A Beautiful Breakdown with James & Suzy

It’s our ABB Christmas Special and we’re closing out the year the only way we know how — with tinsel, opinions, and the Best in Beauty 2025: The ABB Awards 🎄✨Before we get to the gongs, we spiral (naturally) through Christmas Day fashion, gift bags, Mary’s iconic stuffing, piping-hot gravy that hides everything, cranberry sauce politics, and the elite joy of a Christmas sandwich while watching the EastEnders special (with a detour into vintage Royle Family Christmas telly, obviously).Then it’s awards time: best concealer, blush, fragrance, hair, foundation, and more — including some very specific approvals and one unforgettable eye moment that defined the year.Festive, chaotic, and full glam — Merry Christmas from A Beautiful Breakdown. 💫🎁

This week we’re in the presence of true Irish fashion royalty — the legendary Celia Holman Lee. 💫Celia shares the kind of wisdom only an icon can: why correcting your posture can work as well as a boob lift, the homemade make-up tricks she grew up with (yes, soot and spit are involved), and why glamour absolutely, unequivocally never dies.Celia is timeless, hilarious, and bursting with heart - and this episode is pure gold from start to finish.

This week’s Beautiful Bonus comes from Pawła, who wants to know the ultimate festive question: what’s the best red lipstick for party season? 💄✨Suzy shares a luxurious cool-toned red from Dior ("the ultimate red lippy") and a gorgeous glossy red option for lighter brown hair, while James gives his full lip-prep routine - including the clever toothbrush trick that instantly boosts lip redness.We chat lip pencils, blotting, undertones, and all the glam little steps that make a red lip go from “meh” to magic.Your festive pout is about to be unstoppable. ❤️🎄

This week we’re joined by singer, songwriter and absolute icon Úna Healy — and yes, James is still recovering from the excitement. 🎤✨We chat about her plan to get the band back together, how she secretly managed her greys during The Saturdays years, and what it’s really like hanging out with Mel B and Bear Grylls.And then it happens — James finally gets to duet with Úna Healy herself.James: “Be honest with me Suzy… I know I fangirled my tush off, but did I lose my dignity?”It’s musical, magical, and full of classic Úna charm. 💕

This week’s Beautiful Bonus comes from the lovely Rebecca, who wants to know if she should switch up her makeup now that the colder weather is hitting — because her tinted moisturiser just isn’t holding anymore. ❄️✨Suzy has two brilliant product recommendations (one spendy Dior option and a gorgeous budget-friendly dupe), while James shares his best serum advice — plus one tip that has absolutely nothing to do with what’s on your face and everything to do with what you’re drinking.If your winter makeup is sliding, cracking or disappearing… this one’s your glow-up guide. 💕

This week we’re joined by the iconic Amy Huberman — actress, writer, entrepreneur, comedy genius, and all-round national treasure. 💫We chat about her very special New Year’s Eve with baby Ted, her unforgettable debs tanning disaster, and the wild story of how she handed nepo baby BOD his big acting break… but did he take it?Amy also opens up about the beauty treatment that left her traumatically bright red and swollen - and somehow still had us crying laughing.She’s sharp, she’s warm, she’s outrageously funny, and this episode is an absolute hoot. 💕

This week’s Beautiful Bonus flips our usual question on its head - instead of talking about the trends we want to disappear, we’re confessing the make-up trends we secretly want to come back.Suzy (woman of the people, as James insists) makes a passionate case for big bouncy hair and even box dyes making a comeback, while James derails himself entirely by revealing how many pairs of jeans he owns… and it is an absolute shocker. 👖😳A little nostalgia, a little cheek, and some very controversial beauty opinions - buckle up, Beauties.

This week is extra special — James’ sister Vanessa joins us for a full Malahide deep-dive, and it is chaotic, nostalgic and emotional in all the best ways. 💕We chat about the inner workings of life in bustling Malahide — from the legendary Hillhoppers to the Balrags — and why the Butlers kept getting phone calls meant for the golf club (and how they handled them with absolute style).Vanessa also tells the iconic story of watching their mum, Fron, tear strips off a café owner who had just sacked a 16-year-old James.James: “Listen Suzy, she got her upandcommence, as Fron would say.”We laughed, we cried… again. It’s a goody. 💫