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- [00:00]
Brooke Devard
Hello, hello, this is Brooke Devard and you're listening to the Naked Beauty Podcast. I'm just back from London where I had the most incredible trip. Shout out to Virgin Atlantic, our very kind sponsors who allowed the trip to happen. I went with my producer, mba. It was her first time in London, so it was really special for us to just explore the city together. And we hit the ground running. We got on the plane, we flew overnight, we landed, we went straight to sea. Friend of the podcast, Charlotte Mensah at her hair lounge in Notting Hill. I got some curly clip ins put in. I was feeling my, like big Beyonce curls. And then from there it was over to Somerset House. That's the big area where they do London Fashion Week.
- [00:40]
Mavi
It's very fab.
- [00:41]
Brooke Devard
We did ice skating at Somerset House and then met a very, very dear friend of mine, Liam, who I actually met when I was an intern, a lowly intern at Vogue magazine where we were being paid $21 a day and working 14 hours a day. And there was a class action lawsuit after that summer internship. That's here nor there because we formed an incredible friendship. Liam is an incredible writer and journalist and filmmaker, so it was really great to get dinner with him. Then the next morning, again, hit the ground running. We saw all of the Christmas spectacle in Covent Gardens and that was the thing about going to London. We left Los Angeles and by the time we landed in London, it was fully Christmas. All of the Christmas trees are lit up. All of the stores are like in full holiday regalia. So that was really nice. We went to Liberty London and did the Christmas shop. It was also our first time seeing Violette FR in person. I got the plume lip, which is like this beautiful, like wash of color in a color that's called Syrah Gorgeous. We both got it. All of the Violette FR products are like kind of amazing. Ba got fabric. She's going to make a top and skirt, which is very ambitious. I could never. I really admire her. She's also a knitter, so she's just like very crafty, can do all of the things. From there, I went to Selfridges and treated myself to a few things. And then I got to record this podcast, Naked Beauty in London with another friend of the show, Candice, who is just so much fun. Just a breath of fresh air. That episode, when I tell you all, when you see that hit your feed, press play immediately. It was such a good conversation. And then the highlight of the trip, the end of the trip. I gathered all of the incredible women that I've had on Naked Beauty over the years that live in London together. For just like a really intimate dinner, we went to this very chic place that Sabrina Elba helped book called at Sloan, and it was perfect. It felt like we were in someone's living room just laughing and talking and catching up. And it was really interesting hearing from all of these incredible black women that have businesses in the UK in the beauty space, or are creators in the beauty space in the uk and just how much we all have in common, what the struggle is like, but also the joys. And just sitting at that dinner, looking at all of those beautiful women, hearing all those beautiful women just laughing, toasting, eating, enjoying, I was like, this is like my personal heaven. Like, being at this table with all of these incredible women that I admire. Being a small part in creating community amongst these women is just the reason why I do this show. It's the reason why we do this show. So it was a really affirming trip. And I had to bring it back to Ms. Zahra Rahim for this episode of Naked Beauty because every single time I saw a post about Zoran Momdani and this campaign, I was like, this. This has her fingerprints all over it. Zara is just someone that even when I reached out to her three, four years ago to come on this podcast, I always admired her. She's just so smart, so sharp, so fun, so funny. I loved her perspective on beauty and all that she brought to this conversation. So I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to throw it back to our conversation. Enjoy this chat with Zara and I'll be back next week with a new episode. Foreign. Hello, it's Brooke Devard, and you're listening to the Naked Beauty Podcast. Welcome back for another episode. Today I'm speaking to Zara Rahim, who I have been admiring and just loving.
- [04:09]
Mavi
The way she gets out into the.
- [04:10]
Brooke Devard
World and works for years.
- [04:13]
Mavi
And Zara's actually had some really interesting work experience.
