Sydney institution beloved by celebrities announces its closure after 20 years
Jocelyn Petroni, a highly-regarded facialist, confirmed the closure of her namesake salon in Woollahra on Tuesday.
The clinic, which has been operating on Queen Street since 2005, has built up a legion of customers from across Sydney – with Petroni regularly treating the skin of the mega famous, including Charlize Theron, Margot Robbie, Kendall Jenner, Dua Lipa, Rita Ora and Nicole Kidman.
'Personally connecting with clients and sharing my gift of touch has been one of the most deeply rewarding experiences of my life,' she said.
'This next chapter for me is one of growth, where I can evolve the healing experience I have been gifted with, share my knowledge and inspire many more people.
'Stepping away from the day-to-day of running a salon will allow me the time and space to create a true impact.'
Petroni, who has been described as Sydney's 'go-to woman for plump, dewy skin', is famed for her unique technique that embraces reiki, a Japanese form of 'energy healing'.
But the treatments didn't come cheap, with her signature 60-minute 'Heart Chakra' facial setting customers back $350.
The business' last day will be Saturday, August 16, with Petroni thanking customers for their support.
'Thank you for trusting me with your skin, for your energy, and for the kindness, connection and unwavering support you have shown me over the years,' she said.
'You have been an integral part in making my business a success, and for making my heart so full. I am so grateful.'
Since news of the salon's closure was announced, fans have been quick to share their devastation, but wished Petroni the best as she 'takes on advisory roles' with brands and continues her ambassadorships.
'Will miss your beautiful salon though I wish you all the best for your next exciting new chapter,' one wrote.
'A huge loss for Sydney, but a very exciting step in your future,' agreed another.
As one shared: 'What a legacy.'
The closure of the cult-beauty venue comes after luxury skincare brand La Mer unveiled the celebrity facialist as its new Australian facial advisor, according to Vogue Australia.
'With over 20 years of experience, Petroni is set to bring her holistic approach to beauty and philosophy on skin health to the brand's continued commitment to inner and outer beauty,' the brand said.
'Having earned a dedicated longstanding client list of celebrities, her dedication to caring for the complexion through meticulous care and results-based treatments has made her one of the most sought-after skin experts globally.'
Petroni, who attained a scholarship to study beauty therapy in 2000, said she was 'thrilled' by her new role with the prestigious beauty brand, adding she's been a 'long-time fan' and user of its products.
She was previously signed by Chanel as their first official manicurist, collaborating with the brand for eight years.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
ABC News
22 minutes ago
- ABC News
National Portrait Gallery unveils installation of Romance Was Born designers
Two Australian fashion designers are the focus of a new "opulent, big, and unique" photographic installation at the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra. Anna Plunkett and Luke Sales are the minds behind Romance Was Born, a fashion house founded in 2005 and loved by the likes of Cate Blanchett and Niki Minaj. In the 20 years since it was founded, the brand's garments have been shown at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and are held in several national costume and textile collections. The duo also value sustainability in their work, having held shows using offcuts of material and workshops teaching how to tailor clothes so they last longer. "Before I even knew Anna, I used to go to op shops and buy secondhand clothing, unpick them, sew them back together and make new things out of them," Sales said. "I guess it's just who we are as designers, and how we've always worked." Plunkett agreed, adding that they had a genuine appreciation for vintage textiles and upcycling. "It's a part of our work and our DNA," Plunkett said. Long-term friend of Sales and Plunkett, artist Samual Hodge, used photographs from his own collection to encompass the minds of the pair. The process took months of sifting through thousands of photographs he'd taken over their two decades of friendship. Incorporating different mediums including paint, dye, and photography, Hodge said he hoped to echo the coming together of fashion and art which was central to Plunkett and Sales's work. "Every time I see them do a show or a collection, it's never what you expect," Hodge said. "I wanted to match that way of working, to push everything to be bigger and bolder. "I could have just done a single portrait, but it wouldn't have really done justice to everything that they've done." Sales said Hodge's piece embodied who he and Plunkett were as designers, along with the spirit of the brand. Plunkett agreed and said the work taking up a whole wall was appropriate to the dramatic nature of their work. "It's so extra, and me and Luke are both very extra — we always want to shoot for the stars with what we do," she said. National Portrait Gallery Director Bree Pickering said the brand was unique in the Australian fashion industry, so their portrait had to be equally unconventional. "They burst onto the scene with a really distinct and bold voice, and they've maintained that voice over 20 years," Ms Pickering said. "Every time they do a show, there's something unexpected, but absolutely so Romance Was Born. It's very Australian, but it's globally influential. "And, of course, it's Romance Was Born so … the portrait had to evoke them — it had to be opulent, big, and unique, and noisy." She said Sydney in the mid-2000s, when Romance Was Born began, was a productive moment for art and fashion that Hodge's piece had captured. "[Romance Was Born] were there at that moment, and what's super exciting is Sam Hodge, the artist, was also there at that moment," Ms Pickering said. "So what we see in this portrait is actually almost a portrait of Sydney's creative scene at that time, as well as a portrait of Luke, a portrait of Anna, a portrait of Romance Was Born." Ms Pickering said the piece was "overwhelmingly beautiful", which spoke to the brand itself. "What is wonderful about the work is the layers," she said. "What Sam [Hodge] does that is so lovely is that he kind of collapses time together. "So when you look at the work you'll see 20 years of Romance Was Born, but it's absolutely them now. And the more you look at it the more you get."
