Karen Wazen, the Dubai-based entrepreneur and digital creator, has shared a new beauty campaign moment on her Instagram account this week, featuring Guerlain — the French maison for which she has served as a regional ambassador since 2022. The post is the latest beat in a partnership that has run for more than three years, and which has steadily expanded Wazen's profile in the global beauty industry.
The Guerlain partnership
According to Arab News, Wazen was announced in 2022 as Guerlain Skincare's first regional ambassador for the Middle East, representing collections including Abeille Royale and Orchidée Impériale. Her work with the maison has included multiple campaigns, an editorial appearance with Angelina Jolie at the Guerlain Spa in Paris —covered by Arab News— and ongoing brand collaborations across its skincare and fragrance lines. Industry trade Business of Fashion includes her in its BoF 500 index of figures shaping the global fashion industry.
What KissKiss is
The Kiss Kiss line referenced in Wazen's latest post is one of Guerlain's long-running lip product ranges, with multiple variants currently in production. Two of the most widely sold — the Kiss Kiss Bee Glow Hydrating Tinted Lip Oil and the Kiss Kiss Blur Matte Long-Wearing Lipstick — are stocked by Sephora, including in its Middle East stores. Guerlain's broader Kiss Kiss family has been a fixture of the brand's colour cosmetics range for years and is regularly refreshed with new shades.
A growing regional business
Beyond the Guerlain partnership, Wazen continues to build her own brand portfolio. Her Karen Wazen Eyewear label, founded in 2016, has expanded across the Gulf and into Egypt through a recently announced joint venture set to open a portfolio of standalone boutiques over the coming years. Her positioning combines a personal social audience with a wholesale and retail operation that now spans cosmetics partnerships and eyewear product.
The latest Instagram post is, on its face, a brand image — but it adds a small new beat to a beauty partnership that has matured into one of the longest-running maison-influencer relationships in the region.