- [04:15]
Brooke Devard
Now, of course, this is a beauty podcast, so we spend a lot of time talking about beauty and skin care and her makeup and all of that great stuff. But I had to just ask her about her career because I think it is really fascinating. She's worked for President Barack Obama. She's also worked at Vogue. She's also worked at Uber. She's also worked for Mariah Carey, which I have to be honest with you.
- [04:36]
Mavi
All, as we were talking and getting into conversation, I forgot to even ask her what it was like working with Mariah Carey. I actually had to send a voice note to Zara, just being like, just give me a few sentences on your experience working with Mariah Carey.
- [04:48]
Brooke Devard
And this is what she sent back.
- [04:49]
Zara Rahim
I still don't think people really believe me when I tell them I worked with the Mariah Carey on her book. What an amazing honor and privilege. Imagine working with somebody who was and is deeply formative to your life and your womanhood and the way that you experienced music and culture. And every time we spoke, it felt like out of body. She is no bullshit. I learned so many lessons from her. Honor of my life, though, truly, like, inarguably the most important person I've worked with today.
- [05:28]
Brooke Devard
Zahra is a strategic advisor to business leaders, startups, artists, musicians, brands, Internet personalities, media entities, comedians, athletes.
- [05:38]
Mavi
She does it all.
- [05:39]
Brooke Devard
She is so smart, she is so driven.
- [05:41]
Mavi
And you know what I also really love about her story?
- [05:44]
Brooke Devard
I think oftentimes, and this may be.
- [05:46]
Mavi
Just the lens that sometimes I look at the world with working where I.
- [05:52]
Brooke Devard
Work and going to college where I went to college.
- [05:55]
Mavi
I think there's an assumption that a lot of people that get to these really established places have always, you know, gone to Ivy League schools and they always got straight A's.
- [06:04]
Brooke Devard
It was actually really interesting hearing from her that that was not the case for her, that she actually, like, struggled.
- [06:09]
Mavi
In school and she took her longer.
- [06:12]
Brooke Devard
To find her footing. I also just love the brow conversation.
- [06:15]
Mavi
We were able to have and beauty.
- [06:17]
Brooke Devard
Standards that are placed on South Asian women. I think that's a very interesting conversation to have.
- [06:21]
Mavi
So, again, my guests continue to be.
- [06:24]
Brooke Devard
The best part of doing this podcast that I get to sit down and.
- [06:27]
Mavi
Speak to interesting women week after week. If you loved this episode, let me know. Give me an Zara.
- [06:33]
Brooke Devard
Some love on social. Take a screenshot while you're listening. Tag akidbeautyplanet. Take the time to rate and review on Spotify, Apple podcasts, wherever you listen to Naked Beauty. And let's get into today's episode with Zara.
- [06:50]
Mavi
Zara, welcome to Naked Beauty. I'm so excited to have you on.
- [06:52]
Zara Rahim
I'm. I've been waiting my whole life for this, truly.
- [06:56]
Mavi
Well, I feel like you are such an amazing career woman, like a woman in business, because you've had this incredible career story where you started at the White House, then you went to Vogue.
- [07:07]
Zara Rahim
I went to Silicon Valley. I was in Uber.
- [07:08]
Mavi
Okay, you were at Uber.
- [07:10]
Zara Rahim
Yeah.
- [07:10]
Mavi
Then you went to Vogue, then you went to the Wing.
- [07:13]
Zara Rahim
Yeah.
- [07:14]
Mavi
Which doesn't even exist anymore. Right. When we met, you were at the Wing.
- [07:17]
Zara Rahim
Yes.
- [07:18]
Mavi
And now you're just, like, running your own business, doing your own thing as a boss, but you've always just been, like, very cool and also outspoken about how to navigate your career. And then you're just, like a beauty girl as well. Always giving us a look, always giving us a hair, an eye, like a moment.
- [07:33]
Zara Rahim
It all sort of just happened with the beauty part, and it became one of those things that actually made it a lot easier for me to engage in because I realized that it was. It still could be fun. Like, I still had, like, you know, my. My point of view about, like, politics or policy or, like, sort of just the world in general. And. And that. That I always sort of led with how I felt about the world before. I sort of reminded folks that it's also very okay to care about beauty. And it really happened in a way that felt super organic and unforced.
