constitute financial, investment or tax advice.
Information checked and updated: September 2026
Sources and Further Information
Lisa’s Lust List — official website
Information on Lisa McGowan, her business activities, collaborations and the Lisa’s Lust List platform. Lisa’s Lust List official website
Lisa & Co — official online store
Current Lisa & Co fashion, accessories, bodycare and lifestyle range. Lisa & Co official website
Lisa & Co Cosmetics — official website
Information on the cosmetics company, products and brand positioning. Lisa & Co Cosmetics official website
Business Plus — Lisa McGowan interview
Detailed March 2025 interview covering the reported €10m+ turnover, formation of Lisa & Co, product sales and McGowan's business strategy. Business Plus interview with Lisa McGowan
RTÉ — Lisa McGowan's 2024 remuneration and company accounts
Reporting on Lisa’s Lust List Limited's 2024 accounts, McGowan's €3.06 million remuneration package, company loss and accumulated profits. RTÉ report on Lisa McGowan's 2024 accounts
RTÉ — Lisa McGowan's 2023 remuneration
Accounts covering her €949,575 pay, €342,001 pension contribution and Lisa’s Lust List financial position in 2023. RTÉ report on Lisa McGowan's 2023 accounts
RTÉ — Lisa’s Lust List 2021 accounts
Historic profits, cash and accumulated-profit information for Lisa’s Lust List Limited. RTÉ report on Lisa’s Lust List's 2021 accounts
The Irish Times — Lisa McGowan remuneration and company structure
Reporting on the 2024 Lisa’s Lust List accounts and the €895,660 profit recorded by LMLB Beauty Limited in 2023. The Irish Times report on Lisa McGowan's companies
Central Statistics Office — Earnings and Labour Costs Q2 2026
Official Irish earnings data used for the comparison with average employee earnings. CSO Earnings and Labour Costs Q2 2026