Arlene Mechan, daughter-in-law of Roberta Mechan presented with the Outstanding Contribution to the Industry trophy from Pamela Ballantine on behalf of NI Beauty Excellence Awards
Roberta Mechan, the NI founder of Northern Ireland’s first and longest established International Beauty College, Roberta Mechan College of Beauty, has been recognised for her outstanding contribution to the beauty industry, picking up the accolade alongside 27 of Northern Ireland’s top hair, beauty and aesthetic businesses at the Northern Ireland Beauty Excellence Awards 2023.
Proudly sponsored by West Coast Cooler and judged by an independent panel of experts, the awards, which, due to the popular demand of previous years, introduced six new categories this year and saw a record number of entries from a host of homegrown salons, clinics, spas, specialists and products across Northern Ireland.
Unfortunately Roberta Mechan, who founded her world leading beauty college over 40 years ago, was unable to attend the awards on the night and the award was accepted on her behalf by her daughter-in-law Arlene Mechan, who said; “On behalf of Roberta, I’d like to say thank you so much. I know that Roberta is honoured and privileged to be a part of this industry alongside so many hard-working and talented industry professionals and I am honoured to accept this award on her behalf tonight. It is incredible to see how the beauty industry has evolved in Northern Ireland over the years. When Roberta started her business in the ‘70s I am sure she never could have imagined what a wonderful career she’d have, and how many therapists and salons would be trained under her name.”
“Roberta has always been so passionate about helping those in the beauty industry to develop and grow as industry professionals and she would like me to say thank you to every person who has attended the college and clinic as without them, it wouldn’t have been possible.”
Lisburn Road based salon, Radiance Day Spa stole the night, picking up a whopping three awards for Beauty Salon of the Year, Beauty Business of the Year and highly commended for Skincare Salon / Clinic of the Year. Some of this year’s new categories included Salon / Clinic Team of the Year which was won by JAX Hair and Beauty and Salon / Clinic Interior which was scooped up by Eclectic in Bangor as well as the award with the most entries, Mobile / Home Business of the Year, won by Sarah Callan Facialist in Portadown.
Dr Bonny in Stranmillis returned to the awards this year and picked up the Aesthetics Clinic of the Year and Larne Dental Care won the Cosmetic Dental practice of the Year category.
The newly introduced category, the West Coast Cooler People’s Choice Award, was chosen by a public vote to celebrate those working in the industry who have gone above and beyond for their clients and was won by Jay Miller from Jay’s Barber Club in Belfast who also won the award for Barber/ Make Grooming Salon of the Year.
Other winning businesses on the night included Spa Sanctuary, Aspire School of Beauty, Blush Newtownards, Scissor Sisters Banbridge, Olivia Muldoon Hair and Makeup Ltd, Chloe Henning Professional MUA, Aesthetics By Jane, 4Beauty Group- SKINICIAN, Brows & Co., The Laser Clinic NI, Kim Annesley Hair, Berkeley Aesthetics, Hair Loss Rehab, Hair & Co, Hair by Ciaran, La Bella Vita, Broad Lane Beauty, Katie Smith Aesthetics and Rouge Skincare and Beauty.
Tasked with the job of whittling down the hundreds of award entries to finalists and judging the awards to find the winners were make-up and skincare specialist Katrina Doran, Medical Director at Woodford Medical Dr Mervyn Patterson and owner of Pearl Beauty, Elanna McGowan. New to the panel this year were nail expert and Renew Beauty, BioSculpture and Elim Educator, Ingrid Graham, Dr Martina Collins, Principal Dentist and owner of Martina Dental & Skin Clinic and last year’s winner of Overall Contribution to the Industry, founder and former CEO of Vita Liberata, Alyson Hogg MBE.
Speaking of the awards, event organiser and owner of Weir Events, Sarah Weir commented; “It has been a privilege to bring back these wonderful awards again which just keep getting bigger and better. They are an opportunity to recognise and showcase the diverse range of talent and innovation of the ever-growing beauty industry in Northern Ireland. I can’t wait for next year’s awards already. ”
“We received a record number of entries which is a demonstration of the booming beauty industry in Northern Ireland as well as the passion and determination of so many of our industry professionals. Congratulations to all of our winners, I can’t wait to see what the future holds for you all.”
The awards, which were once again hosted by TV royalty, Pamela Ballantine, took place on Saturday 13th May 2023 at the Crowne Plaza, Belfast.
The 2023 Awards, organised by Weir Events, were proudly supported by title sponsor, West Coast Cooler; media partners, Official Car Partner, Charles Hurst Landrover, with event partners: BTL Aesthetics – Creator of. EMSCULPT NEO & EMFACE and innovating aesthetic solutions for over 30 years; Davines – Italian hair care brand, whose ethos is to ‘Do our best for the world, creating the good life for all through beauty, ethics and sustainability’; Pearl Beauty – a vegan and cruelty-free cosmetic beauty brand; Med FX, supplier for all aesthetics and skin rejuvenation product needs; BF Mulholland – a full service dental products supplier; Shop Beautiful – a supplier of premium, professional grade beauty brands; DermaFrac UK-medical facial experts; and Design NI – a website and design agency.
