The Maryam Edit is an independent beauty platform for the UAE — built by an Emirati who learned everything the hard way, and created so that you do not have to.
I am Maryam — Emirati, born and raised in the UAE. As a teenager, I was completely self-taught when it came to beauty. I spent hours watching YouTube tutorials, experimenting on myself, figuring out what worked and what did not. Makeup became something I was genuinely good at. But skincare? I had no idea. I was applying foundation without moisturiser. I did not understand skin types, or ingredients, or why my skin behaved the way it did. Nobody had ever explained it to me.
That changed in 2020, when I started working for a beauty retailer. Suddenly I was surrounded by product knowledge, ingredient science, and the kind of expertise that most people never get access to. I learned about skin types, about protocols, about how to read a formulation. I started wearing sunscreen — properly, daily — for the first time in my life. The difference it made was visible. People started telling me I looked younger than I had years before.
That experience changed how I think about beauty entirely. And it made me want to build something for every woman who is where I was at seventeen — curious, overwhelmed, and buying things because TikTok said so, without understanding whether any of it was right for her skin.
Not everything works on everybody. You need to understand your skin, your undertone, your climate. That is what this site is for.— MARYAM
The beauty content most of us consume is driven by what is trending, what is sponsored, and what is going viral this week. None of that tells you whether a product is right for your skin type, your undertone, or the climate you actually live in. I built this site to be the opposite of that — a place where you can understand what your skin needs, find products that are genuinely available in the UAE, and make decisions based on knowledge rather than hype.
Everything on this site is here because it belongs here. The categories cover skincare, makeup, haircare, fragrance, and beauty tools — over 2,190 products across 386 brands, all verified as available in the UAE. The ingredient information is there so you can read a label and understand what you are actually buying.
This is the resource I needed when I was starting out. A guide that treats you as someone capable of understanding your own skin — not just someone to sell to.
The UAE sits between the 23rd and 26th parallels north — a latitude that delivers UV Index readings of 10 or above for most of the year. Standard SPF 30 is insufficient here. The minimum is SPF 50, and reapplication is not optional.
The combination of outdoor heat and indoor air conditioning creates a cycle of dehydration that affects even naturally oily skin types. Barrier repair ingredients — ceramides, niacinamide, squalane — matter more here than almost anywhere else. Fragrance-heavy formulations that would be fine in cooler climates can become sensitising under prolonged sun exposure.
Then there is the cultural dimension. Fragrance in the Gulf is not an afterthought — it is a language. Oud, amber, and musk carry social and historical weight that Western fragrance guides rarely acknowledge. The Maryam Edit fragrance section is built with that understanding at its core.
Key actives are listed for every product. No vague claims. No marketing language. If a product contains niacinamide, you will know the concentration where it is disclosed.
If a product is not available in the UAE through a reliable channel, it does not appear here. This is not a global wishlist — it is a practical guide for people who live here.
Every recommendation is assessed through the lens of the Gulf climate. Products that perform well in temperate conditions but poorly in heat and humidity are flagged accordingly.
Badges, rankings, and featured positions are never sold. Affiliate links may generate a small commission, but they do not influence which products are recommended or how they are described.
Whether you are building a routine from scratch, trying to understand your skin type, or looking for something specific — everything you need is here.