Jess Hunt has never played small.
From the early days of building a name online to co-founding REFY Beauty, she has consistently moved with the kind of clarity most brands spend years trying to manufacture. Now, REFY’s arrival in Dubai signals something bigger than another store opening. It is a statement of intent.
Dubai is not just a location. It is a stage. A city where luxury, influence, and global consumer power collide in real time. For Hunt and REFY, opening in Dubai marks a strategic expansion into a market that does not simply buy beauty, it lives it.
And in 2026, that matters more than ever.
REFY’s Dubai Launch Is Not a Trend, It’s a Strategy
In today’s beauty economy, physical retail is no longer just about selling product. It is about building presence. Community. Proof.
REFY has grown with a customer base that values minimalism, clean design, and results-led formulas, but it has also built something more valuable than a bestseller list. It has built trust. The brand’s identity feels intentional and modern, with a distinct aesthetic that translates seamlessly across content and commerce.
Dubai offers a consumer who understands that instantly.
The region’s beauty shopper is informed, discerning, and deeply engaged with product performance. She is loyal when she finds a routine that works, and she is willing to invest. Whether it is brow shaping, skin prep, or the perfect lip combination, the Middle Eastern beauty market is driven by detail.
REFY was made for a market like this.
Why Dubai, and Why Now
Dubai continues to position itself as one of the most influential luxury and beauty hubs in the world. It is where international brands come to scale fast, but also where cultural taste is created and exported. This is the modern global retail ecosystem, built on experience, aspiration, and visibility.
For founder-led brands, it is also a city that rewards confidence.
Launching in Dubai places REFY in front of a high-spending, beauty-first audience that values both polish and practicality. It also opens the door to broader regional expansion across the Gulf, where consumer demand for premium beauty has remained resilient, even in an uncertain global economy.
This is not a soft entry. It is a power move.
Jess Hunt: Founder, Face, and the Blueprint
The most compelling part of REFY’s rise is how clearly Jess Hunt has understood the modern founder equation. In 2026, being a founder is no longer only about business. It is about narrative. Presence. Identity.
Hunt is not simply marketing REFY, she is building a world around it.
Her audience connects to a version of beauty that feels achievable but elevated, polished but not overdone. The REFY look sits in that sweet spot between effortless and intentional. It is the kind of aesthetic that thrives on TikTok, Instagram, and in real life.
This is why REFY has stayed relevant in a market that moves quickly.
The brand is not built on hype. It is built on a repeatable routine, a recognisable visual language, and products that customers actually return to.
What This Opening Means for the Beauty Industry
There was a time when beauty brands launched in the Middle East only after establishing years of legacy in the West. That era is over. Brands are now expanding early because the market is not an afterthought, it is a key growth driver.
Dubai is one of the clearest indicators of where the industry is going. Its retail landscape has become a central point for global influence and luxury shopping, with consumers who expect high service, high quality, and high impact.
For beauty brands, it is also a market that understands the value of in-person experience.
A store opening today is an editorial moment. It is social content. It is customer conversion. It is community building. It becomes a cultural marker, not just a sales channel.
REFY’s Dubai opening places it among a wave of brands that are embracing physical retail again, not because digital has slowed down, but because consumers want connection.
They want to touch, test, and understand a product before committing.
Dubai Is the New Global Beauty Capital
Beauty has always had capitals. Paris for fragrance. Seoul for skincare. Los Angeles for celebrity-led launches. London for editorial cool.
Dubai is becoming its own category altogether.
It is where luxury shopping, beauty culture, and social influence intersect with speed. It is a city that attracts international clientele, sets global standards for retail experience, and demands excellence from brands that enter.
For REFY, this is the perfect environment to grow a stronger customer relationship, especially with consumers who already champion the sculpted brow, fresh skin, and polished minimal makeup that the brand is known for.
And for Jess Hunt, it reinforces something the industry has quietly acknowledged for a while.
REFY is no longer an influencer brand.
It is a serious global beauty business.
