Meet our panel of beauty experts tasked with helping to curate the standout beauty products of 2023.
A celebration of the cult, the classic and the coveted: the David Jones Beauty Awards returns this year to unveil the must-haves of the Beauty-verse. This year, we’ve assembled a panel of leading beauty industry experts and David Jones insiders to help us unveil the Best In Beauty.
From innovative formulations to awe-inspiring results, texture, scent, packaging, and more, our beauty experts have set the bar high for this year’s Beauty Awards. With decades of experience and an obsession for beauty, meet the judges crowning our winning products.
Victoria Baron
Makeup Artist and Brand Ambassador
Victoria Baron is a globally respected makeup artist and brand ambassador who brings an incomparable level of artistry, originality, and depth of research to her work.
A Sydney-based creative with over 20 years of experience conjuring breathtaking editorial, runway and brand-defining commercial campaigns, Baron is a sought-after talent and mentor within the Australian and international makeup industry. Her work has been featured on the pages of VOGUE, Harper’s Bazaar, RUSSH, i-D, Lovewant, V Magazine and Wall Street Journal. She has spent much of her career working with David Jones creating makeup looks for ambassadors, directing runway shows, and collaborating with teams to produce campaign imagery and film. When it comes to crowning the best in makeup, foundation, formulations, and more, we couldn’t be prouder to have Victoria’s expert eye looking over the nominees.
Ingrid Seaburn
Skin Expert & Celebrity Facialist
With 23 years of experience in clinical skin therapy, Ingrid started her career in Los Angeles, where she lived for over 13 years. Taking care of A-list celebrities, she built her respected brand of “clinical treatments in nurturing hands ” with Hollywood’s elite. Based in Sydney for the last nine years, her celebrity facialist brand now boasts a stable of high-profile local clients at her Bondi-based Studio. She regularly contributes to media, including on-camera television, magazine feature articles, and brand campaigns, as a highly sought-after skin expert. Ingrid’s association with David Jones includes appearing as a judge for the Beauty Awards for the last three years, a history of contributing to campaigns and masterclasses and sharing her expert opinion on skincare. With such an impressive background in skincare, we can’t wait to see what Ingrid thinks of this year’s nominated serums, actives, and more.
Eleanor Pendleton
Founder & publisher of Gritty Pretty and Friend of David Jones
Eleanor Pendleton is the Founder & Publisher of Gritty Pretty, Australia’s premiere beauty website and digital magazine. The multi-award-winning beauty journalist has been a Friend of David Jones since 2020 and is well-respected in the industry as a female entrepreneur and pioneer within the digital beauty publishing industry. Dedicated to uncovering the new must-haves and the magic behind the icons, we are thrilled to have Eleanor on our panel to help us discover the next big beauty obsessions.
Dr Shammi Theesan
Medical Dermatologist & founder of ODE Dermatology
Dr Shammi Theesan is a highly educated dermatologist specialising in skin, hair, and nail conditions. She graduated from the University of Melbourne and pursued further studies in genetic research at Harvard University. Dr Theesan is a Fellow of the Australasian College of Dermatologists and has trained at renowned institutions such as the Royal Melbourne and St George’s Hospital in London. In 2021, she founded ODE Dermatology, a transformative practice focusing on whole-body wellness. Her expertise includes skin cancer surveillance, acne, rosacea, autoimmune conditions, hair loss, aesthetic dermatology, and nail abnormalities. Dr Theesan will be examining each and every nominee with her expert eye, ensuring they’re worthy of the Best In Beauty crown.
Max May
Celebrity Hair & Makeup Artist
Max May is Australia’s leading celebrity makeup artist, whose signature style of “It’ Girl meets Hollywood Glam” has graced the pages of fashion bibles such as Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Marie Claire, Russh Magazine, Elle Japan And Grazia Italy, UK & Australia, as well as regularly working with high profile celebrity clientele.
A regular David Jones partner, Max has collaborated with David Jones across several forms. Returning as a Beauty Awards judge for the fifth year running, Max is also a JONES Magazine beauty contributor and a David Jones Beauty Book editorial collaborator. Max is looking for standout products that not only make you look good but also help you to feel your best.