- [08:13]
Mavi
I love that.
- [08:13]
Zara Rahim
And I've always sort of tried to, like, engage in it in a way that always preserves. Yeah. Like, it being fun. Like, I. I don't sort of, like, do spawn con or a bunch of sort of, like, things that, like, I don't, like, endorse products that I don't use. If people DM me and ask me specific questions, I'm always sort of, like, excited and happy to answer. But then I also get to, like, disengage from it when I want to, which is really nice. But I have so much respect for people who do it full time because, my gosh, it is a lot of work.
- [08:45]
Mavi
It is a lot of work. Now, speaking of work, one of the things that you brought up when we were on a panel together literally so long ago, that was pre pandemic, but UBC before COVID Before COVID Exactly, exactly. You talked about salary transparency in a really interesting way, where you were saying that women of color should actually ask their white counterparts how much money they're making. Is that something you've done before?
- [09:11]
Zara Rahim
Yes.
- [09:11]
Mavi
Okay.
- [09:12]
Zara Rahim
And I also want to say that, like, I have an update to that ethos, which is that, like, women of color actually shouldn't really have to take on the labor of asking our white counterparts to share their salaries. I think that white people are non and also non black people, specifically, because there obviously is a significant payment gap between black women and other minority groups, and specifically with Asian Americans in certain industries, we also have. We make more money.
- [09:45]
Mavi
Right.
- [09:47]
Zara Rahim
Tech, medicine. And so I've sort of readjusted my perspective, and a lot of this is sort of informed by the work of a lot of black women in this space who have sort of been like, that's not the labor of us to do it. It's actually on you and your white counterparts to. Or peers in whatever job you might have to create an environment in which it's normalized. It shouldn't be uncomfortable. Especially as women, we have to very much take care of each other. And I think that there is this expectation that it has to be this sort of difficult or sort of thorny conversation. And I think that we really have to reconfigure the way that we're thinking about it. But that starts with, I think, asking folks leading with white people to start actively sharing how much money they made in a position, if they held it previously or if they're in the same sort of pay band as somebody that's been hired just to be like, hey, this is how much I made. Just so, you know, this is how much, you know, my bonus was. Or this is. You know, this is how often I get a raise. Yeah. I think that it's. It's sort of like it became less of me, sort of like demanding everybody tell me and more so like me actually being able to think about it in a different way, which I think is important.
- [11:11]
Mavi
Yes.
- [11:12]
Zara Rahim
Yeah.
- [11:12]
Mavi
That's very interesting. And I want to get into your experience working at Vogue. That is a place that I interned as well, and also, notoriously, doesn't pay well, so people with a certain amount of privilege are able to work there. But before we get into that, you started your career at the White House working on Barack Obama's campaign. First the reelection campaign.
- [11:32]
Zara Rahim
Yes. And then you started on the campaign side first, and then I went to the White House.
- [11:35]
Mavi
So what was that like?
- [11:37]
Zara Rahim
You know, it's so wild to think about that. It's been a decade now. I mean, I can't even believe it. And that was the real act, too. So I think a lot of the times, like, people really are shocked to hear that I was an incredibly misguided, totally undedicated, you know, just deeply unserious person before.
- [12:01]
Mavi
Really? Yeah. Like, where did you grow up?
- [12:03]
Zara Rahim
I grew up in South Florida, so I grew up in St. Lucie county, which in politics is referred to as, you know, as part of the i4 corridor, which is part of a collection of counties that. That are purple decide sort of the way that Florida swings in presidential elections. But, you know, it's sort of the beginning of the South. You know, we really call it, like, sort of like South Georgia. Like, at that point, I grew up in a city that is very diverse, a collection of a lot of white folks, lower income white folks, but also snowbirds. And then I also. So, of course, growing up in Florida, there's a lot of Hispanic and Latino communities, Haitian communities, and black folks as well, of course. My high school actually was. Is famously the last place that Zora Neale Hurston taught.
