For a beauty brand founded by a famous face in the Middle East, turning a first-time buyer into a repeat customer is no easy feat. Beauty is a far more complex business than it appears, with its own long-established giants. Consumers see only what a product chooses to reveal about itself: its weight, ingredient list, price, the finish it promises, and the way it claims it will feel on the skin. What remains hidden is everything that happens between the first spark of an idea and the moment the finished product reaches stores. That remains true even as shoppers investigate which labels work with the same manufacturers in search of a better alternative or, more accurately, a cheaper one.

That unseen journey feels particularly relevant in Saudi Arabia today. A beauty product here is not entering a small or peripheral market, but one of the region’s largest. Market research firms value the Kingdom’s beauty and personal care sector at around $8 billion, making it the biggest beauty market in the Gulf. That scale is reflected in its retail landscape. Sephora and Faces already operate extensive store networks across Saudi Arabia, while Ulta Beauty is preparing to enter the market with stores in Jeddah and Riyadh. Yet Saudi beauty is no longer shaped exclusively by international names or giants. In recent years, Saudi beauty brands have begun evolving from local ventures into regional contenders, with some now reaching global retailers. Taken together, these shifts point to a new phase for Saudi beauty. The Kingdom is beginning to move beyond its role as an importer and consumer of beauty products, towards becoming a market that builds brands, perhaps even giants, of its own and sends them out into the world.

One of the homegrown names charting this shift is Moonglaze, founded by makeup artist Yara Alnamlah. The brand has gathered momentum quickly, attracting growing media attention and a devoted consumer following along the way. After starting out as a direct-to-consumer business through its own website, Moonglaze became the first Saudi beauty brand to launch at Selfridges in London, then repeated the feat at Sephora Middle East. Those retail milestones, however, tell only the final chapter of a much longer product story. “I think one of the biggest things that may not be obvious about the beauty industry is that the cost of a product is not simply the cost of the formula inside the packaging,” Alnamlah tells me. She is describing everything that happens before production, when an idea has yet to become a formula, let alone a finished product. “It starts with the idea and the problem the product is meant to solve, followed by formulation development, samples, testing, and sometimes many rounds of adjustments and reformulation.”

No two beauty products follow exactly the same path through development. Complexion products can be particularly demanding, and developing a shade range is a process in its own right. “It is not simply a matter of choosing one colour and moving on to the next. Every shade needs to be reviewed in terms of its undertone, texture, longevity, how it appears on the skin, and whether the performance is consistent across the entire shade range,” Alnamlah explains.Once the formula has been finalized, another sequence of decisions and processes comes into play. “Then there is packaging development, selecting components, design, and testing the compatibility between the packaging and the formula. There are also registrations and regulatory requirements for each market, quality control, shipping, customs, storage, and distribution.”

Moonglaze is not Alnamlah’s only venture in beauty. Her portfolio also includes skincare brand Treat and nail polish label Tinka, all housed under WMM, the company she established. The brands share a clear sensibility, one built around a balanced way of living, a fresh, dewy look and an uncomplicated approach to beauty. It is a philosophy that feels closely aligned with the life Alnamlah shares with her audience on social media.

There is a manufacturing link, too. At least some products across all three brands are made in South Korea. When Alnamlah talks about choosing Korea, however, she is speaking specifically about Moonglaze. “We chose Korea because, from the very beginning, we were very clear about the type of formulas and quality we wanted to offer. Korea today has one of the most advanced beauty manufacturing ecosystems, particularly when it comes to formulation innovation and the combination of makeup and skincare.” She is careful not to frame the country of origin as a shortcut to prestige. For Moonglaze, the decision begins with the demands of each individual product, rather than the cachet of a “Made in Korea” label. “But for us, choosing Korea was never simply about being able to say that a product is ‘Made in Korea.’ The process starts long before manufacturing. We begin every product with a very detailed brief: What do we want it to do? How should it feel? What should the final finish be? How should it perform? What ingredients do we want? What shades? And even how do we want it to look and feel on the skin after hours of wear?”

When I ask whether manufacturing in Korea carries a higher price tag than producing elsewhere, Alnamlah is direct. “Of course, there are lower-cost manufacturing options in the market, but our decision has never been based on finding the lowest possible cost. We look for the right partner and manufacturer for each product, and for the quality and experience that we want consumers to associate with Moonglaze.” Korea, then, is not a blanket rule for the entire range. Manufacturing decisions are made product by product. “Ultimately, not every Moonglaze product necessarily needs to be manufactured in the same place. We look at where each product can be made best, and we make our decision based on that.”

