With the debut of REFY in the Middle East, co-founder Jess Hunt is proving that there is global power in pared-back beauty.

“Please don’t ever discontinue your Gloss Highlighter” is pretty much the first thing Emirates Woman’s Fashion Editor Camille Macawili says to Jess Hunt as she arrives on set for this month’s cover shoot. It’s a cri du coeur that says it all. Fans of REFY, the beauty brand that Hunt co-founded at the end of 2020, are as diehard as they come – and Hunt knows it. “I get asked if it bothers me when people walk up to me on the street to talk about REFY, and that always surprises me – because I love it,” reflects Hunt, who counts nearly 2 million followers on her Instagram alone. “The fact that someone wants to take time out of their day to tell me how they feel about REFY, give me advice or feedback, it’s so, so special to me. It’s an instant reminder that what we are doing is having a real impact on people,” she adds.

In person Hunt is a bit of a revelation. Her online persona, which telegraphs a polished cool girl energy, melts away. On set she is quick to laugh, game to test her sartorial boundaries and open to ideas or new directions that pop up at the last minute. She readily admits that some people are surprised at that slight disconnect between her digital profile and who she is IRL. “I think I’m just very protective of who I am,“ she confesses. “If I’m honest with you, I find it really hard to put my entire self out there. You’ll go on my Instagram and you won’t see any of my friends or family. It’s very curated. But I see that as a good thing, because I think it helps me separate what is my online life and what is my personal life.” But Hunt also is very aware that she is at a pivotal time in the history of her budding beauty empire. Now five years in, she understands that keeping, and growing, the fan base for her brand must remain the north star for REFY. It’s one of the reasons why she is visiting Dubai – to announce the entry of REFY into the market in partnership with Sephora. She is determined to have real-world interactions with the women of the region. To learn first-hand about their unique beauty needs and how to proactively support them with products designed to streamline their routines in ways that arm them for the day ahead.

The timing feels serendipitous. The new year, the new issue (our Wellness edition) and a founder entering the fullness of her professional calling. If wellness is, at its core, about aligning inner truth with outward expression, then Hunt’s rise is a case study in exactly that. The REFY founder may have built her early audience through a carefully curated social media presence, but today her work is rooted not in intention, but in craft. In community. And increasingly, in self-awareness. “I feel like the past year is probably when I’ve felt my most grounded and my most sure,” she shares. “I still have so much to learn, but I feel the most confident I’ve ever felt, and it’s really empowering.”

That confidence is visible in every facet of REFY’s arrival in the Middle East. This is no tentative regional toe-dip; it is a fully realised moment. A brand with a global cult following stepping onto one of the most dynamic beauty stages in the world. Sephora Middle East, with its trend-hungry, highly educated, ultra-engaged community, is not a passive environment. Brands do not wander in; they arrive with purpose, or they do not resonate at all. And boy, has REFY resonated here. “On week one, with our launch in Sephora UAE, we were number one online,” Hunt says, her voice still carrying the buoyant disbelief of someone watching a dream materialise in real time. And yet, as is often the case with meteoric rises, Hunt’s story begins in a place of sweet simplicity: her grandmother’s makeup bag. “My grandma, she was so beautiful, and she would always have a makeup bag with her everywhere that she went,” Hunt recalls. “And it would always be this thing of her saying ‘I’m just gonna nip to the bathroom and check on my makeup? And I’d always want to go with her. I think that’s the thing that sparked my love for beauty, but also that love for connection and how beauty can bring people together.”

“I would like to be seen more in my founder era right now. That is my everyday. It’s not social anymore; I’m literally in the thick of it.”

It is this idea, of creating connections, that feels like a powerful throughline in everything Hunt puts her mind to. Unlike many founders who build their business in a bubble of secrecy and then push outward, she formed REFY from the outside in. From conversation. From community. From the kind of everyday curiosity that has shaped her online persona for a decade. And she’s quick to acknowledge how her early career as an influencer laid the foundation for her brand’s trajectory. “If I hadn’t had my influencer background, I wouldn’t have built my community to be able to honestly see whether REFY was even a real possibility. My community influenced me so much from the very beginning,” she says.

Those early conversations, about everything from brow routines and shade preferences to packaging choices, quietly seeded what would one day become a multimillion-dollar brand with a global footprint. But the path to that clarity was not without its detours. In the beginning, the packaging in particular had a very different look. It was pink and blue and featured Hunt’s own face. The diametric opposite of its current ultra-minimalistic, neutral-hued visual aesthetic. “Honestly, it was completely different,” she laughs. “It was not the brand that we are today.” It took a pandemic, and the stillness that came with it, for Hunt and her co-founder, beauty entrepreneur Jenna Meek, to strip everything back and start again. “Jenna messaged me and said, ‘I’m gonna be honest, I hate the packaging.’ And I was like, ‘I’m so glad you said that, because me too.'” The reset that followed, one of quiet, introspective and strategic choices, became the foundation of REFY as it is known today. A brand built to guide women towards the mindset of more minimalistic and holistic beauty, with product lines designed to optimise a woman’s daily beauty rituals. “We want to create a brand that simplifies beauty,” affirms Hunt. “We will only do things with purpose.” She stands firmly in the belief that beauty can be uncomplicated, intuitive, and personal. “I don’t have any professional expertise,” she admits openly, “I just enjoy it, and I want makeup to work for me. I wanted to build a brand that works for everyone and is just enjoyable and easy.”

