In February, actress, model and former Miss Universe Olivia Culpo made her way to Dubai for a fleeting visit to announce the launch of Beauty Pop DXB. The first event of its kind in the region, Beauty Pop DXB is bringing some of the world’s biggest names in hair, make-up and wellness to Dubai for one huge weekend.
The likes of Nurse Jamie, Tracey Cunningham, Jen Atkin and Justine Marjan will jet into town for the the event alongside influencers Desi Perkins and Marianna Hewitt. With just over two weeks until the event is set to take place, we caught up with Bodour Al Hilali, the Founder of Belle Femme and the woman behind Beauty Pop DXB, to find out just what we can expect from the event…
How long in the making has Beauty Pop DXB been?
We started a beauty platform around three years ago with master classes. We started small with Mario Dedivanovic, and after that we got Khloe Kardashian, Sir John, Mary Phillips, Harry Josh, Jen Atkin. Then we got Olivia Culpo and Patrick Ta and the most recent one we did was with Kim Kardashian and Mario, which was huge and very successful. So we thought about the demand and we realised how much [women in the region] love these events and there’s so much knowledge to be gained. Plus, it’s fun! So we thought, why not start Beauty Pop where we can provide these master classes, do amazing panels and then have a brand pop-up? This way, whether you’re a big brand or a brand in the US that isn’t known in this region, you can have a pop-up for three days with cool activations and introduce your brand to people here.
We also wanted to bring some influencers who have never been to the region before like Camila Coelho, Desi Perkins and Marianna Hewitt who are all women we follow and admire.
There’s such an exciting roster of names — who are you most excited to be bringing to the region?
Camila and Nurse Jamie. And then Jen and Tracey, Huda and Mona Kattan, they’re all amazing. Nurse Jamie will also be selling her products here for the first time in the region, plus she’ll be taking clients.
You’ve long partnered with international talent to bring them to Dubai via Belle Femme — why was that an important focus when you started the business?
Yes we’ve doing this for almost nine years. We thought about what Belle Femme could offer our clients that was different so we brought Hollywood to them to give them the celebrity experience. We started with Tracey, and we’ve tried many others but Tracey has been coming regularly for nine years, Jen Atkin for the last five and George Papanikolos, too. They’re amazing people to work with and they’re constantly booked up.
You’ve accomplished so much with Belle Femme, what is the biggest highlight of your career so far?
So far, it was Kim and Mario. It was the biggest thing we did. But I’m looking forward to this and making it a yearly event and bigger and better every year.
Are there plans to extend it beyond Dubai?
I would rather it be exclusive for Dubai for now. Picking d3 was because the area really was Beauty Pop. It’s not about just expanding, it’s making it perfect and if we can implement it exactly the same then yes for sure.
What power do you think beauty holds for women?
Beauty has influenced everyone in every way possible. There’s not one person who doesn’t follow a beauty influencer or watch their tutorials. There’s so much education in social media right now through these influencers. Plus, beauty brands are reassessing the way they approach the consumer also. There’s something for everyone now.
Beauty Pop DXB will take place from April 19-21 at d3.
