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How George Chamoun Became the Go-To Stylist for Arab Superstars

Tue, 02 Dec 2025 12:55:51 GMT

How George Chamoun Became the Go-To Stylist for Arab Superstars

He is the crafting hand behind many statement looks for some of the biggest celebrities in the Arab world — Majida El-Roumy, Haifa Wehbe, Carla Haddad, Cyrine Abdelnour, and many more. Here is the story behind the success of fashion stylist and expert George Chamoun — decoded.

George discovered his passion for styling and fashion since childhood and he was talented in drawing. He used to doodle dresses and houses. Therefore, his major at first was interior design and he excelled in it, before choosing to run after his true passion – fashion and styling.

His parents and family stood by him as he started proving himself in the field, but the road to the top was not easy. And maintaining that success is even harder. “The fashion world is in constant change”, says George, “you have to always be up to date and know about the latest trends of every season as early as possible”.

The star Haifa Wehbe was his golden ticket to step into the spotlight. George had been one of her biggest fans, he met her, got her personal number, and began sending her mood boards. She believed in his talent and trusted him to design one of her most remarkable looks. That moment became a huge turning point in his career and opened doors for collaborations with many other celebrities.

George now has his own menswear line, and many male celebrities have worked with him, including Joseph Attieh, Saad Lmjarred, Nassif Zeitoun and Nicolas Mouawad.

Fun fact about working with George Chamoun: He always has last minute changes and requests for his team - but the results are always worth the hard work!

He believes that vintage and classic styles are always elegant and timeless, even though he is bold with his styling and lets his creativity lead most of the time.

George revealed that 3 looks were especially remarkable in his career: one of Haifa Wehbe, one of Cyrine Abdelnour and one of Carla Haddad.

His name also shinned on red carpets when he styled Mahira Abdel Aziz for Cannes Films festival, and Rahma Riad for the Murex D’or in 2023.

He hopes to style actress Carmen Bsaibes, as well as singers Najwa Karam, and Nancy Ajram.

A word from George Chamoun to the younger generation of designers and stylists: “I started from zero and worked my way up to the top. Follow your dreams and never give up. Believe in yourself and God.

The road will not be easy, but you will succeed. And don’t let negative comments hold you back — use them as motivation to work harder and reach your goals.”

And finally, if you are looking to enhance your personal style or you are passionate about styling and fashion, George Chamoun is giving one on one or group styling courses you can register in!

Breaking Barriers: How Fady Kataya Turned Passion into Success

Wed, 26 Nov 2025 11:26:31 GMT

Breaking Barriers: How Fady Kataya Turned Passion into Success

He believed in himself and challenged the society and its prototypes and just followed his dreams! Coming from a modest mixed Lebanese family, he worked hard to make his name shine in the beauty field. This is the success story of the talented and original makeup artist “Fady Kataya” decoded!

Since childhood, makeup was his first and only passion although at the time it was weird for a guy to choose this profession, but Fady Kataya believed in his talent and walked his first steps boldly with no second thoughts or doubts.

He got himself into a makeup class where all his colleagues were women, and he had no clue about how to use makeup utensils, which was an excuse for them to make fun of him, but he forged his way to the top with hard work and dedication, and he is the one now standing proudly behind many iconic looks of the biggest celebrities of the era.

After his first course, he started searching for a job, and got rejected many times just because society wasn’t ready for a male makeup artist. He didn’t give up, he worked for 3 years as a hairdresser, then as a nurse assistant in a hospital before getting the chance to do the makeup for a cast of a theater play, where he succeeded in shedding light on his talent. And that was the start.

Fady Kataya then started showing his unique style and artistic talent on the faces of many well-known stars such as Aline Khalaf, Carole Samaha, and Nancy Ajram, who played a major role in his successful career, and to that he is very grateful.

He urges all beginner makeup artists to seek the experience of working for TV and theatre as it is a unique way to forge their skills.

Fady faced many challenges on his way to success, but he always learned the lesson and never let bad attitudes influence his dedication and change his beliefs. While he was fired from a job because he was doing it far better than his manager, he now seeks to help his assistants develop their skills and step into the light.

