Model Halima Aden Talks About Makeup and Diversity in Beauty

Zoë Weiner
Updated
"A lot of girls fall into a trap of trying to look like someone else. Beauty is working with what you have."

In the single year since Halima Aden broke boundaries as IMG's first hijab-wearing model, she's covered CR Fashion Book and Allure, and even walked in a Yeezy runway show. In a new interview with InStyle, the 20-year-old model sat down with Katie Couric to talk about diversity in the beauty industry, and how she's found success and happiness by staying true to herself.

"A lot of girls fall into a trap of trying to look like someone else. Beauty is working with what you have," Halima said, asserting that beauty is much more than skin deep. "There’s a beauty in what you say and how you carry yourself. That’s the kind of beauty we should strive for."

Even so, she unapologetically loves makeup, and uses it as a tool to empower herself. "I know makeup shouldn’t be what makes you feel beautiful, but a lot of women love makeup," she said. "For me, it brings out the version of myself I like most. With a little mascara, I’m ready to tackle the day."

However, considering the fact that Halima makes headlines every time she walks down the runway in a hijab, there's the question of whether or not she ever feels like the subject of tokenism: "Somebody needs to be the first; it comes down to that," she says. "And it makes me happy to know I’m definitely not going to be the last."

Hopefully, she's right. In the last few years, Muslim and hijab-wearing women have started to become more visible in the fashion and beauty industries. In addition to Halima walking in fashion weeks around the world, Nura Afia starred as the first hijab-wearing woman in a CoverGirl beauty campaign, and Muslim beauty gurus like Huda Kattan and Sabina Hannan are among the most successful bloggers in the game.

For her part, Halima admits that wearing a hijab has presented one unique beauty challenge: "Some people have bad-hair days — I have bad-hijab days!” she said. “The struggle is real... Thank God I don’t have to do my hair every morning!”

Related: 3 Women on What it Means to Be the "First" Face of a Major Beauty Campaign

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