Karen Wazen | SheerLuxe Conversations

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0:49hello and welcome to today's in conversation with podcast i am georgie courage cole she Deluxe's founder and CEO and I am thrilled to be joined by the one and only Karen Wazen. Karen is a digital entrepreneur and a global tastemaker amongst many other hats that she wears. Karen has built a hugely successful career all while keeping family, culture and community and authenticity at the heart of everything she does. Today we're going to be talking work, fashion, life, motherhood and everything it takes to manage being so in the public eye. Karen, thank you so much for joining us today. I'm so grateful that you have managed to squeeze us into your very busy agenda.

1:35I'm happy to. It wouldn't be a visit to London if I don't get to see the Queen of London yourself. No, hardly, hardly.

1:50You've got a very busy agenda. I overheard you saying you've got how many flights? I know. The sad truth, I have eight flights in 12 days. Where are you going? Around Europe. So I could have made it less, but I have to be back home for my kids and also my work. So I'm in London now going back to Dubai, then we'll go to Milan, then we'll come back to Dubai, then we'll go to Paris for the first bit of Fashion Week, then come back to Dubai, then go for the last bit. And it's always like this for you, isn't it, around this time? I mean, yeah, it definitely gets a bit more like crowded with the travels throughout Fashion Week, but I've also become used to traveling.

2:22I think that's also what's kind of nice about Dubai. We have Emirates Airlines, which makes every trip feel like not so bad. Yeah, it's not that much of a hardship, is it? Getting on an Emirates plane on your own with no children. Peace. Yeah, I actually really quite like it. Also, before we went live, we always do a mic check with what you had for breakfast. And I sadly wanted crumpets, but I ran out of time this morning. Do you know what a crumpet is? No, but it sounds like a very British breakfast. Do you like my mic? Not my fave. anyway crumpets excellent is it is it sweet though is it or no it's like a it's like a muffin with holes in don't really know how you explain it till he's nodding over there it is quite english i'd highly recommend a crumpet can really good with baked beans on top too um instead i had a deliciously ellis bar what have you had for breakfast today i actually do not have breakfast in general and i feel like i function better without breakfast i don't know this is just me i don't want anyone to quote me on that but i just feel like i personally function better without breakfast i usually kind to break my fast at probably with a protein shake that'll be the first thing that I have and that's around like 2 p.m and then I have a my I have one meal a day but that's like a main meal I'll have it at like 5 p.m I asked you what you had for breakfast because I knew what your answer was going to be and I'm thrilled that we've got your daily coffee into a shared ux mug because it blows my mind you know how long this is gonna last all day I have my coffee I mean honestly my husband keeps making fun of me he's like just throw just get a new one and i will have my coffee lasting hours definitely will not maintain the heat would you not like it to be warm at some stage just at the beginning and then i'm fine with it being and then she'll carry this around i'm hoping she's going to carry around her sherlock's flask now but what is that coffee order in there um latte decaf because you know i cut out caffeine so i haven't had caffeine in i mean or coffee caffeine in like over two years now oh good for you do you feel good for it yeah I mean, I did it.

4:13I initially started this because I had a I have a heart condition called SVT, which is basically comes from it's triggered by stuff like caffeine, lack of sleep, alcohol, stress. So I try to minimize all of the triggers and caffeine was an easy one and smoking. I quit smoking as well, which is something I'm very proud of. But yeah, all the things that kind of triggered SVT are out of my life now. So that's why I replaced my coffee with decaf. that's what i was telling you like now if i because sometimes i ask for a decaf and i feel like they mistakenly might give me a oh my god my mom is convinced every time she orders a decaf coffee that is there yeah that is decaf isn't it yeah i do that all the time but then sometimes you know you can't really it might be like an innocent mistake or i don't know and then i can tell when i've had caffeine um well you might need it today you might need it over the next 12 days um karen i mean you have built the most incredible career i mean i think internationally you're more known than ever i mean it's amazing you were at the grammys on the red carpet god congratulations was that a career highlight yeah everyone was there i'm like did they choose like the wrong person why am i here it was honestly incredible did you have the best time yeah incredible amazing you looked amazing um but i mean you are well known internationally to people who don't know you if they're our uk audience although i'd like to think they do know you by now I mean you have eight over eight million followers on Instagram you really are the queen of Dubai I always say think of like Kim Kardashian she's like she's like that well known in the Middle East and beyond how do you balance it all though and that question is obviously asked so much but you are a really really loving hands-on mother I've spent I've spent the day with you we were saying earlier that I was very lucky to get Karen to agree to do one of our leading ladies episodes when we launched in Dubai and I was like that is such a coup I think you really got to see a lot that day there was a lot yeah I was like it's like a fast it's like speed dating to get to know somebody but yeah you you're really hands-on with your children and yet you're traveling like crazy as I said it's a sort of cliche question but I genuinely am interested in knowing how do you balance it you've also got a wonderful husband who is the nicest man um how does it all work and I was gonna actually go back to him but um I mean I try to balance I really wish there was some sort of manual or like an equation or formula that works.

