This Cool-Girl Blogger Is The Hottest Thing In Dubai

We’re just saying: Tala Samman, Dubai-based blogger of My Fash Diary, and Hannah Bronfman should be besties. A sick fashion sense? Check. Beauty junkies? Yup. Fit #bodygoals? Foodies? Moonlighting as DJs? Check, check, and check.

And if you need a tour guide for all the insider spots in Dubai, Samman, who was born in Chicago to Syrian parents, pretty much has this city on lock. Raised in the UAE her whole life, Samman was also the first fashion blogger in the region when she launched her site eight years ago.

“When I started my blog, it was the only one in the UAE,” she says. “It was a big deal because even though blogs were picking up in the States, Dubai was a few steps behind initially when it came to this whole industry.”

Starting off as a purely fashion site, My Fash Diary has since grown to include beauty, travel, food — and her Instagram also has some serious fitspiration. Oh yeah, and then there’s this whole DJing thing.

A regular at fashion events, and most recently the headlining DJ spinning for thousands at Zabeel Park at the city’s Electric Run, Samman said learning to DJ was something she even hid from her friends at first.

“I always wanted to learn how to DJ but I was always too shy to ask friends who were DJs because a lot of them are guys,” she said. “I don’t come from a very musical background, but two years ago, I ended up taking classes with a producer in Dubai at an academy that doesn’t exist here anymore. I remember him saying, ‘Girls never come here...it’s always just guys!'”

And when it comes to beauty, Samman says Middle Eastern women really know their stuff. “I feel like people don’t realise that Middle Eastern women are super savvy with their beauty,” she says. “Even people I know who don’t necessarily work in the beauty or fashion scene are savvier than people around the world when it comes to products. And they’re willing to spend on it — you’ll see more and more brands are getting stock here because there really is a demand for it.”

A regular on the scene, it’s hard to miss Samman with her violet locks (more on this in a bit), and covetable style. Ahead, the always-chic blogger shares some of the beauty must-haves in her makeup bag.