We got in touch with the London raised Pakistani-Indian Make-up artist who is advancing her career in Dubai. She started off with regular Instagram blogging and slowly tapped into the Make-up and Skin-care industry. Last year, Hala’s fast growing beauty brand won big at the ‘Cosmo beauty and Influencer Awards’ for ‘Best Influencer Beauty brand’. Along with being successful, this Beauty Guru is also very humble and that is what sets her apart from the rest.
Read below our conversation with her:
Q: Could you please let us know 2 common mistakes people in the UAE make with their makeup?
Hala: Makeup as such has no rules, it’s an art and people should definitely have the liberty to create what they want. However skincare and Skin Priming has some rules – which can come under makeup as well.
Not applying enough sunscreen is a common one!
Q: Do you think being an influencer directly or indirectly benefits your brand, The Shop Hala?
Hala: Yes! Most certainly, because the following and coverage I get from being an influencer results in traffic and sales for @halatheshop.
Q: Dubai has over 7,000 beauty and makeup bloggers. How do you think you stand out amongst them?
Hala: Absolutely! There’s so many talented individuals in the industry and we’re all one big loving community! *inserts hearts* I never thought about the idea of completely standing out. However I do have a hand in some of the rules which make brands, individuals respect and remember me! Always be authentic, showing a little bit of your personality is always important (I try to do that through my stories).
Keeping a good and kind work ethic as an overall, it’s easy to get carried away with the applause of comments and collaborations. So having a pleasant & good attitude is the key.Â
Being different and remembered since that’s something people never forget!
Q: Can you tell us how you balance between being an Influencer and a full-time Brand Owner? Hala: Honestly! It’s very difficult and I’ve not mastered the skill of balancing it out yet! Butthe aim to dedicate some days of the week to my brand and some to my influencer partnerships is a good mix for me.
Q: What makeup would you choose for a formal/ office look?
Hala: A formal/office makeup look should always be quick and should be wearable throughout the whole day so, I would recommend something that can be done in 5-10 minutes at maximum.
Q: Help us with one product you use to achieve the ‘Wet hair look’.
Hala: Balmain Salt Texturizing Spray – spray it over wet hair and the job is done!
Q: What bits of advice would you like to give the younger audience that watches your content over Instagram?
Hala: Since I’m born and brought up in Dubai I have Juniors from School and University following me. The younger generation watching my content always worries me a bit, since I never want to put out the wrong message. The advice I would give them is there’s a part of social media / influencers that they can’t see.
They should never feel they aren’t ‘good enough’ or they don’t ‘have enough’.
Being an influencer we have a lot of products sent to us and that can be misleading in nature since people think they require all those things! Which is not true at all.
We look forward to seeing what she has in store next.
Comment below to know which Dubai-based Influencer you’d like us to interview next. We are listening! @itp.live
