By Arab women, for Arab women. The reasons to champion Arab-owned beauty brands in your beauty kit are endless, but they eventually boil down to one pertinent virtue: availing the best-kept secrets and time-honored traditions of Arab beauty that have been formulated with the environmental conditions of the region in mind.
Photo: Instagram.com/nadine.njeim.beauty
Which cosmetic brand is famous in Dubai?
All roads can only lead to Huda Beauty’s stratospheric success. When beauty influencer Huda Kattan first set up a beauty blog, she perhaps wouldn’t have imagined that it would one day go on to command a cult-like following, including A-list Hollywood celebrities.
Having started out with an initial offering of false eyelashes in 2013, the last decade has witnessed the brand ascending from strength to strength. Today, the Kattan family’s beauty empire plays host to Wishful, an intentional skincare brand, and Kayali, founded by sister Mona Kattan.
Kayali Vanilla Candy Rock Sugar
A closer look at the top beauty brands in the Middle East
Following in their illustrious footsteps, a slew of homegrown Arab-owned beauty labels are opening up the Middle Eastern beauty market. These beauty brands are mainly headed by Arab women, delving deep into the powerhouse ingredients that the peninsula is known for. Along the way, they are redefining beauty for a new generation of makeup and skincare savants.
From the Arab celebrity-owned beauty brands to the best makeup brands in UAE, consider your cheatsheet on all the Arab-owned beauty brands to add to your routine.
All the UAE beauty brands that should be on your radar
A new morning dawned for unisex fragrances when Amna Al Habtoor decided to follow her passion for a niche perfumery. “Our goal has always been to create a boutique fragrance house in the Middle East and introduce to people an innovative way of experiencing perfume,” she shared in an interview with Vogue.
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Add to cart: Underscored by musk and oud accord, Kuwait Scent will transport you to the heady sounds of the city. Expect notes of incense, dry fruits, saffron and pink pepper.
Arcadia by Amna Kuwait Scent
Mariam Em
Through the ages, the Sidr tree has been called upon for beauty treatments and remedies in the Arab region. And now, Mariam Em is taking its virtues to the world with a sustainable Arab-owned beauty brand championing minimalism. Sidr serves as the signature ingredient across its skincare formulations—no surprises there—from face serums to brow elixirs.
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Add to cart: Look to the Balance & Soothe Face Serum for tapping into the acne-fighting capabilities of Sidr.
Mariam Em Balance & Soothe Face Serum
Add these Saudi beauty brands to your top shelf
SimiHaze Beauty
Twin sisters and entrepreneurs Simi and Haze Khadra are tired. They’ve been mixing together various lipsticks to create their own colors for years and they believe it is time for a change. The answer? SimiHaze Beauty, an expressive Arab-owned beauty brand for the modern beauty savant.
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Add to cart: Looking to hit refresh on your makeup palette? The Eye Play Glitter Pack has sold out thrice since its launch, and with good reason: glitter designs with zero fallout.
SimiHaze Eye Play Glitter Pack
“Born in Arabia. Raised to take on the world.” Founder Sara Al Rashed’s beauty journey started out with one question: where were the high-performance makeup products that could take on the extreme weather conditions of the desert? The quest for answers would lead to the inception of Asteri Beauty with skin-loving formulas that can bear the brunt of Saudi’s hot and humid climate.
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Add to cart: No spoilers here: the 45 Degree Blush has been formulated to ensure a fade-free finish through the day. Yes, even when the temperature touches 45 degrees outside.
Asteri 45 Degree Blush
Redefine beauty with the top Arab makeup brands
In the tumultuous aftermath of the Beirut explosion, Nadine Nassib Njeim sought refuge in her beauty routine. Propelled by her own healing experience, the actress has launched an eponymous brand. Her only goal? To ensure that everyone loves what they see in the mirror. Her road to getting there includes makeup-slash-skincare hybrids that work as hard as she does.
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Add to cart: For a silky smooth flush of color, cop Nadine’s best secret: the Allure Velvet Glow, a lip-to-cheek cream blush spiked with vitamin E and jojoba oil.
NADINE NJEIM Allure Velvet Glow
Drawn towards creative arts from a young age, it wasn’t long before YouTube influencer Mohammed Hindash traded in his pencils for makeup brushes. He has since evolved as a pioneer of makeup in the Middle Eastern region. Muted neutrals and understated minimalism? You won’t find much of that to see in this Arab-owned beauty brand that champions daring pops of color.
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Add to cart: Is it a lipstick? Is it a tinted balm? With an ultra-thin matte finishing and the hydration of a balm, the Manifesto lip colour you can have the best of both worlds.
Hindash Manifesto in Rest in Roses
Eye candy assumes an all-new meaning once you get an eyeful of Iraqi talk show host Mina Al Sheikhly’s eponymous brand. Having spent three years perfecting her initial offering, the Arab-owned beauty brand made its debut with mascaras for every need, from curved wands to waterproof formulas with a resin top coat.
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Add to cart: On days when you’d like for your eyes to do all the talking, the water-resistant Curved Mascara will give you the lashes of your dreams with a curl-holding formula.
By Mina Sheikhly Curved Mascara
Arab skincare brands to try for that radiant, lit-from-within glow
There is something about Whind that feels like a ray of gilded sunshine hitting your skin at golden hour. Inspired by Moroccan beauty rituals, founder Hind Sebti shares the best-kept beauty secrets from her homeland. Performance-driven skincare intertwines with fine fragrances in this Arab-owned beauty brand to leave your skin with a radiant glow.
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Add to cart: Looking for that sun-kissed glow all year round? Invite the Marrakech Sun Instant Glow Tinting Water into your AM routine—shh, no one has to know!
Whind Marrakech Sun Instant Glow Tinting Water
The onset of vitiligo is where it all began for Emirati influencer and skincare brand founder Salama Mohamed. On the quest to discover beauty products that would suit her skin tone, she found something better: the chance to revolutionize Middle Eastern skincare products. By leaning on efficient actives, her vision for the future of Arab-owned beauty brands looks inclusive, representative and bright.
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Add to cart: Mugwort clay mask cleanser might not be words that frequently pop up in your search history. But one rinse with this creamy cleanser and you will become a believer.
Peacefull Mugwort Clay Mask Cleanser
