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Video: Is this Indian expat the next Dubai viral star?

Dubai - Perfumer in KT viral video floors US superstar singer Gwen Stefani.

By Yousuf Saifuddin Kapadia, Nilanjana Gupta

Published: Tue 2 Apr 2019, 3:38 PM

Last updated: Tue 9 Apr 2019, 7:18 PM

A perfume seller in Dubai, who shot to fame after KT's video featuring him fetched over a million page views, got another surprise when American singer-songwriter Gwen Stefani visited him this week.
Gwen was in Dubai to perform at the Dubai World Cup held last Saturday, and paid a visit to Yousuf Mohammed Ali Madappan at his shop in Deira. She wanted him to make some perfumes exclusively for her.
Madappan didn't disappoint. A perfume connoisseur who has been working in Deira's Gold Souq for 30 years, knew exactly what to prepare.
"I got a random phone call from a guy, who said he wanted me to make a 'custom perfume' for a lady. I asked him to bring her over, and they visited my store on Sunday at 11am," Madappan told Khaleej Times.
"She asked me to make 2-3 custom fragrances for her. There were four other people with her. They spent nearly three hours at my shop. Stefani was so happy with the fragrances that she asked me for a hug and a kiss. I obliged with a hug and a traditional Arab cheek kiss. Then she recorded (the now viral) selfie video."

Video: US rockstar @gwenstefani meets #Dubai's viral perfume maker from India's #Kerala https://t.co/lFti88acwB pic.twitter.com/k1tkk3qsVp
- Khaleej Times (@khaleejtimes) April 1, 2019

Madappan ended up concocting two scents for her, one comprising patchouli, vanilla and musk notes, while the other was a traditional Arabian scent.
Recounting the high-profile visit, the humble perfumer said that he was unaware of Stefani's celeb status, otherwise he would have taken a selfie or video with her and given her a royal treatment.
It was Madappan's famous perfume making skills that had led us to him for our 'Humans of UAE' video series. Published last year in November, the video has fetched nearly 1.3 million views across all digital platforms.

Stefani was the co-founder and the lead vocalist of the music band No Doubt.
reporters@khaleejtimes.com