6:30But, you know, as a mom and as a business founder, the days don't look the same. You know, you always have those variables that you're not in control of. You're obviously like a loving mom and you love your job. You're going to find the right kind of dedication to give to each. And then, like I said, there are some days where I feel like I have to give more to my children because they need me for whatever reason more than my business does. And there are other days where I'm a bit more giving to my business. But I think it all goes back to really having the right support system that you can also count on, whether it's your team at work or whether it's a support system at home.

7:02And my husband is incredible, honestly, especially, you know, as an Arab man, we're not very used to having a father figure that is so hands on. And my husband is a really amazing father. And even the little stuff like helping me out with emails at school or organizing playdates or activities or, you know, those kind of things that also do take a lot of like organization and time. And he understands that I'm also juggling, obviously, another business because he's also with the partners with me in the business and also the jobs that I get from Instagram. So, you know, sometimes it does get a bit overwhelming.

7:32But I think having the right people to rely on when you need it is very, very important. And how is working together? That's the question. I always want to ask people. You two do work together now. He was used to work in finance, gave it up and came and joined you. How is working together? Do you love it? Honestly, I really do. And I can't imagine my life otherwise. But again, this is something that applies to me. I don't think it's a general rule. I also think maybe there are characters that are more compatible than others. And I really think that my husband and I are extremely compatible. It doesn't mean that we don't argue or don't have disagreements when it comes to business decisions or even decisions at home.

8:06But we really do understand how important communication is and our boundaries. And I think we both offer very different skill sets in our business. And we understand that there are some things that he can come in with that complement what I can come in with. and we don't really overstep each other's kind of roles. I think the only kind of challenge is that we really speak about work a lot and a lot of our conversations end up being about work, but I also just love what I do and I love my job so much that I enjoy speaking about work. It's not like I'm speaking about work and it's something that's draining.

8:39On the contrary, it's something that excites me so much and to have someone who knows me so well and understands the business so well, I think it's, for me, I think it's a blessing. Yeah, and a privilege almost to share that with somebody. 100 % I always have something to say I was with the founder of Maison Estelle I don't know if you're familiar with Maison Estelle and Estelle Manor My sister stayed there actually she had the best time It was great and she is a bit the same she says I get to work with my husband and we just love it and we love talking work 100 % so you know we get to travel together as well we get to I mean it's just yeah we're building something together for me it's almost like the same where we're seeing our children you know growing and we look at them and we're so proud like this is you know me and you look at what we have have and then I feel it's the same thing with our business we're looking at our business growing it's like a baby that we're nourishing and seeing it grow it's quite special and I mean my god it is really growing uh have you opened your store yeah I mean not wanting to buy them all but that's our our latest uh store it's still under construction can you can you tell me a little bit about for people that don't know you know everything I said entrepreneur business owner content creator I mean background all all of it applies to um to karen what can you talk us through you have people who don't know of course what the karen razen empire looks like i started off as a content creator on instagram that's how i kind of started building my name and and my community and i have to say i got pretty lucky with um how connected my community felt towards me and my family and there was this real sense of kind of trust and growth because i also i mean like you said i have eight million followers on Instagram.

