Elegant “MIRNA KASSAB” Fosters more Skincare and leads to Fewer Makeup Constraints
By Kate Mose
Beauty is today’s mandate, beautiful skin is more valuable than any of your makeup looks. Men and women of every age group are equally concerned about their looks. It is not segregated by gender. Beauty doesn’t catch the eyes and hearts but also brings about a serene vibe. The world today is exceptionally inclined to the wonders of beauty. It is said that the use of well-formulated skincare products can reduce the amount of makeup you’ll need. It is said that your skin is like an art canvas and only a smooth and clean canvas allows the brush to move without any resistance. Even the makeup lasts longer if the skin is hydrated.
Mirna Kasaab, an exceptionally adolescent and gorgeous beauty consultant is one of the most familiar names in the Middle East when it comes to skin and beauty. In an interview exchanged words with team Edgy and shared her experiences and her journey to start working as a beauty consultant. She is a bonified beauty example with exceptional skills and splendid work.
Edgy got an opportunity to talk about her professional journey. She mentioned she carries a bachelor’s degree in French Literature from Damascus University. However, she preferred to work in the beauty business, especially in skin-care services. She highlighted that it’s her passion and love. During her university studies and after that, she did all then-available courses and training in Syria and Lebanon to master this profession. Still, she felt like these courses were not enough. She extended her study for skincare beyond all possible available sources. It developed from a hobby where she takes care of only her skin, to help her sisters and friends, to a profession where she can help customers in taking care of their skin. Such a passionate approach. Impressive!
“THE NATURAL BEAUTY IS SIMPLE, NOT COMPLICATED, NOT COMPLEX AT ALL”
Her journey of work started when she opened her first center in Damascus in 2007 and had to close it in 2014 when she moved to UAE after the war in Syria. In 2017, she opened her first beauty center in UAE at Hilton Sharjah. Due to the pandemic that branch was forced to shut, and she had to close the center as well and started again from zero. She was able to launch a bigger brand in Dubai with double the size of the first one at the end of 2020. Mirna is also a Certified International Trainer in Skincare. She worked as a trainer in the Continuing Education Center at Ajman University teaching skincare diplomas. She is a mother of three kids.
Though Mirna is a beauty consultant, still she has a practical naive approach toward the standards of beauty. She is a mesmerizingly living statue of beauty. She was asked how she defines beauty, and she beautifully defined it in a few remarkable words, “more simple, more beautiful.” She added that it is the motto in their center. This is how she understands beauty; it is in simplicity. Natural beauty is simple, not complicated, not complex. She believes that all women are beautiful, no matter what their colors, shapes, sizes, or looks are. Yes, beauty is crucial, but it shouldn’t be our priority. Mirna clearly stated that here in the center, they believe that healthy skin should be the first interest of anyone. The idea that beauty is about features and figures is outdated.
Edgy team inquired about what culture runs in her center and why is it different and special in her views. She responded by saying that in her center, they practice and offer different cultures about beauty. Now makeup is used to cover skin problems that are causing other problems for the skin. She says that their focus here is on healthy skin, how to protect it, and deal with its problems – not the medical ones, of course. Healthy skin has fewer problems. It needs less makeup to cover. You need less time to take care of. It also gives you a great feeling about yourself, more confidence, and self-esteem. She has many customers, who started to put on minimum makeup and don’t worry about taking selfies without a filter. They started to love themselves and their skin again. Some used to take care of their hair and nails and forget their more important skin.
She explained that here we try to change the long-held culture and thinking that ignores skin and focuses on how we look and appear to the outside, even if it comes at our cost, without consideration for our health, how we feel about ourselves, financial abilities, etc.
Another thing is, that taking care of your skin is a habit. We try to encourage this habit. Part of our services is educating customers on how to make skincare a habit for them, they do it continuously with minimum effort.
“THE FOCUS HAS TO BE ON HEALTHY SKIN, HOW TO PROTECT IT AND DEAL WITH ITS PROBLEMS, HEALTHIER SKIN HAS FEWER PROBLEMS”
It is believed that every profession needs a push, inspiration, and some sort of initiative to get it adapted and started. Mirna shared her story mentioning that since she was a teenager, all her sisters and friends used to focus on makeup products. For her, it was different. She believed that makeup would not add beauty to her looks. Her first interest was how to take care of her skin. So she started reading about skin, its problems, remedies, and solutions. All her friends buy a lot of makeup and perfume products. She buys only skincare products. During her university, all of her budget was used to spend on buying skin-care products. Mirna says that till today they don’t have international brands in the local market in Syria. She used to go to Beirut only to buy new products, she read or hear about.
