They both started from the same wave of social media influencers.

They both started from the same wave of social media influencers. They are always compared and I'm not gonna lie, it took me a while to discover that they are indeed different people. They both entered similar industries, but the difference is not what they sell, but how they sell it. Nour Arida and Karen Wazen. They both built large audiences through daily content on lifestyle, fashion, being a mom. Slowly they turned their influence into full business ecosystems. Karen built her identity on luxury fashion, family life, aesthetics. Nour Arida built a more expressive identity, mixing fashion, personality and motherhood content in a bold and outspoken tone. Karen became known for a consistent luxury aesthetic that attracted global fashion attention. Nour became known for her personality that felt closer to everyday audiences. But the key secret was how they moved from content to physical brands that people could buy and use in their daily lives. Karen built the brand Karen Wazen Eyewear in 2018. If you know you know. She has international distribution and physical stores in Dubai and Lebanon, along with online stores that delivers everywhere. What sets her apart is her experimental marketing, like activation pop-ups at the beach in Dubai. Recently she is in Aishti stores. Nour built Sorbé, a brand that focuses more on lip care products. She launched the brand a few months ago in 2025. Her approach is great, she focuses more on emotional connection. She uses cultural settings such as the beach. I don't know if you saw what she did at Sporting, it was super cute. And now the revenue, cause I know you're waiting for that. And no we're not the kind of account that brings down other women and we don't pit them against each other. They're both very successful and they're good at what they do. And their revenue is from product sales, eyewear and lip care, partnerships, social media influence, campaign activations, collaborations, and I'm so sure they have investments to keep their income going. The only difference is that Karen has a business that is more scalable internationally easily. Nour's model is more flexible, tied closely to audience connection and to build an emotional connection with. So it's fair to say they both built empires in a different way with a solid foundation. Karen if you're watching this please send me sunglasses. I love you. Imagine! So what can we learn from Karen Wazen and Nour Arida? The same starting point doesn't mean you'll go to the same place or that there is one kind of business to go for. Retail expansion while influencing might be the best thing to do. Let me know in the comments whom to discuss next time.