by Qatar’s First Mother and Son Artist Duo

Doha, Qatar, December 17th 2019:  For the first time in the Middle East (natural beauty brand) L’Occitane en Provence has collaborated with a local artist for their packaging artwork, offering a stylistic interpretation of landmarks of Qatar.

Qatari artistic duo, Ahmed Al-Jufairi - a graduate from Virginia Commonwealth University and his mother Hanady Al-Othman, have combined their artistic talent to design the packaging for L’Occitane’s most famed Shea Butter hand cream. This “Beauty-Must-Have” Shea Butter hand cream is sold every three seconds in the world! Which is why they chose this specific product to give a National Day twist. It’s enriched with 20 percent organic Shea Butter and blended with a yummy blend of honey, almond and coconut oil leaving your hands soft and nourished. 

The artwork romanticises the beautiful cultural ties between the South of France and Doha, depicted by the flying Lavenders across Qatar’s sky indicating a sense of happiness, whilst the iconic yellow bicycle represents the ideology of spreading joy. 

Al-Jufairi also added some of Qatar’s iconic monument's like the Al Fanar Mosque, the Museum of Islamic Arts, and incorporating a touch to Qatar National Day, Hanady brought to life her love of the majestic Oryx that represents the international presence of Qatar’s beauty and persona. Given an artistic twist, the Oryx is painted with two different sides, one being maroon and white representing the Qatari flag, and the other in a black and white pattern showcasing the history of Islamic art.

Talking about this collaboration Ahmed mentions: ‘After so much hard work and dedication, I have broken boundaries once again. We are celebrating a strong relationship between Qatar and France in the Year 2020, and I was fortunate to be a part of it.’  Hanady also comments: ‘After so many years of not being able to accomplish my dream of becoming an artist, myself and my son have in a sense made history with this collaboration. This is a very important tie between Qatari artists and the world.’ 

The special artwork with ‘Qatar National Day’ inscription on L’Occitane’s hand cream packaging will be available in all five stores across Qatar throughout the month of December. Following on, exclusive to Qatar starting January, 2020 till March, the same artwork will be carried over to L’Occitane’s top three products, but rather with just a ‘Qatar’ inscription on the packaging; marking this as a great initiative to the start of the Year of Culture between Qatar and France.