- [13:07]
Brooke Devard
Oh, wow.
- [13:08]
Zara Rahim
And so she was a huge part of my curriculum growing up. And the days she spent, the final years of her life were the house right across the street from my high school. And so high school I was in an accelerated program. I was in an International baccalaureate. I was a bright kid. I was smart, but I only really wanted to learn what I wanted to learn. And so, you know, in retrospect, I definitely, like, had undiagnosed add. Like, it was. It was just like my mom was always kind of always on the edge of her seat, like, what is going to happen to her? You know, I think she still always is. Feels a little bit like that, as I think most moms many times do.
- [13:46]
Mavi
And where's your mom from?
- [13:48]
Zara Rahim
My mom. Both of my parents are from Bangladesh.
- [13:50]
Mavi
Okay.
- [13:51]
Brooke Devard
Okay.
- [13:51]
Mavi
And have you spent time in Bangladesh?
- [13:53]
Zara Rahim
Oh, yes. So much time.
- [13:54]
Mavi
Okay.
- [13:54]
Zara Rahim
Yeah. So much time. I really am so lucky that my family, my parents made a concerted effort to make sure that we were going there every summer to spend time with our grandparents and my cousins and my uncles and aunts. And it was my first language. My mom really believed if we learned Bengali that we would, of course, learn English at school. And we knew to speak English at school. We knew we only spoke Bengali in the home. And it was a very sort of. Of course, in retrospect, I now am so deeply appreciative. But of course, like, it's not novel or new to sort of hear the story, that it was not as fun growing up, especially when you're sort of living in a place where white adjacency is. Is key to. To how you move through the world and survive and. And see yourself. I also grew up, like, in my elementary school years, going to an evangelical Christian school. And so.
- [15:01]
Mavi
And you are Muslim. Okay.
- [15:03]
Zara Rahim
Yeah. Yeah.
- [15:03]
Mavi
So.
- [15:04]
Zara Rahim
So you can imagine. Yeah.
- [15:07]
Mavi
Did you feel like you struggled with feeling beautiful or your beauty identity growing up?
- [15:14]
Zara Rahim
Oh, my gosh. So much so. And now it's sort of like, I've actually, like, been thinking a lot about this lately, especially because I. I read sort of or I read. I was watching this TikTok. I'm sure you know that I love TikTok.
- [15:29]
Mavi
Yes, don't we all.
- [15:31]
Zara Rahim
I'm obsessed. I feel like I learned so much. I truly, Gen Z has taught me so much and I'm so grateful for sort of like the like tools that have allowed them to sort of share their progressive and just deeply insightful perspectives on everything.
- [15:49]
Mavi
I say literally once a week that I wish I was Gen Z. I feel like they are so much more progressive than we were growing up.
- [15:57]
Zara Rahim
I know I was watching a TikTok and this woman was, gosh, she must be like 20 maybe. Actually, now that I think about it, she's probably like 18. Was talking about sort of like this idea of how a lot of many, many South Asian women particularly talk about their glow up, right? Like, and they'll be like, they'll post like a photo of themselves from when they were young and they had like a lot of body hair, their hair was unkempt or the, you know, their eyebrows were sort of undone, their eyebrows were unthreaded. And then they'll post like a really beautiful photo of them now and sort of the idea that like, I certainly wish that I had more extended myself more grace young me and that I for years would look at photos of myself from when I was a kid and be like, oh gosh, it was so, like uncute. I was so ugly or I was so like, oh God, like, you know, is there like the shame and embarrassment that you're sort of like trained to like feel? And now I look at them in a totally different way. Like, I was very cute, I was very outspoken. I was like, sort of like I, I didn't feel unconfident until I got older. And you know, when you get to an age 14, 15, 16, when you start to sort of think about your other girls or boys or whatever it is that you're interested in and how they feel about you. And I think that that is sort of where I am in my journey of sort of decolonizing my brain and like how I felt about myself. But, but certainly at the time I think that like when I was young, like I did feel like I was constrained by our financial limitations, by the strictness of my, my mom and by society and, and, but again, like, not until I got older was I sort of like really focused on how other people felt about me.
