< PreviousHOT 1OO 2O19 | THE CREATIVES 30 My highlight this past year was releasing my debut album Saved globally, and having two songs picked up for rotation on take-off and landing on Emirates Airline. I won the Esquire Artist of the Year Award and even performed for French Montana. I have spent many of my formative years here and feel like I have grown up with the country. I’ve seen so much change and progress and feel I have mirrored much of it in myself. I launched my music career here with so much support from the community. I’m inspired by family, friends, life, love, nature, situations and hardship... Everything really! The good thing about music is that you can turn pain into something beautiful. I grew up in Sydney, Australia – a very environmentally friendly country, so I have habits that were instilled in me from a young age such as taking short showers, recycling, making compost, taking reusable bags for shopping, rejecting additional packaging and using reusable cutlery where possible. On top of that, I get involved in beach and ocean clean ups. I think the education of lifestyle change to support greener initiatives needs to happen at a young age in schools. This will ensure habitual change is instilled. I know way too many people who leave the water running while brushing their teeth – just one example of ignorance. In 2020, I’m looking forward to complete my new body of work, with new music and many more international performances. LAYLA KARDAN Songbird @laylakardan graced us with her soulful and sultry voice on her debut album 31 FASHION AND BEAUTY MOGULS THAT BRING GLAMOUR TO THE UAE THE TASTEMAKERS32 HOT 1OO 2O19 | THE TASTEMAKERS I’ve had such an incredible year full of amazing highlights and I am beyond thankful for everything! If I had to choose a few highlights from this year it would have to be preparing for our skincare brand that will launch in 2020 and kickstarting our investment initiative. With Huda Beauty Angels, we’re investing a portion of our personal wealth in women-led brands that we believe in. In terms of large-scale initiatives, we organised an internal group of employees to head up sustainability efforts for the brands we own. Now that we’re bigger, we’re putting our heads together to reflect on our processes. We’re always thinking about sustainability and how our work affects the outside world. Our team is currently figuring out how we can participate in specific efforts on a global and corporate level, be it small acts internally or big acts through CSR partners and larger organisations. My sister Mona is definitely one of my biggest muses because she is so in touch with her emotions. I look to her to understand emotional intelligence and empathy. Next year, I’m really excited to focus on skincare, because I never stop talking about it. I am so passionate about it and it’s been such an incredible journey to foray into a new category. Keep your eyes peeled on our skincare launch in 2020 because we’re bringing all the good stuff! HUDA KATTAN The Huda Beauty mogul is going from strength to strength, and there’s more to come 33 THE TASTEMAKERS | HOT 1OO 2O19 My highlight of 2019 has to be the launch of my cosmetics brand. We have launched with two ranges of false eyelashes. I am delighted with how the market has taken to them and look forward to growing my business further in the coming year. My husband and I were born and bred in the UK and we opted for a destination wedding and Dubai ended up being our location. I will always have fond memories of Dubai as our place of marriage. Then after deciding to move here, this place has now become home for us both. My role models are industry moguls such as Charlotte Tilbury, Rihanna, Victoria Beckham and obviously our very own home-grown Huda Kattan. All of these are individual women who have launched their own cosmetic brands and are inspirational businesswomen. I am very conscious about using energy both at home and in the car and will not use electricity on things unless it is absolutely necessary. We have made a decision that we only need one car as both of live and work together, so there is no need to drive two cars and use double the fuel, which would release double the emissions. This is something small, but I believe it all adds up. I think more should be done with renewable energy. One thing I have found odd, especially after living here for the last four years, is the lack of usage of solar panels as a source of energy. NINA UBHI @ninaubhi is a leading international celebrity makeup artist with her own brand of cosmetics34 HOT 1OO 2O19 | THE TASTEMAKERS In March 2019, my final piece as editor-in-chief of Harper’s Bazaar Arabia came out. Throughout my career as a journalist in the region it had been my dream to photograph and interview Her Majesty Queen Rania of Jordan, so it was a fitting swansong. Since leaving the magazine, I have relished spending more time with my three children. I was honoured to be featured in Bvlgari’s Save the Children campaign, photographed by Rankin, and, as a freelancer, I love hosting events, panels and conferences, which lets me bring the storytelling element of my career to live audiences. Women doing cool stuff, their way, inspire me. Huda and Mona Kattan building their business from Dubai, with a combination of such grace and force, are the ultimate example. My biggest regret is dying my hair black from the ages of 15-20 in a bid to look like Catherine Zeta Jones. The lesson? Don’t try and look like someone else, you’ll never be more beautiful than yourself. I once forgot to bring reusable bags to the supermarket and my daughter wouldn’t let me use plastic ones, so we both carried armfuls of shopping out to the car over multiple journeys. I won’t be forgetting the bags again! Bottled water is a particular bugbear of mine. I’d love to see more public water filters available and it would be great if restaurants and cafes could offer jugs of filtered water for free. LOUISE NICHOL Journalist @louisenichol is a fashion connoisseur and a regular on the FROW 35 THE TASTEMAKERS | HOT 1OO 2O19 RAWAN BIN HUSSAIN Law grad and fashionista @rawan is the founder of House of Rawan This year I graduated from law school as one of the top 20 students in my class. I married the love of my life, started my own family and moved to Dubai. I’ve done so much but I am very happy. I’ve contributed to a couple of social media campaigns about climate change. One was with the app TikTok to save the oceans and the other one was with the United Nations on environmental pollution. I