10:15I have over 5 million on TikTok. And I really feel so lucky, honestly, to be able to grow with my community. And so I started off obviously working with brands on Instagram. And I was kind of lending my platform and voice to other brands and learning a lot with these brands. And I started to feel like I want to do this for myself. I want to do this for something that I can build for me that can live beyond my presence online. And at the beginning, it was like should we go into beauty because that's also one of the questions that I get asked about a lot like what is and what yes you should I mean I don't know we never say never but initially we're like you know what a lot of people were going in that space and I felt like something that really was so authentic to me was my eyewear because I would wear sunglasses all the time and uh growing up um I was really insecure about my eyes because I have big eyes big eyes beautiful eyes thank you but you know as a child you always have this kind of thing that's like you're that makes you feel a little bit different at least and I didn't see it as something that was unique I saw it more as something that was different about myself so I was a bit insecure and I used to wear sunglasses and it was always like a very natural way to kind of cover my eyes but also make me feel like much better and more confident and I just developed this really strong passion to eyewear and then this is kind of where it all started and people said ask me all the time where are your glasses from where because it always felt a little bit different it was always classic but a little bit of a twist of you know the element of style as well I was thinking your glasses yeah so uh I was like you know what let's just try this you know I honestly didn't know where it would go and I'm so proud today it's huge I mean you're around is huge yeah we do have more growth plans but it's definitely I'm very grateful for where we are today and you know it still feels so surreal when I have to say when I'm in like Dubai or even Lebanon like there will not come a day where I would leave my house and not see at least one person wearing my glasses and it just really feels very special yeah that's very cool will you ever do optical eyewear so that we do offer the frames but we don't do the prescription beyond eyewear we also launched fashion accessories i know i was going to come onto your belt i remember seeing you yeah it was in q8 it was in q8 and you're like i can show you it's neat p and i have to say we're big belt fans at shared ox and i should send you guys a karen was in box for the team oh yes please but i think what's so wonderful is your logo which is sort of two diamond shapes isn't it yeah it's like a bit of an infinity sign but it just lends itself to about so well it's perfect for you yeah and jewelry and jewelry we have fashion jewelry as well amazing amazing you've also co-founded an investment firm called ke partners um also me and my husband can you tell us a bit about that and what you're involved in because that's pretty smart yeah i mean this also started because we were so we were always um i mean not always but we we were investing my husband and i and then we said you know what let's just package this under a proper family uh you know office where we can eventually you know give this to also our children yeah so that's why we named it key partners so it's a k for karen e for elias but it's a key partners because we also feel that we really partner with with the founders that we're investing in so it's beyond just financials but we also try to add as much value as we can from the expertise that we both have, whether it's me on the marketing side or my husband as well has extensive experience in the banking world as well.

13:35He was 25 years working in equities, so he also has a great background. How many investments do you have? Our portfolio now is, I think, 14 investments. Is it? When we did our leading ladies, you were on eight. Okay. I remember. That's cool. And are they growing? Are they doing well? Yeah, for sure. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Amazing. and as well as your husband you have a sister Andrea who we did some content with the other day who has the most gorgeous shoe brand I absolutely fell in love with the leopard shoe that has the black lace so so beautiful go and check it out because Andrea Wazen has her shoes available at Harrods and Selfridges and they really are they're really lovely and they're really different my god they're pretty if I was getting married again they are so beautiful I'm not wearing her shoes now But I wear her shoes all the time, honestly.

14:24And my sister was a very important factor as well, I think, in my career. Because my sister was a designer and she had started and launched her brand way before I launched mine. And when we had decided to get into that journey, she was a big push for me. She was like, you should do this. And she was encouraging me and helping me out a lot because she had obviously more experience than I did in building a brand. And we don't work together, but we get to really bounce so many ideas off each other, learn from each other's mistakes. or things that happened for me that are like, you know, that went well for me.

