Even before entering the main room of Out, a flag stick with rainbow colors and a unicorn on the reception desk make it clear that this is no run-of the-mill beauty salon. Located on a quiet street near the Church of St. Maroun and the Blue Mosque in downtown Beirut, the Out Beauty Boutique is the first, and so far, only queer beauty salon in town.

Lebanon's LGBT community is one of the most vibrant in the Arab world. Yet, as noted by Kim Mouawad, the young entrepreneur who founded Out in December 2017, there are not many establishments aimed at the gay community other than bars and clubs.

“Out is not a place where LGBT people are merely ‘accepted,’” Mouawad said, expressing her distaste for the concept of “being accepted,” as opposed to “belonging.” “This is a place that makes room for things people are not normally exposed to and are taught to hate. Once you step in, you have to adapt to it.”

Mouawad sits in front of what she calls Out's “wall of fame.” On display are black-and-white portraits of Bassem Feghali, the first Lebanese comedian to appear in public in drag; RuPaul, the host and creator of the widely popular “RuPaul's Drag Race”; Apple CEO Tim Cook, the first head of a Fortune 500 company to come out as gay, in 2014; and the fashion designer Marc Jacobs.