The GRAZIA Career Edit: Meet Amina Lula, Founder Of Skin Deep

If there’s one thing we’ve come to discover – especially with career paths here in the UAE – they are anything but linear. Well, that’s exactly how Amina Lula would describe it, particularly now she’s entered her founder era.

With a career spanning over two decades, the fashion PR director-turned-beauty founder admits she fell into the space “almost accidentally”. Starting in fashion then heading into retail, then a startup, agency, tech and then full circle to FARFETCH, one of the biggest fashion e-tailers the globe-over, it’s safe to say Amina has been around the block once or twice when it comes to her career.

Whilst she’s spread her wings amongst a lot of different industries and spaces, she tells GRAZIA there’s been a common thread amongst them all – “a deep interest in elevating the relationship between people and products, making it more thoughtful and informed”.

After years of working in the corporate world – for both big and small corporations – Amina decided 2025 was the year she was ready to build something for herself in an industry adjacent to where she began in fashion – beauty.

Having cultivated a keen interest in beauty and wellness over the years (and becoming to the go-to for advice on the subject amongst her friend group), Amina launched Skin Deep – “a beauty and wellness platform rooted in intelligence, education, and community”.

In this latest edition of the GRAZIA Career Edit, Amina shares how her career has been “anything but linear”, how she’s cultivating a community which is actually engaged and how the UAE has played a pivotal role for her over the years.

Founder, Skin Deep and Strategic Advisor.

PR Coordinator at Holt Renfrew.

Anything but linear. I entered PR almost accidentally, beginning in fashion with a designer before moving through retail, a startup environment, agency, and eventually tech, each chapter shaping how I think about brand, storytelling, and consumer behaviour. The common thread has been a deep interest in elevating the relationship between people and products, making it more thoughtful and informed. That journey led me to my last corporate role as Senior Director of Communications at FARFETCH (all the while, my personal interest in beauty and wellness continued to deepen, and I became the person friends turn to for what’s worth trying and what isn’t).

Over time, that clarity pushed me to bet on myself. I founded Skin Deep as a beauty and wellness platform rooted in intelligence, education, and community, partnering with brands we genuinely respect to foster a more considered connection between product and user. Our first product, an insulated beauty bag, was born from a simple but often overlooked reality: in hot climates, we rarely consider what happens to our products while we’re on the move.

Transformative. I arrived in Dubai as a young PR manager and evolved into regional and global leadership roles. It has been both a proving ground and the launchpad for my entrepreneurial journey.

An exploration of beauty beyond the surface. It was created to bridge the gap between aesthetics and understanding, encouraging women to engage with beauty and wellness through a more informed, discerning lens. What began as a platform for conversation has evolved into product, community, and experiences designed around literacy, not just consumption.

Movement in some form, fulfilling orders, refining the website, developing ideas, and staying closely connected to my beauty and wellness community through conversation and events.

Navigating constant ambiguity while taking full ownership. It’s about making decisions daily, staying resilient, and executing regardless of uncertainty.

Has been navigating the administrative and bureaucratic complexities of building a business, alongside moments of imposter syndrome and my own perfectionism.

Bringing a product to market. Taking an idea from concept to something tangible that people can hold, use, and respond to is both surreal and deeply validating.

“Do as much of what you can’t and as little of what you can.” In simple terms, it means leaning into what feels intimidating and not overstaying in what’s easy.

Liberation and safety for those who are oppressed, and a deeper sense of togetherness, where community, empathy, and critical thinking guide how we show up for one another.