It is this ethos, the democratisation of beauty through clarity, that feels especially relevant in the Middle East, a region known for bold glamour but equally rooted in deep knowledge and aesthetic confidence. Hunt felt that duality as soon as she stepped into her first Sephora store visit here. “They are just such beauty experts,” she says of Middle Eastern consumers. “They love experimenting, they love trying new things, and they are almost the first to try a new trend. I love that about them.” But perhaps the most aligned connection between REFY and the region lies in the brand’s new direction. It has expanded out from its iconic brow products and lip offerings into something quieter, deeper, more rooted in wellbeing: skincare. The launch of REFY Skin last year marked the moment Hunt feels that she really stepped not just into her founder era, but into her wellness era as well.

Her skincare philosophy is, unsurprisingly, grounded in simplification. Two products. One routine. Skin that feels good because it is cared for, not covered. “With skincare, nothing will just be done to tick a box,” she says about her plans for the line. “Every single thing has to bring some kind of innovation and has to simplify the routine.”

The two current products, a cleanser that hydrates within 30 seconds and a moisturiser infused with an ingredient called Insta-Tight, took two years to develop. “I hate that stripped feeling after cleansing,” explains Hunt about her previous skincare routine. “My skin was always left feeling tight. But this cleanser works for all skin types, and gives that instant glow.” As for the moisturiser, she beams talking about its double function. “The applicator has cooling roller balls so you can really de-puff and sculpt the face. It combines two steps into one. For me, it’s always about simplifying.” It is striking how this skincare philosophy dovetails so perfectly with Hunt’s own personal wellness journey. She talks openly about learning to prioritise restorative routines and quiet rituals. “I used to think I had to be productive all the time,” she shares. “But now I realise being in a really good frame of mind is what is productive. It means I can show up as my best self.” Her wellness ritual begins with breakfast, a cup of tea, her Five Minute Journal, and a walk outside. “That morning routine has helped me a lot,” she says. “It sets me up for a really good day.”

It is this duality, ambition anchored with intention, that defines Hunt today. A founder who knows the thrill of a sold-out launch and the grounding power of a quiet morning walk. A woman who commands a global following and still cries on a London street when she sees her community queuing for hours just to meet her. “I started crying, like bawling my eyes out,” she says about an early community-building event REFY put on. “That was my moment of, ‘Oh my gosh, look at what we have created!’ It was so special.”

It is easy to see why REFY has thrived in the saturated beauty industry. Hunt has built this brand the same way she builds relationships with her community, with sincerity, openness, curiosity, and gratitude for the people walking beside her. Her partnership with Meek is one of the clearest examples of this. “I’m fortunate I have Jenna,” she says. “She has such a wealth of knowledge. I learn so much from her daily. She’s not only my co-founder and CEO who learn from in terms of business, but she is an amazing person, and she is there for anything that I need personally as well. I almost see her as a mentor.” But make no mistake: Hunt has earned her founder title. Through mistakes and triumphs, she is learning, adapting, and determined to lead with honesty. “I always ask for help,” she says. “I don’t think I know everything. I have an amazing team around me who are way better in their fields than I am. That’s my method, surrounding myself with people who excel at what they do.” That humility is disarming, especially considering the scale of what REFY has already achieved. A five-year-old brand with 120 employees. A passionate international community. A viral product pipeline. Retail partnerships across the UK, US, and now the Middle East. And the courage to refine, reformulate, and reimagine REFY in an active reflection of what her engaged community is telling her with its feedback.

Fundamentally, Hunt sees herself as a pure creative. When she talks about the campaigns she has overseen for REF,Y she sits forward in her chair, excited to share her vision. “That is what lights me up,” she admits. “I love it so much, seeing the models look and feel confident, seeing the campaign come to life. I love creativity. That is what makes me so excited.”

But for now, Hunt is savouring the beginning of this new chapter in her life. One where the world sees her not only as the face of the REFY brand, but as a leader who has a clear vision where she wants to take her company. “I would like to be seen more in my founder era right now,” she says. “That is my ev-eryday. It’s not social anymore; I’m literally in the thick of it.”

Hunt has big plans for REFY. Ones that extend well past the beauty space. She sees the future of her company as a big tent lifestyle brand that can explore other creative arenas with ease, thanks in no small part to the devoted community of women that trust her. Or as Hunt puts it, “I really just want REFY to be this legacy brand. A brand that, in 50 years’ time, is still as cool as it is today.”

Talent: Jess Hunt
Senior Editor: Jessica Michault
Photographer: Greg Adamski
Fashion Editor: Camille Macawili
Makeup: Kimberley Lever
Hair: Loui Ferry
Videographer: Alex Suhorucov

Location with thanks to Paus Club

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