Alnamlah, or bintna, meaning “our girl,” as many affectionately call her whenever she appears on a global stage, was never simply an internet personality who moved into beauty because it was the most natural extension of her content. She began working as a makeup artist at a young age, keeping a packed client schedule and learning firsthand how formulas perform, how products move across the skin, and how they can change the way a client feels about herself. That experience gradually led her to found Moonglaze. The name takes its cue from qamar, the Arabic word for moon and a term often used to describe a beautiful woman. “Glaze,” meanwhile, subtly signals the brand’s preference for a luminous, dewy finish.

Those years still shape the questions Alnamlah asks as a founder. “I started asking questions that consumers may not necessarily think about in the same way: How will the product feel? Is it comfortable? What will it look like after several hours? Does the colour actually work across different skin types? Will a woman enjoy using it, or does she simply like the way it looks?” For all the questions that go into creating a beauty product, there is one point on which Alnamlah is unequivocal, a personal conviction before it is a commercial strategy. “For me, a good product starts with understanding women, rather than trying to sell something to them.” 

Moonglaze’s retail journey has unfolded in stages, taking the brand from selling exclusively through its own website to becoming the first Saudi beauty label to launch at Selfridges in London and Sephora Middle East. With a leap of that scale, Alnamlah tells me, “Almost everything changes.” She is referring to the customer journey and inventory planning, but the brand’s reach has widened just as dramatically. At Sephora, shoppers who may have hesitated online can now test the products before committing to a purchase. Across social media, women around the Gulf are talking about Moonglaze with increasing frequency, with some asking when the brand will reach their part of the region. London has brought a different kind of visibility, including organic English-language reviews on TikTok and a growing wave of coverage from international publications and their regional editions.

“Today, there are customers who discover Moonglaze on a store shelf who may not even know who Yara Alnamlah is. For that person to see the product, try it, and decide to buy it because the product itself convinced them,” Alnamlah says, “that is a very important measure of success for me.”

The ease with which a shopper can now find Moonglaze at their nearest Sephora says little about how difficult it was for the brand to reach that shelf. “When you sell directly through your own website, you control most of the customer journey. But when you enter major retailers like Selfridges and Sephora, it is not simply a new sales channel; you are effectively building a different operational infrastructure for the brand,” Alnamlah explains. The shift changes not only where a product is sold, but how far ahead the brand must think. “Even inventory planning changes completely. Having a product sell out on your website is very different from being responsible for keeping it available across multiple stores and markets at the same time. You start planning production much further in advance, and you need more accurate forecasting, stronger systems, and stronger teams.”

For Alnamlah, this became one of the defining stages in the brand’s evolution. “I think this was one of the most important stages in Moonglaze’s development. We were not simply expanding our points of sale; we had to build the infrastructure and systems behind the brand that would allow it to operate at this scale and level.”

A place on the shelves of a major retailer comes with another cost, one that may not register in the brand’s operating accounts, but that social media accounts are always quick to notice. It is the cost of competing with beauty’s giants.

Moonglaze remains Saudi first and foremost. With the brand repeatedly attached to the distinction of being the “first Saudi beauty brand,” and with its founder framing its success as a form of global recognition for homegrown labels, expectations that it represent Saudi Arabia have grown considerably. I ask Alnamlah how she balances that responsibility with the need to speak to a global audience. Her answer rejects the premise. “I do not see Saudi identity and global reach as two things that need to be balanced against each other.” She continues: “Saudi talent will always have an important presence within Moonglaze. We have an exceptionally creative Saudi generation today, and it is very important to me that the world sees that creativity through the brand with confidence and pride.”

Alnamlah distils her idea of global reach into one precise sentence. “For me, going global means taking our identity with us and allowing a wider audience to discover it.”

In her telling, Saudi identity is the backbone of the brand she is building. “Our Saudi identity is a fundamental part of Moonglaze, and the more we expand globally, the more I want that identity to become visible and stronger. I am very proud that a Saudi brand can enter different markets and take with it a part of our perspective on beauty, creativity, and culture, introducing people to something they may never have experienced or seen in this way before.” That sense of identity sits alongside a belief in beauty’s plurality. The irony, of course, is that not every beauty giant approaches diversity with the same conviction, even as ideals of beauty have changed throughout history, perhaps more often than the weather. “When it comes to choosing the faces and talent we collaborate with, diversity is very important to us. Beauty does not have one face, one nationality, or one background, and neither does Moonglaze. We want to see different faces, creators, and talents from Saudi Arabia and from around the world, as long as there is a genuine connection between them and the identity of the brand.”

There is another side to competing with beauty’s giants, one that extends beyond the product itself into status and emotional attachment. The industry’s biggest names did not cement their place in the market by making practical or beautiful products alone. Their long histories have earned consumer trust, while for some, links to luxury fashion and the lifestyle surrounding it add another layer of allure. That kind of equity can make shoppers more willing to overlook price or size. The same dynamic may not work quite as readily in Moonglaze’s favour. For all the brand has achieved in a short time, it is still growing and testing what it can become. At Sephora, exposure and opportunity arrive alongside a different order of challenge. Alnamlah seems clear-eyed about that reality, and about the scrutiny that can come from every direction. “I do not want a Saudi brand to be protected from criticism or comparison simply because it is Saudi. If our ambition is to compete globally, then we also need to be comfortable being compared globally.”