14:55I give her advice there or she will give me advice on, you know, and we really have this really special bond. And I think it's really incredible. We also have another sister. Andrea has a twin sister and we have an older brother and we're all very like entrepreneurial. Remind me what the other sister does. She's a chef. I was going to say, does she own a bakery? I was close. She's a chef. She's a chef, but she did work with Cédric Grolé, you know, the very famous French chef. She worked with Yannick Alenon and Gordon Ramsay. too really yeah she did work with a lot of very like famous chefs and my brother's a founder as well and we've invested in his company what's his company do it's based in south africa it's a mobile payment company but it's very big as well i think it's like one of the biggest i think startups in south africa what's it called yoko amazing so where does this entrepreneurial streak come from that's in you all i think my mom has a lot to do with it i mean both of my parents were very like hard-working uh parents but my mom i think at least for us as women we really got to to grow up watching our mom um being such a hands-on mom but also a very successful um entrepreneur she's actually an architect but also has a very successful catering business in lebanon so she does um huge weddings you know and lebanon like lebanese weddings are very much a thing god i don't know if you've ever been to a lebanese wedding but oh my goodness i wish you're at mine i want to do a renewal of my wedding and i can't please and see what i mean gosh it's quite special honestly like at our wedding i think we had like 700 guests my sister had like over a thousand guests like it's quite wow yeah it's like big i am absolutely desperate to beirut like it is so high up my list i've just heard so many amazing things it really is one of the i was just watching actually before coming this uh i know where he was from i think maybe he's irish and he was saying like one of the best places he's been to in his life was lebanon and i get so happy i think all lebanese people get so happy when we see that people are seeing um our country beyond you know the news titles and actually seeing for the beauty that it actually is and i also really think that i mean beirut or lebanon in general has inspired us all to be entrepreneurs because we've really built resilience i mean i also um i left lebanon um 15 years ago or maybe before but i really grew up there and did you yeah as lebanese we really do feel that first of all you know we're a lot we're inspired by the beauty of the country so there's a lot of creativity there and a lot of talent but there's also a lot of resilience I think I mean it's amazing how how the Lebanese people just carry on from what I hear I mean I have to say the Lebanese people that I have come across in the Middle East are some of the best and have yeah an amazing work ethic energy and yeah I'm very proud to have lots of Lebanese friends that's really cool but I've got lots of questions to ask because we put out a question box to say that you were coming in and obviously it's Karen Wazan can we talk a bit about health and wellness they said what's your number one non-negotiable when it comes to looking after your mental health?

17:43You know, I have to say there is something about me getting closer to 40, which really changed the way I see myself and my life. And like I was saying, like I cut out a lot of the bad habits. So I quit smoking. I quit caffeine. I make sure to get 10 ,000 steps a day. I really look after myself, which is not the person I grew up to be I was quite careless not careless but like I was just whatever you know I was living my life quite moderately but not with no real care or attention to what was really going into my body and I feel like now I'm the opposite I'm like I'm so careful I just really want to make sure that I'm giving and it's not just for me but I also feel like I'm doing this for my children I want to make sure that they can also grow up having a healthy mom that they can you know that I mean everything at the end of the day is in God's hands but like I want to do whatever I can do to be the best version of myself that I can be for my children.

18:37Working out is something like strength training, weight training is something that I only recently started integrating into my lifestyle. And I used to hate it. Like I used to give any excuse to be able to cancel or, you know, avoid it. And now this is a real non-negotiable for me. Like I am putting in, you know, the effort and the work and I will make sure not to skip a session. But I really do feel like ever since I've been on this kind of health journey or in my kind of health era I really feel like I've evolved as a person even yeah I think I think it's something in that sort of I'm 45 um but there is a real change isn't there I mean someone said to me the other day I did a post of all my supplements and someone says say you're in your 40s without saying you're in your 40s they're like they rattle around can I say something I really feel that in the I don't know if it's the media or I don't know what it is but we've I've always grown up thinking that once you hit 40 it's downhill from there you know like you're at your oh but not at all I actually feel like I'm not 40 yet I'm 38 but I really feel like I am actually looking forward to my 40s because I feel like I'm still getting to to know yourself to know that yeah and I feel like when I look at myself now versus who I was in my 20s or even early 30s I feel like I'm such a better person I'm I'm more confident I feel I look better I'm I'm just in general you know better and I think it's incredible that we've seen aging or growing up as something that is a um kind of a setback but it's the opposite I feel like every year I'm even more proud of who I am yeah yeah even better you know and you still got so many years ahead of you yeah knowing who you are actually I was talking to somebody the other day who's sadly divorced and she said oh god getting back out there terrifies me I was like but you're in your prime yeah like you are literally just getting to know yourself I so agree with you I think my mom got a divorce at 42 and she started her life again she started her new business at 42.

20:23And she's in her 60s, but she's really like so young at heart, full of energy. She sometimes has more energy than I do. And I think it's so amazing to have this example, you know, as a woman that are still, you know, they still have the energy, they still have this ambition and, and they still, you know, look good. Yeah, no, I couldn't agree more. I'm totally on the same page. Taking care of your eyes shouldn't be a hassle. That's why Warby Parker is a one stop shop for all your vision needs. Our prescription glasses and sunglasses are expertly crafted and unexpectedly affordable. Stop by a nearby store or use our app to virtually try on frames and get personalized recommendations.