- [17:54]
Mavi
Was there an instance of someone saying something to you in high school? Like, I feel like everyone has a story of some like ignorant boy that says something about your physical appearance that just totally sticks.
- [18:05]
Zara Rahim
I generally, as a point of view just try to forget what men say most of the time. But I definitely got, like, a lot of sort of comments and probably, like, things that, you know, now that I think about them were probably, like, digs about my unibrow. And again, I come from a culture and a society where this is. This is a sign of beauty. And I felt so much shame about it. And my mom always used to, like, be like, it's so beautiful. Like, and I had aunts who were just gorgeous and, like, you know, like, would. They were the women that I looked at, and I was. You know, taught me how to put makeup on and things like that that would be like, it's beautiful. Like. And they would show me pictures of this very famous Bollywood actress named Gajul, who has a unibrow, and she's known for it, but. And it's also a sign of luck. Hindu culture, specifically, from what I believe. And I think that I was just so against it that, like, you know, I would go and I would pluck them myself. I one time took a razor to it. I know.
- [19:13]
Mavi
Wow.
- [19:14]
Zara Rahim
I know. I got. I got in a lot of trouble. My mom, like, kicked my ass. Like, she didn't kick my ass, actually, but, like, you know, she was like, no, do not ever do that again. And I was in so much trouble for it. But I remember that pretty specifically, it was more so sort of like, when I was at private school, my parents worked really hard. My parents owned a convenience store and spent all of their money sending me and my sister to private school. And it was just the thing that they believed was the most important thing that they could do is give us the best education possible. And during that time, insecurities about your finances. And that's sort of the moment that you realize that, like, you're different than other kids because, like, you go a large part of your childhood not really thinking about, like, how much money your parents make in comparison to your friends parents. And then you go to private school, and then somebody invites you over.
- [20:17]
Mavi
Right, right.
- [20:17]
Zara Rahim
And you're like, oh. Or, like, the cars that, like, you know, you get picked up in because there's no bus system.
- [20:23]
Mavi
Right.
- [20:24]
Zara Rahim
So it's like your parents have to pick you up every day or. Or, you know, my mom was always late to pick us up because she was running a store. And so, like, sometimes. Sometimes she would be like, we would be the last kids there. And it wasn't because she was, you know, at the time. We would be so embarrassed and so, like, upset, and it's just like, she's doing the best she could. You know, she was working.
- [20:43]
Mavi
Yeah. It's so interesting to think about you ending up as, like, your first work experience working for Obama and doing digital, specifically at a time when people were figuring out how to use Instagram and Twitter to connect with young people. It must have been very exciting. Did you feel you were able to express yourself with, like, beauty and fashion then, early in your career?
- [21:07]
Zara Rahim
Oh, my gosh, yeah. That's such an interesting question, because I also think this is, like, sort of an untalked about thing. So background is. Is that I. I was going to college at the University of South Florida. Got in by the skin of my teeth, truly. You know, my sister's, like, very sort of book smart, went to Emory, got into Columbia for her master's, like, you know what I mean? Like, sort of doing immigrant dream, like, you know, first child Journey. And here I am at the University of South Florida in a white Pan Hellenic sorority.
- [21:39]
Mavi
Like, I cannot imagine you in a sorority.
- [21:42]
Zara Rahim
I can't either. But I was. I was there. I was a Tri Delta. Yeah. Why? Why?
- [21:48]
Mavi
Interesting.
- [21:49]
Zara Rahim
Why did I do that? Anyway, so. So that was also an interesting experience because I was the only woman of.
- [21:55]
Mavi
Color in the whole sorority.
