Rosie Huntington-Whiteley's new beauty show, About Face, has landed on Quibi, and the second episode features the model flying to Dubai to interview beauty mogul Huda Kattan, who lives and runs her business in the emirate.
“I am here in Dubai and I am really excited, because I am going to be meeting up with a friend of mine, Huda Kattan,” Huntington-Whiteley says as an introduction to Kattan on the show.
“Huda is arguably one of the most famous and iconic YouTube make-up artists in the world … I am going to hear all about what it takes to run a $1.2 billion (Dh4.4bn) beauty brand from the Middle East.”
Running Huda Beauty from the UAE
Kattan is the Iraqi-American make-up artist and entrepreneur behind cosmetics giant Huda Beauty. She has lived in Dubai for 12 years.
At the beginning of the six-minute episode, Huntington-Whiteley is seen walking into the Five Palm Jumeirah Hotel, where she meets Kattan.
“I am so happy to be here!” the model exclaims as she greets Kattan, then she describes Dubai as: “This is heaven.”
“What is it like to run this billion-dollar beauty business in the Middle East?” she asks the entrepreneur, whose business began on Instagram.
We're lucky because we're in Dubai and Dubai is super progressive ... and they love beauty here, so that is great
“We are lucky because we are in Dubai, and Dubai is super progressive, especially compared to other parts of the Middle East. And they love beauty here, [so] that is great,” Kattan says.
“But it is challenging as a woman. When we first started, people treated me, constantly, like it was a hobby, objectifying [me], not making [me] feel like [I'am] capable of it, that was a hard thing, to be honest,” she says. “They would constantly make eye contact with my husband [and ask], ‘How do we do this?’ and my husband would be like, ‘Ask the big boss’.”
Kattan has been married to Christopher Goncalo since 2008; the couple met at high school. They have a daughter, Nour, 9.
Huntington-Whiteley asks Kattan about where she works in Dubai, and she describes “a big, tall, black building”, saying it’s “crazy because I always looked at New York City as, you know, the goal, and we have a building that looks like it is out of New York".
The Huda Beauty headquarters is located in Jumeirah Lakes Towers.
Huda Kattan on feeling like an 'outsider' as a child
Kattan moved to the UAE from Nashville, Tennessee.
I just looked very different from everyone I was at school with. Being Middle Eastern and being also a westerner, I always felt like an outsider
"I just looked very different from everyone I was at school with. People would find reasons to say, 'You are super weird' or just be really mean. Being Middle Eastern and also a westerner, I always felt like an outsider ... at the time, I wanted to be appreciated by everyone else," Kattan says.
She later says that perspective is key, and any issues she had "stemmed from my childhood, of never feeling good enough, never feeling accepted".
“Now I have a lot of love for myself, I’m not going to stress [about] how people feel,” says Kattan.
The episode is peppered with footage of Dubai, from Palm Jumeirah to Downtown, the Burj Khalifa, Burj Al Arab and Dubai Marina.
During the show, Kattan reflects on her sister, Alya Kattan, as being her early make-up inspiration; her humble origins as a make-up artist who could not find paid work; the “scrappy” beginnings of Huda Beauty; her loyal following of more than 40 million on Instagram and the “game changing” 60-second tutorials that made her a name on the platform.
The show also features issues of Cosmopolitan Middle East and Vogue Arabia with Kattan on the cover.
Towards the end of the conversation, the pair are joined by Huda’s younger sister, Mona Kattan, with whom she runs Huda Beauty. Huntington-Whiteley describes Mona as Huda’s “driving force, to see her own potential [and] talent”.
How to watch 'About Face' on Quibi
To watch the episode, download the Quibi app. You have to sign up for a subscription, which costs Dh29.99 per month – on international app stores it costs $4.99. The series can be watched on phones or tablets.
In the six-part series, Huntington-Whiteley will also be joined by Kylie Jenner, Glossier chief executive Emily Weiss, South Korean beauty influencer Park Hye-min – known as Pony – celebrity make-up artist Sir John and Jen Atkin, hairstylist to the stars and founder of Ouai hair products. All episodes are available to stream now.
Quibi is an American short-form streaming platform, which launched in April this year. All of the shows on the mobile-first platform are less than 10 minutes for an episode. Quibi is also home to content by Chrissy Teigen, Idris Elba, Joe Jonas, Reese Witherspoon and Kevin Hart.