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21:47I've got here, what is your favorite breakfast? We don't eat breakfast. I don't have breakfast. Lunch. My trainer doesn't like that I don't have breakfast. She keeps telling me, please put breakfast in. Not a protein shake? Protein shake, yeah. But that's a bit later in the day. You take creatine. Yes, I do. I put that in my, I put creatine in my protein shake. Me too. I'm not sure what it does, but I do it. My husband's a big supplements guy. Is he? So he will, yeah, he will like, sometimes I take stuff, I have no idea what I'm doing, but he makes sure to put creatine in our protein shakes. Okay, yeah, I have it too.

22:15No idea why. Hodge told me to. it's good also for the brain and something about the bones and the muscle but also for the brain so the next question is are there any supplements or wellness products we need each one to this one yeah i think you genuinely swear by do you is there one you know you're taking magnesium magnesium good answer the question here is what's your guilty pleasure wellness aside i mean ending my meal with a dessert is something that i really enjoy but i will try not to make it like a daily thing and what's your favorite dessert chocolate melted chocolate chocolate fondant something like that yeah just something with chocolate so good moving on to some life questions what is on your bucket list to do I mean you've done a hell of a lot I mean it can be anything you know what I I have never done and I feel like it's something that I want to do but I don't know at what stage in my life I'll be able to do that but I really want to be somewhere and completely disconnected from my phone for at least one week and that has never happened like I was never offline and I mean even when I'm on a flight the first thing I'll do is make sure that I'm connected you know whether it's you know I secretly love when the wi-fi is not working I'm not there yet because I would get kind of anxiety I feel if I don't have if I'm not connected but I do want to do that at some point in my life where I really I would have to be I guess with my children because I don't want to be disconnected from them but if I as long as I guess I'm with my husband and my kids I'd like to be somewhere where I'm really like just offline and what are you doing when you're offline maybe somewhere on the beach yeah and the sun I know I have that in Dubai I'm very lucky to have a lot of sun and a lot of beach but I don't you know as working moms I think I don't really take advantage of that as much as I should at the office I came up with an analogy the other day that my phone was like a screaming baby that I couldn't put down and it's now it's now become this thing that when my husband will say to me on put the baby down let it scream for a bit but it is this just constant constant constant pull isn't it especially when we could do so much work on our phones i know i know that's like i'm not just scrolling instagram i can access like your emails your i even like editing you know like i do a lot of work on my phone and i mean all of us do but i think it's also important for us to kind of like understand that even without it life can yeah nothing's gonna happen that's that drastic can I ask you you're in London now you studied in London is that right my master's here uh so you know it quite well yeah can you share a few of your favorite London haunts restaurants hotels so is there anywhere when you land like I've got to go there I was I was telling actually your team this earlier so when I was I when I was living here I was um off of King's Road on Whirlpool Street so King's Road was like kind of my street and there was a restaurant and I think it's still there called Colbert I don't know if you know it or not it's great people watching I used to go there very often I don't know why there was something about that place that made me feel kind of less lonely because I was living here by myself so obviously and I'm from a big family like super close with my sisters and my mom and and I was in a long distance relationship with my husband at the time so I did have days where I did feel a bit lonely and going to Colbert there was something about it that just made me feel kind of it felt cozy it felt homey it felt family and I used to go there quite often so and I find myself when I come back to London I find myself going back at least once to Colbert.

25:28It's always got a nice atmosphere, hasn't it? Yeah, it's buzzy, but not like, I don't know, I just like it. And where do you stay when you're in London? So now, because I usually come for work, so I'll probably stay at a hotel. But we also have a flat here. Oh, yes, of course. If I'm coming here with a family, we'll come, we'll stay at the flat. But if not, we'll probably, when I come for work, I'll probably stay at a hotel. Like now I'm staying at the Rosewood. Oh, lovely. It smells so nice as well. So nice, so nice. There's one in Doha now. Oh, yeah. They're opening loads. I think it's a really good brand.