The votes have been tallied and our judges have spoken. It’s time to meet the winners of the Beauty Awards 2023.
5 Minutes With Our 2023 Beauty Awards Judges
In between testing formulations and examining the packaging of every nominated product, we managed to secure five minutes with our five beauty experts to ask them all the important beauty questions.
1. What’s the best beauty tip you’ve received?
Victoria Baron: Throughout my teens and my early 20s, l really struggled with my skin. I was once told if there’s a blemish you just can’t cover, take a matte brown waterproof eye or lip pencil and turn it into a freckle. It was a game-changer. I do this a lot on set when the model or celebrity is on film, and there’s just no way to cover the raised blemish.
Ingrid Seaburn: Probably one which I pass on daily to all my clients: your skin reflects your health, so a holistic [well-rounded] approach, internally and externally, will give you the best results.
Eleanor Pendleton: Embrace and learn to love the features that make you uniquely you.
Dr Shammi Theesan: It doesn’t matter what we put on our faces. Ultimately it’s what we put into our bodies that determine how we project ourselves to the outside world. And sleep, it’s the ultimate beauty restorer.
Max May: Take care of your skin. You have one chance. As I’ve gotten older, this has definitely rung true. I see the damage I did in my earlier days, especially when it comes to the sun.
2. What’s the most important part of any beauty routine?
Victoria Baron: How it makes you feel. I always think the internal dialogue that is playing during any skincare or makeup routine should come from a deeply positive place. The products and techniques should always make you feel good.
Ingrid Seaburn: Without a doubt, your serums, the most intense presentation of active ingredients, change the rate at which you age.
Eleanor Pendleton: For me, the most important part of any beauty routine has to be SPF.
Dr Shammi Theesan: The cleanse, for sure. The type of cleanser we use (cream/foam/gel), the duration in which we cleanse, the pressure/motions we implement and the ultimate question: have you removed all your SPF and makeup? If not, a double cleanse is on the cards.
Max May: Sunscreen!
3. What do you love most about what you do?
Victoria Baron: I feel very lucky to be able to say l love my job, as l know not everyone has that opportunity. I thrive off working in creative teams, and I’ve always had a passion for painting. Everything that goes with being a makeup artist is a perfectly beautiful mix of all the things l love doing.
Ingrid Seaburn: Everything! I am obsessed with skin and slowing ageing, and I love empowering my clients with the knowledge to do the same. The personal bond I develop with every client is also precious to me.
Eleanor Pendleton: Working with women all over [the world] is one of my life’s greatest joys. I love being surrounded by brilliant, intelligent women. Whether it be my team at Gritty Pretty, beauty brand founders or our readers, I love being inspired by so many incredible women who lift each other up.
Dr Shammi Theesan: I love the investigative element of being a dermatologist. No two conditions are the same. Each patient’s condition is multifactorial, often requiring a deep dive into crucial things such as their medical history and lifestyle. I love getting to the bottom of the “why”, which dictates their bespoke treatment plan.
Max May: I love that I get to make people feel great every day, and I love that I get to help them feel good about themselves by enhancing their natural beauty. I love creating and the people and places it brings me in contact with. Every set is different. You just never know what it holds!
4. Is there a beauty trend you do/don’t want to see back in fashion?
Victoria Baron: There was a moment where the “trend” was soaping eyebrows down flat in an opposite, upside-down direction. Although l never saw anyone l know embrace it. l love brows looking natural and fluffy, so l just couldn’t get my head around it (not sure l ever will).
Ingrid Seaburn: Yes, micro dermabrasion! Horrible for the skin and damages the lipid barrier. Nobody needs it.
Eleanor Pendleton: The ‘90s thin eyebrows. May that trend never return.
Dr Shammi Theesan: I think heavy contouring had its moment, but I think [we won’t] see it as part of future makeup trends.
Max May: I’m not really one to follow trends. That said, I love to reinvent old trends in new and interesting ways by putting my own spin on them.
The votes have been tallied and our judges have spoken. It’s time to meet the winners of the Beauty Awards 2023.