There is a frame in David Beckham’s Netflix documentary Beckham that has become a meme. In it, Victoria Beckham pretends to her husband that she’s heading off to work, when in fact she is off for a facial. “The joke became that a facial can be work,” says Sydney-born Melanie Grant – whose long relationship as Beckham’s go-to aesthetician did, as it happens, result in actual business: in 2024, they launched The Daily Cleansing Protocol, a twin-product line.
Grant, a glamorous porcelain-skinned fortysomething, moved to London from Sydney in 2022 and has since become the city’s best-kept secret. With studios in Sydney, Melbourne, LA and New York, she’s spent more than two decades as the world’s go-to aesthetician. Clients come for her bespoke treatments – a combination of clinically proven products, the latest technology and a protocol that improves tone and texture to achieve luminous, healthy-looking skin. “I still cleanse in exactly the same way, and many of my massage techniques are from 25 years ago,” she says of how some things haven’t changed, adding that she doesn’t jump on trends. She grimaces when recounting a face-slapping technique she saw on TikTok or the skincare formulas promoting bee venom as a legitimate ingredient. “There’s a lot of fluff. My advice is don’t believe everything you see on social media and when in doubt, seek professional advice.”