25:58Do you watch TV to zone out? Not very often, but when I find something that I love, I'm like hooked. Like now, for example, Love Story. I know. I haven't started yet. Oh, you're going to love it so much. I know. I know. I've got a really. The story. Like 90s. Like there's nothing like 90s fashion. Do you remember? I mean, you're younger than me. Do you remember them being alive? No. I was too young. I do. And the casting is amazing. I mean, I've seen the trailer. The casting is really incredible. The styling is incredible. But Caroline Bassett was, has always been for us an inspiration for our eyewear because she was quite special with the eyewear that she, we actually have a pair called Caroline the same way as she writes.

26:36Yeah, yeah. Love it. Inspired by her styles. That's fascinating because we were saying she was beautiful and she was striking. Yeah. But she wasn't in a sort of traditional sense and they've cast her just so well. Anyway, I can't wait. Yeah, yeah. You're going to enjoy it so much. The other show I was watching before that was Bridgerton's. but then I have to wait till the 26th. Where are we today? 26th of February for the next episode. So yeah, these are my kind of guilty pleasures. And the new thing that I have in terms of like kind of wellness is this infrared mask. So I have my infrared mask on.

27:04Oh, you're one of those. So I'm like such a typical like. Do you think these work? I don't know. I mean, I'm just giving it a go for now. I haven't done it long enough to be able to say, but apparently, yeah. Your skin is looking pretty damn good from over here. Do you have any other beauty treatments, treatments that you swear by you look great thank you I mean I'm pretty like um consistent with my skincare routine so I will make sure to to not miss you know the like for example one of those things I used I did go through phases where I used to sleep with my makeup on but that was like before like now there's no way I would do that I know like no way but I was like younger and a bit more careless but yeah now it's like I yeah skincare and all of these I kind of you know just taking care of myself is important can you tell us one thing this is written down in the car but I quite want to know this question can you tell us one thing people might not know about you I think a bit of an open book because I've been on social media for so long there's so much that I've shared with like my community but I think people might assume because I like I'm a business woman and I have multiple businesses I would say I think people could would assume that I'm quite a strong person but deep inside I'm quite sensitive and you know they might see me as like this boss woman but I'm really not and one of the hardest things that I have to do for example is to fire someone or tell someone that I'm not happy with the work that they're doing like I really really struggle there and I know that you know my husband keeps telling me he's like like if you want to be a boss these are things that you have to do but for me it's a real struggle and I work on myself to be able to kind of be a bit more confrontational I do you know I am really the same I hate aggro I hate confrontation I find those conversations really tricky too my tip is someone once told me just rip the band-aid off and get it done but I'm with you it's really hard I think that's a good quality though that's a good quality I mean maybe good for the people but not for myself because I end up really losing sleep over things that are like you know supposed to be easy decisions yeah yeah no I sympathize hugely can we talk a bit about impact and purpose.

29:06You've worked with the UNHCR, which is... It's the UN Agency for Refugees. And you really do use your platform to promote cause, humanitarian in particular. In fact, I know you not only look like Angelina Jolie, but you have some similar causes. I mean, she's a real inspiration. And thank you. I mean, but I think I wouldn't consider myself a humanitarian. I think there's, you know, we need to give the title to the ones who really do use their platforms very loudly for that. But I try as much as I can to speak out about causes that are close to me or to kind of give back wherever or whenever I can.

29:43I also like to connect the brand whenever I can to a cause. So now, for example, during Ramadan, for the whole month, basically a percentage of our sales will go to the Dubai Autism Center for children with autism. So we try as much as we can to kind of give back when we can. I think it's a duty and a responsibility to do so. And like you said, I've been working with the UNHCR for since 2016. Really? Yeah. Amazing. I mean, the work that they do is really incredible. That's why I say like they are the real humanitarians, you know, and the refugees are the real like heroes. So for me, it's just really using my platform whenever and however I can to shed light on their stories.

