Meet the SA Beauty Blog Awards Judges and Sponsors

SA Beauty Blog Awards is delighted to announce the judges and sponsors for the inaugural 2015 SA Beauty Blog Awards in association with TanOrganic South Africa. The awards are aimed at recognising the importance of blogging in the evolving digital landscape and acknowledging the skills, effort and commitment that go into creating an influential blog. The awards recognise Cosmetic, Lifestyle, Fashion and Male Grooming bloggers, and the proceeds of the awards will go towards the charity Look Good Feel Better – helping women and men overcome the 26 side effects of cancer treatment.

The judges have been chosen on the basis of their knowledge and expertise in their particular fields. The panel consists of four judges who will be tasked with selecting a winner for each category according to pre-selected judging criterion.

The confirmed judges are:

Noelle O’Connor – Noelle has been in the beauty industry for over two decades and her experience spans from beauty therapist, spa owner, and beauty lecturer, to TanOrganic brand creator and entrepreneur in the global beauty industry.

Stevie French - After working as a news anchor for the Fox Network in America, Stevie French has continued her success on her home turf. The proudly South African actress and TV presenter has enjoyed great success since returning to Mzansi in 2014, with her role in SABC1's Ihawu, reaching the national Top30 in the SABC3 Presenter Search, and her latest role on Isidingo playing the seductive Lindi. Stevie is also an experienced blogger and has run her own blog steviefrench.co.za for a number of years.

Josephine Buys - Josephine’s diverse career has placed her at the forefront of embracing digital in a variety of industries and platforms, from publishing and entertainment, to agencies and the public sector. Her experience spans sales, marketing, brand development and e-commerce. In each instance she has set herself apart with her strategic intuition and infectious energy, helping organisations to affect real and lasting change in the booming digital space. Josephine is currently the CEO of IAB SA.

Mariska van Rooyen - Mariska is a print and digital journalist with more than 13 years experience reporting locally and internationally for newspapers, magazines and online media – specialising as a beauty writer and editor. Currently her focus is on creating innovative marketing strategies to reach the broadest audience possible through her company The Press Station. 

The confirmed sponsors for the beauty blog awards include the title sponsor TanOrganic, headline sponsors NYX, Johnson’s, Easihair pro, and Glam Palm. Courtesy of several of the Sponsors, including additional Category and goodie bag sponsors, the Shortlist bloggers attending the event will receive a goodie bag on the evening filled with products from the various sponsors.

The Beauty Blog awards ceremony will be held on 22 August at Movida in Rivonia, Johannesburg and tickets will go on sale ahead of the awards ceremony.

TanOrganic supports The Look Good Feel Better programme

South African Beauty Bloggers have never been formally recognised for their important role in helping to educate South African consumers on the new products that are available on the market, as well as their pro's and cons, based on their personal experiences with using them. 

After the success of the Irish Beauty Blog Awards run by Noelle O’connor, the creator of TanOrganic, which not only acknowledged top bloggers and created awareness around leading beauty brands but also raised awareness and much needed funds for cancer education for the Irish Breast Cancer Foundation, TanOrganic South Africa took the decision to launch the awards in SA too.

“The awards are aimed at recognising the importance of blogging in the evolving digital landscape and acknowledging the skills, effort and commitment that go into creating an influential blog. The awards are aimed at recognising not only cosmetic bloggers, but Lifestyle, Fashion and Male Grooming bloggers are included in the list of categories”, says Greg Gunner, Executive Director TanOrganic South Africa.

TanOrganic, which is still a predominantly online Organic self-tanning brand imported from Ireland, has experienced first hand how influential bloggers are in creating brand awareness. TanOrganic is proud to be the title sponsor of the 2015 Beauty Blogger Awards, from which proceeds go towards the Look Good Feel Better South Africa programme.

The Look Good Feel Better programme is run by the cosmetic industry to help female cancer patients undergoing active treatment, in a practical and positive way by providing free two-hour beauty workshops through a network of hospitals, oncology clinics and interim homes, especially designed to assist these women to manage the appearance related side effects of chemotherapy & radiotherapy - thereby helping to restore their confidence in their appearance & self image.

The programme was chosen as the charity for the Beauty Blog Awards owing to their innovative way of educating patients, their families and medical staff on what side effects to expect and easy ways to be proactive about them. TanOrganic supports cancer education and promotes a lifestyle of avoiding sun damage that can lead to cancer.

TanOrganic in support of The Look Good Feel Better programme and by means of the Beauty Blog Awards encourages all South Africans to actively educate themselves on the subject of cancer, in case of being diagnosed or having to support a family member that has been diagnosed.

The Beauty Blog awards ceremony will be held on 22 August in Rivonia, Johannesburg.

TanOrganic Announces the Establishment of the South Africa Beauty Blogger Awards

TanOrganic celebrates the very best in South African blogging with the 1^st annual South Africa Beauty Blogger Awards. The regional South Africa Beauty Blogger Awards will run concurently with the Ireland Beauty Blogger Awards.

With more people reading and writing beauty blogs, the blogging industry is becoming increasingly influential. More businesses are using blogs to engage with their customers and influence consumer paths to purchase. This growth has led to the need to recognise these blogs and therefore TanOrganic saw the opportunity to establish the South Africa Beauty Blogger Awards.

“The awards are aimed at recognising the importance of blogging in the modern business landscape and acknowledging the skills, effort and commitment it takes to create an influential blog. The awards also enables the beauty industry to immediately recognise the bloggers that they should be communicating with in order to create effective awareness for their brands or products,” says Greg Gunner, Executive Director TanOrganic South Africa.

There are 9 categories in the Beauty Blog Awards, namely

• Best Overall Blog;
• Best Content;
• Best Web Design;
• Best Fashion Blogger;
• Best Cosmetic Blogger;
• Best Male Grooming Blog;
• Best Social Media;
• Newcomer of the year; and
• Readers Choice.

Bloggers are nominated and then encouraged to get their followers to vote for them. The 30 bloggers with the highest votes will be identified, and panel of independent judges will score each blogger according to specific criteria. The winners will be announed on the 22 August 2015 at the Gala event, to be held in Johannesburg. All funds raised for the awards will go towards a Non-Profit Cancer Charity for Cancer Research or Education and Awareness.