Dubai is no stranger to celebrities.
This year alone has seen everyone from Jackie Chan to Hugh Jackman to Rita Ora visit our sandy shores. And while some of them tend to visit on the sly, others want to make an impact. And when Rihanna came to town, impact was certainly what she made.
This is the story of the time I snuck into her Fenty Beauty after-party in the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa.
Esquire is a men’s lifestyle brand, so we don’t spend too much time talking about makeup (although, that’s not to say men shouldn’t wear it) but Rihanna is such a big star I thought it was worth heading down to the Burj Khalifa, to try and get some shots of her in the press area.
As I sidled up alongside the rest of the paps, Rihanna was currently leading a makeup tutorial at the Armani Hotel’s ballroom. Afterwards she came upstairs and the crowds went wild. I got a few images, and then moved on. Job done.
Or at least that’s what I thought.
Afterwards I thought about sneaking upstairs and into Rihanna’s private party she was throwing for VIP guests. So I did just that.
You can see what happened below.
