Maria Dowling is a Dubai-based hair colourist, hair stylist and the creative director of mariadowling.com. Over the past 12 years, her eponymous Dubai salon has grown into a luxury hair colour brand. Ms Dowling, 44, from Ireland, has lived in the UAE for 19 years.
6.30am
I’m always up early to walk my two dogs, Maxine and Oscar. It helps me clear my head and get some morning exercise before the busy day ahead.
8.45am
I arrive at the salon a little early to make sure we’re all set up and that my team is ready for the day. We are fully booked with clients so the salon is always busy and full of chatter; just how I like it.
10.30am
Inbetween clients, I add images and magazine articles to our trends boards, which help to keep the team focused on all aspects of exciting international trends. In hairdressing it’s important we constantly think and talk about hair and hair colour; this energy and enthusiasm carries through to the salon floor. We create two collections a year, so these boards are also what inspire us. We study the trend predictions and international street styles to come up with a theme and an idea for what our collection will be like. Our trends’ images have appeared in lots of regional and international hair and fashion magazines, particularly in the UK. Our latest images have just appeared on the cover of an American hair magazine that is distributed worldwide. As a Dubai-based salon, this is a major achievement as it puts us firmly on the global stage.
1pm
Over lunch, we have a quick team meeting. I’m naturally a very hands-on person when it comes to the business, but I believe it’s important to have strong people around me who allow me to focus on other areas of my business, other than my regular clients. Rebecca Guye, assistant manager on the floor, makes sure the day-to-day running of the salon goes smoothly. And Nicola Day is in charge of training, a really important side of my business. On the first Monday of every month I close the salon for a day of in-house training. I brainstorm with the team to see what we should be concentrating on: new cutting and colouring techniques or just brushing up on old ones. Nicola and I ensure we have a full day of training scheduled as closing the salon for a full day is a big commitment time-wise and financially.
3.30pm
Maxine Townsend, one of my stylists, and I sit down and discuss updates in the media and celebrity world. Maxine keeps us all updated with changes in the media, which campaigns are new, which model/celeb is wearing what style. It’s important for us to know who has changed her hair and what styles are appearing on the red carpet as this influences our clients. If Beyoncé cuts her hair short or Kim Kardashian changes her hair colour that is what our clients will ask for.
5pm
I chat with my public relations consultant, Fiona Falconer, who keeps me busy on the PR side of the business (thank goodness). I involve all of the staff in putting together ideas and the technical information we need for write-ups in magazines and online. Due to magazine deadlines, we have to plan so far in advance; often Fiona is writing about summer hair when we’re still in February. The most important thing is to keep the communication consistent so I also update the salon’s Facebook page with a quick tip, a comment about a celebrity’s hairstyle or something new going on in the salon.
6pm
I lock up at the salon and meet my husband, Peter Dowling. We have two other related businesses, which Peter is responsible for. I act as a consultant for these too, although I try to remain primarily involved in what happens on the salon floor. House of Maria Dowling is the distribution arm of our business for the UAE, and Puri Middle East is the regional office and partnership with Puri Alchemy Bangkok – developers of natural aromatherapy products for hotels, airlines, spas and resorts. We discuss a new product concept for my mariadowling hair range and Peter shows me samples of the proposed new packaging for our mariadowling hair detox clay, which we plan to launch next month.
8pm
I go to a salsa class, which I do twice a week. I go equally for the social aspect as much as the exercise. On other work nights I tend to go for a quiet meal with friends or I’m quite happy relaxing at home with my cats and dogs. On my days off I’m a lot more social and you will find me hitting the beach and going out more. But weekdays are devoted to work, which I love.
11pm
I head to bed.
business@thenational.ae
The specs
Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Fly Etihad or Emirates from the UAE to Moscow from 2,763 return per person return including taxes.
Where to stay
Trips on the Golden Eagle Trans-Siberian cost from US$16,995 (Dh62,414) per person, based on two sharing.
The specs
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 620hp from 5,750-7,500rpm
Torque: 760Nm from 3,000-5,750rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed dual-clutch auto
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh1.05 million ($286,000)
THE DRAFT
The final phase of player recruitment for the T10 League has taken place, with UAE and Indian players being drafted to each of the eight teams.
Bengal Tigers
UAE players: Chirag Suri, Mohammed Usman
Indian: Zaheer Khan
Karachians
UAE players: Ahmed Raza, Ghulam Shabber
Indian: Pravin Tambe
Kerala Kings
UAE players: Mohammed Naveed, Abdul Shakoor
Indian: RS Sodhi
Maratha Arabians
UAE players: Zahoor Khan, Amir Hayat
Indian: S Badrinath
Northern Warriors
UAE players: Imran Haider, Rahul Bhatia
Indian: Amitoze Singh
Pakhtoons
UAE players: Hafiz Kaleem, Sheer Walli
Indian: RP Singh
Punjabi Legends
UAE players: Shaiman Anwar, Sandy Singh
Indian: Praveen Kumar
Rajputs
UAE players: Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed
Indian: Munaf Patel
SPECS
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The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20APPLE%20IPHONE%2015%20PRO%20MAX
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57%20Seconds
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Profile Idealz
Company: Idealz
Founded: January 2018
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Size: (employees): 22
Investors: Co-founders and Venture Partners (9 per cent)
Race card:
6.30pm: Baniyas (PA) Group 2 Dh195,000 1,400m.
7.05pm: Maiden (TB) Dh165,000 1,400m.
7.40pm: Handicap (TB) Dh190,000 1,200m.
8.15pm: Maiden (TB) Dh165,000 1,200m.
8.50pm: Rated Conditions (TB) Dh240,000 1,600m.
9.20pm: Handicap (TB) Dh165,000 1,400m.
10pm: Handicap (TB) Dh175,000 2,000m.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
A list of the animal rescue organisations in the UAE
Scores
Scotland 54-17 Fiji
England 15-16 New Zealand
The biog
Name: Sarah Al Senaani
Age: 35
Martial status: Married with three children - aged 8, 6 and 2
Education: Masters of arts in cultural communication and tourism
Favourite movie: Captain Corelli’s Mandolin
Favourite hobbies: Art and horseback ridding
Occupation: Communication specialist at a government agency and the owner of Atelier
Favourite cuisine: Definitely Emirati - harees is my favourite dish
Emergency phone numbers in the UAE
Estijaba – 8001717 – number to call to request coronavirus testing
Ministry of Health and Prevention – 80011111
Dubai Health Authority – 800342 – The number to book a free video or voice consultation with a doctor or connect to a local health centre
Emirates airline – 600555555
Etihad Airways – 600555666
Ambulance – 998
Knowledge and Human Development Authority – 8005432 ext. 4 for Covid-19 queries
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
Racecard
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