SBS Australia
22 minutes ago
- SBS Australia
'It's electric': Celebrating Disability Pride in Australia
Using humour to challenge perceptions of what it is like to live with a disability - it's an approach writer and performer Emily Dash uses in her storytelling, in theatre and film, to dismantle stigma and stereotypes. A full-time wheelchair user, she lives with cerebral palsy - a disability that affects movement and posture. She says her art takes inspiration from real life. "My mission when it comes to artistic works is to reveal truth about me and my life - and my lived experience - in the way that serves not only me, but also inspires other people to reveal something about theirs. That would be my mission and to break down attitudinal barriers so that disability will just be front and centre in society and not in the margins." What you're about to hear is how that came together in her short film 'Groundhog Night'. It explores the family dynamics between carer Gary, his disabled daughter Jess, played by Emily Dash, and the in-laws who visit unexpectedly. In this scene, Gary is kissing his date goodnight outside the door of his home when he is interrupted by daughter Jess. And for Emily, no topics are off the table - including relationships, as heard on-stage at this year's Adelaide Fringe Festival. Emily is among disability advocates featured at this year's Disability Pride Sydney festival. Organiser Hannah Solomons says the event is being held for the fourth year, and it centres disability inclusion and accessibility, with sign language support, audio description and mobility access. "We're making some progress, but we still need desperately need it (a Disability Pride festival). The amount of hate we're getting on our Facebook page is proof of that. The discussions around the NDIS (National Disability Insurance Scheme). There is still this idea that we're not a valuable part of society and we should just go away. So if you are shamed and rejected, the best antidote to that is to find your tribe and get together and celebrate yourself in public. We're taking up the space and demanding to be included." The festival is part of a broader global movement of Disability Pride first marked in an event 35 years ago in the United States city of Boston, to mark the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Globally, an estimated 1 billion people have a disability - or 15 per cent of the total population. In Australia that number is 5.5 million people - more than 20 per cent of the population. The census shows the number of people with a disability is growing across all age groups below the age of 70 - at that point the number stabilises. It also shows that disability discrimination affects one in 10, with that number increasing to 1 in 5 for those with a more severe disability. It affects all arenas in society: the workplace, hospitality venues and interactions with strangers in the street. Hannah Solomons says despite the size of the disability community, the diversity of it is poorly understood. "The responsibility is on all of us to not have a lazy brain. Because if there is a person that is different to us and we don't have experience of our lives, our brain will take the easy way out; and try to box them - and give them a two-dimensional picture in our heads. And that leads to horrible behaviour like you're lying if you have invisible disability; or you're worthless if you have a visible disability; or both. And none of that is okay. I don't know why our society is still so ableist (discrimination against people with a disability). But it is. I could cite statistics that could make your hair curl. The stigma is still there. We're not accepting it. We're not okay with that any more." Dancing her way on stage and suspended in the air by hanging on a pole with one arm is Deb Roach. The three-time world pole dancing champion has performed at multiple editions of the Disability Pride Sydney festival. Born without most of her left arm, Deb has always cultivated a positive mindset, but it hasn't been without it challenges - including bullying in her younger years. Dance and DJ-ing proved to be important outlets for self-expression, but it was her introduction to pole dancing that really solidified her self-confidence as an artist and advocate. It all started 18 years ago, when she watched a performance at a gothic carnival-themed event - and was absolutely mesmerised. "And these two pole dancers - they were Missy and Suzie Q - did a doubles routine where they were marionette puppets who broke free from the puppet master's strings. And they I had never seen pole in a circus context and the storytelling, the theatre, the athleticism. My mind was absolutely blown. I was backstage with those girls and I said: 'You are amazing with your two arms and your poledancing. That was mindblowing. I wish I could do what you do.' And their response to that was: 'Have you tried?' And I am a little bit like Marty McFly from (the film) 'Back to the Future' in the sense that if I am challenged I show up." Five years later she won her first pole champion title, going on to win two more. Now as a pole dance studio owner, she guides others in redefining the idea of what is possible. She has also been involved in the movement to increase the representation of Australians with disability in advertising from less than 1 per cent - and towards population parity. Led by the Dylan Alcott Foundation, the Shift 20 campaign is already having an impact, with more and more events that are access-first and access-forward. Deb Roach credits events like the Disability Pride Festival with building a strong sense of community. "It's electric - I love it! I really struggled growing up. I am a feisty individual and I didn't claim the disability - my label as a person with a disability - until I was until I was well into my late twenties. I refused to interact with it. You know, I