His modesty and self-esteem also show in his collaborations with other makeup artists and his future plans for his beauty lounge, as he is aiming to turn it into a place where many makeup artists with different styles can be found.

To the young generation of artists, Fady advises to be patient, stay humble, and work as hard as they can without making the income their main target, but the experience.

He says that the road to success is never easy and is full of challenges and requires many sacrifices, but it is rewarding.

There is always something new to learn in the evolving world of makeup, Fady confirms, so stay open to new styles and updated and always acknowledge other’s successes.

Adding a fun fact: if he had the chance, Fady would have chosen to do the makeup of Cleopatra, Marie Antoinette, Hind Rustom, and Sophia Loren.

Revealing a secret about the makeup brands he uses: Make Up For Ever and MAC for TV and photoshoots, along with other luxurious brands such as Lancôme, Hourglass, Pat McGrath, Charlotte Tilbury, and Bobbi Brown.

Maliks Bookshop

Tue, 11 Nov 2025 11:25:22 GMT

When Youthful Energy Builds a Legacy: Decoding Malik’s Journey

From a small shop on bliss street with a side job idea and no plan, to a big successful business with 25 branches across Lebanon, this is the success story of Malik Barakat CEO and owner of Maliks Bookshop.

In 1988, guided by ambition and youthful energy, Malik, an engineering distinguished student, came up with the idea of a side job to get some extra income by offering photocopy services and selling stationery right from his own room at his parents’ house. Being a student himself, helped him relate to the needs of youth at the time, which made his small idea a growing business by opening the first Malik’s Bookshop at Bliss Street near the university he later graduated from as a top student, AUB.

His main aim was to earn extra money, but his dedication over several years and the experience he committed himself to gaining by managing that small shop at Bliss Street led him onto the path he has built today.

After many successes and the opening of bigger branches, Malik made the decision to let engineering go and focus on the job he enjoyed investing his time in growing it even more.

His parents weren’t very supportive of the idea at first, but that never stopped him from pursuing what he believed in, and year after year, they started helping him with the business.

The Turning Point

Malik worked for 8 years in an engineering company while managing his small shop, the turning point was when he opened a bigger shop at Bliss Street, which was the first step that forged his management skills, and at that point he started to feel that he wants to work on this business and make it grow, as he said to Decode.

The decision to change paths wasn’t easy at all, he needed some reassurance. And after many failures and successes, he made up his mind and chose his true passion.

“The struggle is real and continuous”, Malik says, “and I questioned myself many times if it is really worthy, because when it comes to Lebanon and the constant instability we live in, it is always hard to keep going”, but never did he give up.

Success After Another

Maliks Bookshop currently has 25 shops, providing a large variety of printing services, stationery, multimedia, gifts, arts and crafts… Because Malik managed to go with the flow and grow his business according to the needs of his clientele and he succeeded in avoiding becoming the “Kodak” of the era.

He is currently trying to encourage locally made products including some Lebanese board games, by opening a new section called “Made in Lebanon”.

30 years of experience helped Malik Barakat create a distinguished relational culture between his employees and his clients. And as he says: “Maliks bookshop is not just Malik, it is a great team of 250 Lebanese employees passionate about our work, and they are the key to our continuous innovation”.

Future Plans

It is true that Malik’s Bookshop started as a small side job idea with no clear plan for growth, but it turned out to be a big, successful business continuously creating new ideas. So be ready for an innovative one coming soon, based on a skill they excel in: “retail”! New brands are on the way!

A Word to the Young Generation

One last message from a successful businessman to the young generation of entrepreneurs and business founders: “Do not lose your enthusiasm and motivation, and don’t lose hope quickly, or set very high hopes from the beginning, you have to work really hard and let your passion guide you and be patient. Hard work always pays off and no competition can stop you”.

Malik Barakat – CEO and owner of Maliks Bookshops

Decode Season 1

Watch the episode here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKOxNLfw4Ug&list=PLrrLJtaWizMsQc0q3u-6piTVpvDYpbKk_&index=15

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How George Chamoun Became the Go-To Stylist for Arab Superstars

Breaking Barriers: How Fady Kataya Turned Passion into Success

Maliks Bookshop

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