Mirna proudly says that her sisters and friends noticed how beautiful her skin was. They started asking her many questions about how to take care of it, and what she is using, especially when they have skin problems. She discovered that she has great knowledge and experience in skincare, and she has something “beautiful and unique” that many women want. That’s when she opened her first center.
Mirna doesn’t look at skincare merely as her profession only, it’s her passion and love. She also loves to help women, guiding them on how to take care of their skin.
Mirna was asked what’s her beliefs about blended cultures and she proudly said that her center is a multi-national and cultural workplace. Their employees – by the way, all of the women – come from 7 different nationalities, which is undoubtedly great. She believes if there is a will, people can live in peace with each other, no matter how different their nationalities, religions, beliefs, races, etc. She says that the weird and good thing is, that she reads an article about how wars and conflicts were almost stopped because of the corona. As human beings, our wars should be against diseases, poverty, climate change, and many other dangers we are facing now all of us together. Our aims and goals must always be peace, health, and happiness.
Mirna’s strong association with Dubai made her say that the UAE is a great place. It’s an international country in all dimensions. It gives a great example of many places around the world where they have wars, conflicts, and problems because people don’t belong to one group. Here you always feel the future is secured with its great leaders and dynamic government.
She is of the view that Dubai teaches you how to dream big and achieve big. It teaches you how to stay resilient and strong and recover quickly after any damage. She considers it as her home and home for her family. They are happy to be part of this multicultural community and amazing place.
Undoubtedly health is of the foremost importance and must be of supreme priority for every human being. She exclaimed that human beings used to believe that health is the most important factor in life. But we all were busy in life, and forgot about it, until the advent of the corona to remind us about our health. Mirna prioritizes her health, family, happiness, and her work. She will make sure not to compromise over them.
“DUBAI TEACHES YOU HOW TO DREAM BIG AND ACHIEVE BIG, STAY RESILIENT AND STRONG AND RECOVER QUICKLY AFTER ANY DAMAGE”
Our magazine and readers were curious to know about what kind of person Mirna is. She humbly replied that she is a very simple person, very flexible, and open-minded. She is determined, and goal-oriented. Of course! She calls herself a person who is always optimistic, hoping for the good for herself and others. She is keen to learn new things, educate herself, and improve herself. Still have a long way to go. Beautiful!
Sharing her upcoming business plans, Marina said that she has many plans in actuality. Regarding her current center, she has only one branch in Dubai. Her business is scalable inside and outside the UAE. She has other projects to establish. Many things in her head now. But first, she needs a break. In the last few years, all her time was dedicated to her work. She needs to spend more time for herself and with her family before getting engaged again with business.
She shows concern about her beauty business, how she sees it in the Arab world in comparison to the global Industry, and how they are purposely different. There she replied that they are still consumers, not producers. They have many successful cases and examples in beauty and fashion, but they are individuals, not institutions or brands. So good to hear this! She extended it by saying that on the other side, this area constitutes one of the most important markets for these industries. We have great potential to start developing international brands and industries to serve the region and compete internationally. UAE could be an international center for fashion and beauty in the region.
Mirna told herself that she had many things to offer the world. Syria has one of the most delicious kitchens in the world, but they couldn’t promote it internationally, unfortunately. For many reasons, Syria was not a place attracted to international fashion and beauty brands. Though, for years, the local industry has done a magnificent business covering the local market and exporting some of the production as well. In Drama and music, they are already very competitive. She was proud to mention that they have many talents, and natural and raw resources to rebuild it again.
Mirna is a peaceful person who prefers not to attach herself to any specific brand or trend. Whatever she likes and whatever suits her, she buys it. She can buy whatever she wants, but it’s not only about the price. It is more about feeling good. Mirna felt that many trends are not healthy and they are exploiting women in a bad way. The focus of the brands and trends should be on us, the customers, not vice versa. If any trend or brand doesn’t support us in a good and positive way, we shouldn’t bother. What a practical approach and thought!
You may be interested in reading other Magnav Magazine articles such as The Good, the Bad and the Ugly Side of Social Media Influencers, The Enchanted ‘UTOPIA’ of Dubai, Breaking Barriers, Digital Landscape Influencing The Magazine Industry, and Navigating the Unspoken Realm of Female Infertility.