30:19Amazing. I've got some more ad hoc questions sent in by readers. Do you have any books you can recommend about becoming a boss? you know i don't actually read these types of books i love reading like novels like um and thrillers for some reason i'm so not a thriller i don't like thriller movies or shows but books i do like i'm like obsessed with like for some of the housemaid series and i've watched the movie not yet i've read all the books oh my god i mean i hadn't read the book i thought i was going to a rom-com yeah no no certainly not i mean yeah it is really yeah it wouldn't be my typical kind of go to I'm a very rom-com girl very light you know like when it comes to watching but with my books I do like a twist and a thriller and like yeah so well you got that but less I do a lot less I don't know why I just don't like for me reading is more of something that is going to relax me rather than get me thinking and how do you then get your inspiration to be continually evolving you're not into business books are you listening to podcasts yeah so I do listen to podcast I also am very very much inspired by women's journeys and women's businesses we live in a time now where we have women you know like you that are sharing a lot about their journeys and I think we're should be very grateful as women entrepreneurs to have examples in front of us of all these incredible women building incredible businesses so I think a lot of my kind of inspiration and motivation I would say also comes from these successful women do you have a good network of other entrepreneurs content creators in Dubai you talked about being able to share it with um your husband and also Andrea of course but do you have do you have a sort of cohort of women I feel like as my career has gone along I feel really lucky to have sort of gathered these women on the way absolutely for sure I do have that and I think it's so inspiring to also see a lot of my like peers you know that started off as content creators now branch into very you know big and successful businesses and and we're all very much still in touch you know anytime any of them are in Dubai they'll you know we'll we'll go catch up and it's just amazing to kind of see where everyone is now you know compared to when we first started I don't think any of us imagined that one day you know we we were we started working with brands we never imagined that one day our brands would be the brands that other influencers are now kind of you know promoting or working with so it's quite nice to see that and um yeah I think like for example Chriselle you know Chriselle from Fleur, she's a very good friend of mine and I'm so inspired by what her journey, what she's built.

32:44Same with Nigine from Gizu, she's a very good friend as well. And I'm just naming these two, but there are so many incredible, I think. Huda, she's also so inspiring. She'll also like, she's quite generous with her advice and her time. So it's really incredible to be able to be surrounded by these women. Yeah, yeah. I so agree. And you. You're so sweet. You're so sweet. How do you manage those long distance friendships? It's quite hard, isn't it? You're so busy with the children do you are you very considered and deliberate about who you spend your time with and yeah and that's also something I think that I grew up to become so I think COVID I would say helped me with that because we were kind of forced to disconnect from a lot of people and I think it made me reassess who was in my life and who I could live you know without and who was kind of draining me and who shouldn't who should I kind of should not have let in or and I think I did a big exercise like a kind of life exercise during that period where there are a lot of people that I kind of I don't want to say I cut ties with but I kind of slowly drifted away from and then I really understood who the core people in my life are and who are the ones that I should give time to and I think as well um when you're busy you're kind of forced to go through this exercise anyway you don't have the time that you did before so I was growing up I was a bit of a social butterfly I was friends with everybody part of every single group and like at university I had I was a very social girl and it mattered to me a lot to be social.

34:10Today I'm like the opposite. I always thought that I was this extrovert but I realize now that I'm actually not. I'm more of an introvert. I love people but I'm also quite careful about who I'm around. So what does a perfect evening look like in your household? Removing my makeup after a day's work and then it would be like obviously now my kids are a bit older so we have this like they sleep a little bit later and we manage to have our dinner time together which is which is amazing um and then once they're in bed just really just watching the series that I like maybe putting a mask on my face and yeah just and how do you keep them grounded I mean they are really gorgeous children um how do you keep them grounded when you are so well known you know I think um they are quite special they are very like you know I'm so proud when I see my children like we must have done something right my husband and I because I do see that they're very you know they're it's not just that they're humble I mean they should be humble for sure but what they want from life is quite profound you know they're not like these children that are after you know fame or after um superficial stuff they're quite they're they're very they're career-oriented but also like they they I feel like they want to build something and make a difference whenever and wherever they can which is amazing to see and um and I think both my husband and I are also very careful making sure that they understand that everything they have is a privilege and it's not um that they shouldn't take it for granted and how grateful they should be and we expose them as well to the work and life and they quite know they know you know and they must feel quite a part of it yeah given it's both of their parents what qualities in you do you think has made you the person you are today and and which of those qualities are you really focused on passing down to the children?