just wanted to be a person who was a good athlete - and a good human being. But it was the disability pride movement that really helped me lean into the belonging and that sense of healing that I didn't even know that I needed in the community connection - in the space and in that room - and in that togetherness." Also featured at this year's festival is songwriter and performer Dean Nash. These days he sings and speaks frankly about living with cerebral palsy, but it wasn't always that way. "So the way that I walk is difficult. And I don't have a lot of function of my left arm and my left hand. I can't move my fingers all that independently. But I have learnt to play the piano - in my opinion, quite well - with the use of just six fingers. When I first started playing, the general feedback would be: 'oh, you don't play like everybody else does'. But once I got good at what I was doing, the narrative shifted to: 'oh, nobody plays that like you do'. And so to me that is a real highlight that a different approach to something doesn't necessarily mean a lesser one. It simply means a different one." He says he has found the arts to be a powerful medium to start conversations. "Art has a tendency to be the cornerstone of changing hearts and minds. I think cultural change really starts with the stuff that we're putting out in our media. We are the largest minority group in the world because anybody can join this group at any time. And I think that is a really confronting thought for a lot of people. I have a joke in my show where I say there are only two kinds of people in the world: there are disabled people and pre-disabled people. And the disabled audience members cackle at that; and the rest of the audience has a slow intake of breath." Emily Dash says she hopes her advocacy makes the path easier for others, moving disability from the shadows to centre stage. "I am grateful for all the people that have not only come before me but will come after me to get this mission off the ground. The latest statistics show that only four per cent of main characters onscreen have disability in drama. So there is a really long way to go yet. And even when there is representation, it is important to make sure that that representation is done authentically putting people's lived experience at the centre." The Sydney Disability Pride Festival takes place on Saturday 26 July at Sydney Town Hall from 10am until 4pm.
ABC News
22 minutes ago
- ABC News
Coastal Twist Fair Day at risk of cancelling as DA rejected due to NRL Grand Final clash
Organisers of the Central Coast's biggest diversity and inclusion festival say they are "devastated" after being told the event cannot go ahead this year because it clashes with a sporting event being held almost 80 kilometres away in Sydney. Coastal Twist Fair Day is a family-friendly LGBTQIA+ arts and culture festival that is held annually at Umina, featuring live music, cabaret, and drag story time. The event started in 2019 and has always been held on the October long weekend. But the Central Coast Council has knocked back the development application (DA) to hold the festival this year as it coincides with the NRL Grand Final being hosted at Sydney Olympic Park. Not being an NRL follower himself, festival producer Juan Iocco said he initially thought the council was referring to a local sporting event. "I think we asked [the council] about seven times over a period of almost two months for clarification," Mr Iocco said. The council said the proposed location of the event, Umina Beach, would already be at capacity due to the NRL Grand Final and long weekend visitors, and the festival would result in "unacceptable traffic and parking impacts". Mr Iocco is seeking a report into potential traffic and pedestrian impacts in the area at a cost of $30,000 in an effort to have the DA rejection overturned. But with less than eight weeks until the event was due to go ahead, he was worried it might not come in time. "Trying to keep our headliners and our main artists when we really don't know if we are going ahead with it or not is really quite stressful," he said. Glitta Supernova is the festival's creative director and said the event was initially launched because there was nothing else like it on the Central Coast. Creating a safe space for diversity in a public area was a big driver. "We've been offered [by council] all these little backyard places to hold the festival, apart from the one we want to do it in," Ms Supernova said. "We could easily do it and tuck ourselves away, and that visibility piece wouldn't be happening in our community because we're all tucked away … no-one sees it and no-one is part of it. Ms Supernova said she was surprised by the decision because she thought the NSW government was taking steps to make it easier for events like festivals to go ahead. Kristy Cartan has attended the festival every year and said the community would be heartbroken if it could not go ahead. "And I'm not just talking about the queer community. I'm talking about the whole community on the Central Coast," Ms Cartan said. "I had my 85-year-old neighbour there and my eight-year-old at the time, dancing together … it's just a beautiful expressive space." Ms Cartan said it was important that the queer community had a space where they felt safe and accepted. "It brings hope, it brings life, it brings community together … it brings the opportunity to be seen for who you are … for self-expression in its most radical and beautiful form." In a statement, Central Coast Council said the extra criteria the festival needed to meet this year, including addressing concerns about traffic and pedestrians, as well as a bushfire risk assessment, were due to new planning guidelines from the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure. "Council is keen for the event to proceed and is very supportive of it, having provided funding for it," it said.
