In spring 2007, Myriam Faris was the very young and very sexy Lebanese singer causing a commotion across the region. She’d already appeared on several magazine covers, but always with her signature curls and standard-issue funky outfits. We decided it would be fun (and of course fabulous) to fly her out to London and give her a truly glamorous makeover. It wasn’t too hard to transform her from the simple and sassy sweetheart the Arab world knows and loves, into a breathtaking dramatic diva of truly fabulous proportions. Of course, once she’d landed in the city, it was quite a job getting her to sit still for long enough for the preparations. After all, the Big Smoke can be quite the distraction when you’re young and famous. After a compulsory shopping trip to Top Shop – where she attracted quite a bit of attention from Arab shoppers – we finally got her settled in for the stunning shoot, complete with couture gowns and fine jewellery. Then we just had to figure out a way to keep her attention going for the actual interview. As it was, Managing Editor Amy Mowafi, who had joined the star in London, had little choice but to tag along on a night out with Myriam, her management and a random assortment of Lebanese friends, sporadically slipping questions in, when and where possible. Halfway through the night, having seemingly tired of all the prodding, she finally, as if to sum up her entire story, said: “Look, I just always knew I was going to be a star.” We had our cover quote.

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