With the help of her mostly young team, Alnamlah has found a way to move Moonglaze beyond the orbit of her own following. That is noteworthy, particularly among the beauty brands founded by social media influencers across the Middle East. The evidence is easy to find on TikTok, X and Instagram, where posts surrounding Moonglaze launches spread quickly, carrying commentary, reviews and opinions, some grounded in firsthand experience and others not. They attract thousands of likes and, at times, millions of views. I ask Alnamlah what she makes of the sheer volume of public discussion surrounding Moonglaze, and whether that level of attention represents a crisis or an opportunity. She answers with the ease of someone who has made peace with it. “I see the conversation itself as not being a crisis at all. On the contrary, it is a natural part of any brand growing and reaching a wider audience. When you build something new, especially in a major industry like beauty, it is natural for people to ask questions, make comparisons, and have strong opinions.”

Listening, however, does not mean giving every opinion equal weight. Alnamlah sorts through the feedback, acts on what warrants change and balances that openness with confidence in the decisions she has made and the reasons behind them. She understands that greater visibility inevitably brings discussion and criticism. “Some feedback can genuinely be very valuable and something we can learn from. Some of it may come from not knowing all the details that happen behind the scenes in this industry, and some of it is simply personal preference. Our role as a brand is to know how to distinguish between those things,” she says. “I actually think it is a positive thing that Saudi brands have reached a point where people are discussing them on this scale.”

Feedback, after all, is hardly new territory for Alnamlah. As a makeup artist, she was already listening closely to her clients and taking note of their reactions. One of the most important lessons she carried into Moonglaze was an awareness of just how differently women experience beauty. “Every woman who sits in front of you has different skin, different features, different preferences, and a different way of seeing herself.” She continues: “And sometimes, the simplest comments a woman makes to you while sitting in your chair can be more valuable than anything else, because they remind you that a product is ultimately not just a formula or packaging. It is something that is going to become part of a real person’s life.”

WMM, in Alnamlah’s telling, is more than a holding company. It is a collective portrait of the passion and ambition of the Saudi men and women behind it. Looking back on the company’s early days, she remembers how much depended on finding a team willing to believe in her ideas before there was any tangible proof that they would succeed. “This is one of the stages that I think shaped me more than people might expect.” The ambitious chief executive is unmistakable in what she says next. “Most of the initial team were Saudi men and women, and that had a huge impact on me. I experienced the real building phase with them, and I saw up close the level of ambition and creativity that exists within this generation. I think part of my responsibility today is to create an environment where people have the space to experiment, learn, and grow. Because I was once the person who had nothing but an idea and needed someone to believe in it.”

As Alnamlah moves in conversation between memories of the beauty-loving girl she once was and the beauty brand founder she is today, it becomes clear how much Moonglaze and the team around her have taught her. When she speaks candidly about the most difficult stage of building the brand, beyond the numbers and results, her answer begins on a managerial note. “In the beginning, especially when a project is very close to you, you feel like you need to be involved in every decision and every detail. But as you grow, you realise that a brand cannot grow if it is tied to one person for everything.”

Then her tone turns more personal. “I had to learn to trust the team, delegate, and accept that something can be done differently from the way I imagined it, without that necessarily meaning it is being done incorrectly. That was more of a personal lesson than a business lesson.” Ultimately, Alnamlah knows that her visibility and audience gave Moonglaze its strong start, and she does not take that for granted. But she does not want the brand’s success to remain forever tethered to her. “My name may have helped open the first door, but my ambition is for Moonglaze to grow into something bigger than my name, and for people over time to know it through its products, quality, identity, and the experience it offers.”

One last time, Alnamlah takes me back to her childhood, where her fascination with beauty first took shape. She tells me that curiosity, along with an eye for the smallest details, is what has stayed with her most. “Even my relationship with beauty began with observation. I used to watch my mother getting ready, how she chose her perfume, how she cared for her skin, and how small details could change the way she felt that day.” That younger self is never difficult to find in our conversation. The pressures of the industry may sometimes obscure her, but she remains present in Alnamlah’s direct answers and optimistic outlook. Near the end, she comes fully into view. “I love simple things, I love learning, and I love being around the people I care about. I am still the same girl who used to observe everything around her and wonder about all those little details.”

The leadership lesson Moonglaze taught her has become something of a compass for what comes next. At the end of our conversation, Alnamlah puts it this way: “I want to build things that I love and be proud of them. Maybe that is the real journey for me: to build something from scratch, give it everything I can, and then learn how to let it grow in its own way, without forgetting the person I was when this whole story began.”

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