believe as social media personalities, we have a voice and we need to use it in the best way possible, to make a positive change in this world. REYA MAYUR S Dubai-born content creator and designer @reya_s is the founder of jewellery line Les Néréides UAE I look up to my father, father-in-law, and uncles. The discipline and respect they have for their work, whilst staying grounded and humble, is truly inspiring. The content creators on Instagram have all created such a warm creative space. Everyone is hustling and working on their art and talent. Their courage and creativity really inspires me. I switched to re-usable cotton pads, and the same goes for face wipes and sheet masks. I’m more mindful about my fashion purchases, purchasing from vintage and preloved fashion boutiques. Small changes around purchasing, storing, and organising can go a long way. 36 HOT 1OO 2O19 | THE TASTEMAKERS Stepping up as the face and leader of our fragrance brand, Kayali, has been a huge highlight for me. It’s been such an incredible learning already and I’ve been consistently challenged by our product development team as we develop new mixes. I look up to my sister Huda for the passion she has, the amount of hard work she puts into things and the alpha female she has become. Mistakes are always going to be made but you’re always going to learn so much from them! One mistake that is simple to make at the start of growing a company is hiring the wrong people. The people who work for you are the most important resource. Internally, we always encourage recycling and offer eco-friendly options around our office to make sure we’re constantly doing everything we can to protect the environment. We’ve also implemented a no paper policy for our meetings, and we organise all files digitally and airdrop to everyone in meetings to ensure we’re not wasting paper. We have organised an internal group of employees that are head up our sustainability efforts for the brands we own. For the first few years we were still figuring out how to build, grow and sustain a company. Now that we’re big enough, we’re reflecting on all of our processes, to make sure we’re always thinking about sustainability and how our work affects the outside world. MONA KATTAN @monakattan isn’t just another pretty face – she’s also the face of fragrance brand Kayali 37 THE TASTEMAKERS | HOT 1OO 2O19 ROSEMIN MADHAVJI Luxury consultant, emcee and media darling @roseminsworld is the founder of RR&Company This year, I launched three shows, including a weekly talk show for Indigo Living, focused on women in the region from diverse backgrounds and giving them a platform to share their journeys. I contribute to Harper’s Bazaar Arabia Bazaar Beauty ; I love the beauty and skincare space and I’m part of the GQ Middle East Style Council series. The best advice I was ever given is “MUSTakes” are the mistakes you must make in order to get ahead. Regarding sustainability, I’m moving towards a mindset of decluttering, investing in quality over quantity. Less is more! No more plastic bottles of water is the start. NAZANIN FARA Model @nazaninfara is the founder of Fara Beauty One female entrepreneur I’ve paid a lot of attention to over the years is Victoria Beckham. She has been a part of one of the most iconic girl bands, a model, business woman, fashion designer and still raised four children. I am amazed by Greta Thunberg and her engagement in the climate change matter. I wish I could be as engaged as her but unfortunately, I am not. Thankfully, companies are stepping up their sustainability game, prioritising responsible sourcing of ingredients, implementing earth-friendly manufacturing processes, and experimenting with inventive recycling programs. It’s about time. 38 HOT 1OO 2O19 | THE TASTEMAKERS A highlight of 2019 was releasing some amazing new products that we worked on for such a long time, such as Beauty in a Box. I’m so proud of it – it’s a collagen that is taken daily. It’s like a jelly, which is actually delicious. Made in Japan, it consists of 92% marine collagen and 4% pineapple peptide. It’s something I’ve worked hard on, so I’m glad it’s finally available. Plus there were other products that we also launched under Joelle Paris. I also enjoyed opening Maison de Joelle in Tryano, Abu Dhabi, which was yet another success story that happened to us this year. The UAE has given me so much positivity and security, because without security we cannot invest, we cannot start to build a foundation, and you know I started all my businesses here. So, my salon started here, as did my first clinic; Joelle Paris was born here as well. I recently purchased an electric car – I cannot tell you how incredible it is. It feels good to drive something that is not so bad for the environment. I’ve also recently decided to remove all the grass from my garden, because of all the watering. Here in the UAE for us to have grass we have to irrigate it four times a day, and we are using too much water. For the year ahead, I’m really looking forward to taking my son Nathan on his first holiday to the Maldives. It’s my kids Bailey and Ella’s favourite destination too. JOELLE MARDINIAN Beauty entrepreneur @joellemardinian needs no introduction 39 THE TASTEMAKERS | HOT 1OO 2O19 AMENI ESSEIBI The inspiring model who promotes body positivity and self-love The UAE is very special to me because I’ve been here for 17 years; I grew up here. All my childhood memories were made here. I was raised here; my personality and life were built by it. In my house we have three different bins to recycle, we stopped buying straws, and we bought reusable bags for when we go to the supermarket instead of using plastic bags all the time. Next year, I plan to grow internationally and to represent my community on a global scale while continuing to spread my message and cause in different creative ways. DR. LEANDRO JUNQUEIRA The Brazilian plastic surgery whiz, and owner of the private clinic in Dubai The UAE welcomed me 10 years ago with open arms. We chose to establish our business here mainly because Emiratis are so friendly, so respectful, and this really aligns with Brazilian culture. Saving the environment starts with us and it is our responsibility to preserve the planet for future generations, by becoming more energy efficient, recycling, educating yourself and others. I’m inspired by good relationships, successful people and the desire to make the world better than before. We live in a very special age with lots of technology and we need to use it to make the world better. Next >