Sylvania beauty clinic placed into liquidation as owner vanishes; clients allege unpaid treatments

The owner of a home-based beauty clinic in the Sydney suburb of Sylvania has disappeared from public view after the business was placed into liquidation this week, leaving dozens of clients who say they paid for treatments they never received.

A notice published by the corporate regulator ASIC lists Divine Beauty Specialists, operated by Gabrielle McGrath, as in liquidation. The clinic’s website and social media profiles were taken offline after the abrupt shutdown, and phone, email and social media contact attempts went unanswered. Former clients say Ms. McGrath has removed her personal accounts as well.

Former customers say Divine Beauty Specialists was run from a rented waterfront mansion in Sylvania and offered memberships and cosmetic tattooing packages promoted as high‑end services. Pricing described by customers varied widely: some said memberships began at about $200, rose to $400 and were later marketed as an "exclusive" $1,000 tier, while flash sales offered treatments for about $150. Promotional material circulated in the weeks before the closure included entries into quarterly cash prize draws and a reported chance to win a Mercedes‑Benz A200.

One client, Hayley Brown, told a local Facebook group she had purchased two memberships for $400 each that promised microblading, eyeliner, lip blush, facials and associated touch‑ups. Brown said she received initial treatments for herself and her mother but no aftercare guidance, and that both sets of work faded or became patchy in weeks. She said a scheduled touch‑up was cancelled and the clinic then notified customers it had ceased operations.

"When I first saw her work, the memberships were $200," Brown said in a social media post that drew hundreds of responses. "Not long after, they jumped to $400, and eventually $1000 for what she called an 'exclusive membership'. Then she started running flash sales for $150."

More than 400 comments in the Facebook thread, according to Brown, described similar experiences: customers reporting payments for packages or memberships, appointments cancelled, and no replies to refund requests. Several people said they had been urged to use Zip Pay, a buy‑now‑pay‑later service, to purchase the packages.

One customer said Zip Pay initially declined a refund after the business reportedly told the payments firm the services were completed and the client was satisfied. The customer said she submitted evidence including a cancelled appointment notice and an assessment from a new practitioner citing poor technique, incorrect colours and substandard results. Zip escalated the dispute to Visa, and the customer said Visa issued a full refund.

Hundreds of former clients have posted accounts of unfulfilled services and are seeking recourse. Some customers told media they had paid as recently as five weeks before the clinic closed.

Attempts to contact Ms. McGrath were unsuccessful. The Daily Mail reported it had lodged an enquiry with NSW Fair Trading, and several former clients said they were preparing or filing complaints with consumer protection authorities.

The ASIC liquidation notice signals a formal insolvency process for Divine Beauty Specialists, but public records and the notice do not detail the reasons for the business failure or whether authorities are investigating possible misconduct. Customers seeking refunds or information about services paid for through third‑party payment providers were advised to consult their payment platforms, and consumer advocates recommend lodging complaints with government consumer protection agencies when services are paid for but not delivered.

Former clients and consumer advocates said they want clarity on refunds and an investigation into the business practices that preceded the sudden shutdown. The liquidator appointed to the company will be the official point of contact for creditors and customers making claims in the insolvency process.