35:59I don't know if it's a quality, but I think authenticity is something that has been, you know, a core kind of, you know, asset, I think, in what I've built, because for me as a content creator, I think if you're not authentic, you don't have longevity in this world. And, and for me, I think something that has kept me so close to my community is the fact that they know that I'm someone that they can trust that's going to show up as true to herself as she could be. And then even within my business, you know, I think sometimes maybe there our business decisions that we could have made that might have maybe um made us you know have more money or whatever it is but we've always thought of how authentic it feels to the brand and how real it feels to the brand and and it's always been there so I don't know if that can be considered a quality but I definitely think it's something that's a bit of a driver behind the success that we have today for sure for sure um Karen it's London Fashion Week uh can we talk a little bit about fashion and your own style how would you describe your style and how do other people achieve it I think I'm quite relatable actually with my style I do feel that as well this is something that um has also kept my community quite close to me I think it's the fact that they see me as someone that's like one of them I think in terms of my style I think it's quite accessible and that's also what we wanted to do for our brand so we wanted to make our brand like to have this luxury kind of feel but to be accessible yeah which I think is so sensible because you know you want some volume there we want i want everyone that you know likes the brand to be able to kind of feel like they can get it but uh i would say my style is quite um comfortable chic is that a style because i'm i make sure that i'm always comfortable that comes first because i feel like i'm always so much better dressed when i feel comfortable with what i'm wearing it's like chic but also quite elements of style or edge so it's right in the middle between that i would say and which brands are your favorite to wear i'm a i'm an accessories kind of girl I feel like I can be in a very casual like jeans and t-shirt kind of thing.

37:53But then I'll make sure that I have like a nice bag or sun. That's why sunglasses for me as well. It's like a big part of fashion and a nice pair of shoes. I think my kind of go-to brands now are, I love Kate. I'm actually wearing Kate now. I can't take my eyes off that jacket. It's amazing. It actually has a really beautiful skirt as well. Like a matching skirt, but I wear it with these pants. I love Totem. I think it's a great brand as well. I love Saint Laurent. I love, yeah, I love these. Like kind of classic, but like edgy at the same time. You know, that right combination. Totally. And so you've got a lot of shows coming up.

38:28Not actually, not that many, considering what I usually do for Fashion Week. So I'm doing, I'm a lot more, you know, selective this time with the shows that I'm attending. So in London, I'm only doing Burberry. In Milan, I'm only doing Gucci. And then in Paris. Oh, she only does the best. And in Paris, I'm doing Dior and Balenciaga. Yeah. So all of these brands I also love, I have to say, I have to add them to my list. Amazing. Can we finish? Because I know you've got a busy day ahead. Can we finish with three golden rules, pieces of advice you would give people watching now? I would say my number one rule, and it's both on a kind of entrepreneurial, but also on a personal level, I would say to avoid comparison.

39:07I think comparison is something that can take away a lot from you rather than give. so it's good to be motivated or inspired by others but it's important not to confuse that with comparing yourself to others because that doesn't usually add I think it like I said it takes away from from your journey who inspires you those women that I'm talking that was that I referenced before I think those creators like even someone like Hayley Bieber I think who was able to really leverage her platform into building an amazing brand I think is she's someone that I really look up to my mom is also someone that I really look up to as an entrepreneur and someone who is extremely hands-on as a mom i think it's important for me to also reference moms because i know it's really not easy and you know that like juggling a family and a business is is it's not an easy thing so i think again the mental load is huge however much help you have so i think even these women that i'm talking about or even you for example i think it's incredible for for it's an incredible inspiration but it should be a source of positivity to look at you not the source of oh why her not me or what does her journey look like that yeah yeah you know so yeah I couldn't agree more.

40:06Okay, that's one. I need two more. Another one I think would be to obviously like put in the hard work, but then trust the process and trust the timing. Because as well, sometimes things don't go according to plan and you need to trust that this timing is the timing that makes sense for you. And then three, it's a bit on kind of life and also business. I would say to surround yourself with the right people. Surround yourself with the ones that are adding to your life, not the ones that are taking away from you. The right support system. I think this is something that is very important in both life and in business.

40:37Great advice. Great advice. How lovely to have you. Thank you so much. Honestly, I really enjoyed this. I didn't feel like the time was past. I felt like we've been talking for like 15 minutes. Oh, I know. It's flown by. I feel like I could ask you so many more questions. But please come again. Thank you for fitting us in. I know you are such a busy lady. Thank you. That is it for today. You too. And thank you for coming in on a Sunday. I'm delighted. I didn't even have to think twice. That's it for today. If you enjoyed that, then do please rate, review, subscribe, leave a comment. Tell your friends to listen to, and we will be back very soon.

41:06Bye-bye.

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