She has built a successful beauty empire, amassed a social media following of more than 18 million and now, Joelle Mardinian is opening up her life for the cameras.
The Beirut-born entrepreneur, who lives in Dubai, is the star of the new MBC Shahid VIP original series Joelle Unfiltered, which follows her as she runs her successful business empire and takes care of her family, including her three children, Bailey, Ella and Nathan, alongside her husband Kamal.
Four years in the making, Joelle Unfiltered will premiere on February 14. In the show, the star opens up about a number of aspects of her life that she has never publicly spoken about, including how she adopted her son Nathan, 3, in 2018, as well as her wish to adopt another child in the future.
The series was filmed in the family’s home in Dubai, as well as in London, where eldest son Bailey, 21, is currently living and studying. Clips also show the family in the Maldives and Jordan.
The National got a preview of episode one ahead of its launch next week. “Some people think I’m too emotional, too crazy,” Mardinian, 44, says in one clip, “But why should I care what people think.”
Speaking ahead of the launch, she said: “You are going to see us for real.
“We all know the face of the person we see during the day but nobody knows what happens under their roof. I have given [the show] everything, everything was filmed.
“The most encouraging thing in my life and the thing that makes me feel that I am really doing something right is knowing that Shahid and MBC, this great association in the Arab world, has that much trust in me ... it is mind-blowing.”
Mardinian moved to Dubai from London in 2004, starting out as a make-up artist and going on to open high-end beauty salon Maison de Joelle in 2008. The brand expanded throughout the Middle East and, in 2013, was joined by cosmetic clinic Clinica Joelle, which now has outposts in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Kuwait.
Mardinian is also the founder of contact lens business EyeCandy, which launched in 2021, a process that will be featured in the show.
Describing the experience of letting the cameras into her home, she said the crew came to feel like “one big family”.
“I felt so safe and so happy,” she said. “It really felt like family.”
Joelle Unfiltered will have its premiere on MBC's Shahid VIP on February 14
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Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
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Why are asylum seekers being housed in hotels?
The number of asylum applications in the UK has reached a new record high, driven by those illegally entering the country in small boats crossing the English Channel.
A total of 111,084 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2025, the highest number for any 12-month period since current records began in 2001.
Asylum seekers and their families can be housed in temporary accommodation while their claim is assessed.
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The total rose to 254,000 in the year to June 2021, followed by steep jumps to 634,000 in the year to June 2022 and 906,000 in the year to June 2023.
The latest available figure of 728,000 for the 12 months to June 2024 suggests levels are starting to decrease.
Pharaoh's curse
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He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
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