Watch Huda Kattan talking about growing up in the US in an Iraqi immigrant family:
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
The bio
Favourite book: Peter Rabbit. I used to read it to my three children and still read it myself. If I am feeling down it brings back good memories.
Best thing about your job: Getting to help people. My mum always told me never to pass up an opportunity to do a good deed.
Best part of life in the UAE: The weather. The constant sunshine is amazing and there is always something to do, you have so many options when it comes to how to spend your day.
Favourite holiday destination: Malaysia. I went there for my honeymoon and ended up volunteering to teach local children for a few hours each day. It is such a special place and I plan to retire there one day.
MATCH INFO
Who: UAE v USA
What: first T20 international
When: Friday, 2pm
Where: ICC Academy in Dubai
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE%20v%20West%20Indies
%3Cp%3EFirst%20ODI%20-%20Sunday%2C%20June%204%20%0D%3Cbr%3ESecond%20ODI%20-%20Tuesday%2C%20June%206%20%0D%3Cbr%3EThird%20ODI%20-%20Friday%2C%20June%209%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EMatches%20at%20Sharjah%20Cricket%20Stadium.%20All%20games%20start%20at%204.30pm%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EUAE%20squad%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EMuhammad%20Waseem%20(captain)%2C%20Aayan%20Khan%2C%20Adithya%20Shetty%2C%20Ali%20Naseer%2C%20Ansh%20Tandon%2C%20Aryansh%20Sharma%2C%20Asif%20Khan%2C%20Basil%20Hameed%2C%20Ethan%20D%E2%80%99Souza%2C%20Fahad%20Nawaz%2C%20Jonathan%20Figy%2C%20Junaid%20Siddique%2C%20Karthik%20Meiyappan%2C%20Lovepreet%20Singh%2C%20Matiullah%2C%20Mohammed%20Faraazuddin%2C%20Muhammad%20Jawadullah%2C%20Rameez%20Shahzad%2C%20Rohan%20Mustafa%2C%20Sanchit%20Sharma%2C%20Vriitya%20Aravind%2C%20Zahoor%20Khan%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
THE%20SPECS
%3Cp%3EEngine%3A%203-litre%20V6%20turbo%20(standard%20model%2C%20E-hybrid)%3B%204-litre%20V8%20biturbo%20(S)%0D%3Cbr%3EPower%3A%20350hp%20(standard)%3B%20463hp%20(E-hybrid)%3B%20467hp%20(S)%0D%3Cbr%3ETorque%3A%20500Nm%20(standard)%3B%20650Nm%20(E-hybrid)%3B%20600Nm%20(S)%0D%0D%3Cbr%3EPrice%3A%20From%20Dh368%2C500%0D%3Cbr%3EOn%20sale%3A%20Now%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Groom and Two Brides
Director: Elie Semaan
Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
Rating: 3/5
Simran
Director Hansal Mehta
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Soham Shah, Esha Tiwari Pandey
Three stars
ULTRA PROCESSED FOODS
- Carbonated drinks, sweet or savoury packaged snacks, confectionery, mass-produced packaged breads and buns
- Margarines and spreads; cookies, biscuits, pastries, cakes, and cake mixes, breakfast cereals, cereal and energy bars
- Energy drinks, milk drinks, fruit yoghurts and fruit drinks, cocoa drinks, meat and chicken extracts and instant sauces
- Infant formulas and follow-on milks, health and slimming products such as powdered or fortified meal and dish substitutes
- Many ready-to-heat products including pre-prepared pies and pasta and pizza dishes, poultry and fish nuggets and sticks, sausages, burgers, hot dogs, and other reconstituted meat products, powdered and packaged instant soups, noodles and desserts
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Klopp at the Kop
Matches 68; Wins 35; Draws 19; Losses 14; Goals For 133; Goals Against 82
- Eighth place in Premier League in 2015/16
- Runners-up in Europa League in 2016
- Runners-up in League Cup in 2016
- Fourth place in Premier League in 2016/17
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre, twin-turbocharged V8
Transmission: nine-speed automatic
Power: 630bhp
Torque: 900Nm
Price: Dh810,000