- [21:57]
Zara Rahim
Not the whole sorority. I was. I was like, one of, like, probably, like, five. Honestly, like, out of, like, still just dismal.
- [22:05]
Mavi
Yeah.
- [22:06]
Zara Rahim
But I remember thinking, like, you know, at that time, you're like. You feel pride. Like, you're like, oh. Like, I made it. Instead of a mentality of sort of abundance or, like, why aren't there more of us? I was sort of like, I made it. I was thinking about myself and, like, what made me exceptional and how I got in that room, when in reality, like, obviously all of the things that I should have been asking is, where the fuck are the rest of us?
- [22:32]
Brooke Devard
Right.
- [22:33]
Zara Rahim
And I had been sort of trained or conditioned rather, to believe that I was the. An exception to the rule. And I deeply sort of. You know, I don't want to say the word regret, but it's one of those things that I. Because obviously it. I'm now on the journey that I am, and I needed to experience that and know that about myself to be where I am today. But it's so funny to think about, like, when you're like, how. Like, how did I now when you know me as. You know, like, you're like, how. You were in a sorority and it's like, yeah, yeah.
- [23:06]
Mavi
But I think that awareness as a person of color, to get into a place, a predominantly white institution, whether That's a, like a company, a sorority, to look around and then also feel comfortable enough to say, why aren't there more of us?
- [23:20]
Zara Rahim
Totally.
- [23:20]
Mavi
I think for many minorities they're just like, okay, I made it into the room.
- [23:24]
Zara Rahim
Totally.
- [23:25]
Mavi
And so now you have to fight for your life. Yes, now I have to fight for my life. I don't also then feel empowered to raise my voice and say, why aren't there more of us? And that comes with time.
- [23:32]
Zara Rahim
Absolutely. And so all that to say is sort of like, I, I then I went and interned in Bangladesh, where my family is from, for a man named Muhammad Yunus, who won the Nobel Prize for conceptualizing microfinance, which are small collateral free loans that are primarily given to women because they're a better group to lend to because they're much more reliable. Sorry. And repaying their loans and, and coming up with a new business called social business. Anyway, all that to say that that was the moment that I sort of realized that I cared about doing something in my work. It was the aha moment where I was like, oh, I can feel excited about something that actually contributes to like society. The good of society writ large.
- [24:15]
Mavi
Yes.
- [24:16]
Zara Rahim
And so went back to school that fall. I got an email about interning on a campaign. I knew that Barack Obama was running for reelection. I assumed it was him. So I applied, I got interviewed and I got hired. And between sort of like being a college senior and working on a campaign, and I was working at Nordstrom part time, my first like, retail job, I was coming to work a little bit more, dressed up, you know, I was sort of like, I cared about what I looked like in the workplace. And I think that on campaigns and even in politics in general that like, you spend so much time working and they do absolutely. Like, they, they spend so much time thinking about policy and, and, and you know, and writing and, and executing an agenda and legislation, et cetera, you know, all the things that politics are, that there isn't sort of an expectation that you'll look your best and that when you do, it's for a reason. And I really tried to like, make sure I was always putting my best foot forward also because I, I know that I didn't have sort of the same luxury as white people. Politics is still Democratic politics to this, like, doesn't matter sort of like where you sit on the spectrum. I think that there's this misconception that like, Democratic politics is somehow much more diverse behind the scenes than it is. It's not a deeply white space. And So I didn't really have the luxury of just, like, showing up, looking.
- [25:53]
Mavi
You know, in anything.
- [25:54]
Zara Rahim
Right. Like, and just being like, I didn't brush my teeth this morning. Oops.
- [25:56]
Mavi
Like, right, right.
- [25:58]
Zara Rahim
Like, I had to always be on.
- [26:00]
Mavi
Yes.
- [26:00]
Zara Rahim
And also, like many of the women that are my peers, you know, that are brown or black women also are always on. They're the best dressed women in the room, you know.
- [26:10]
Mavi
Yes.
- [26:11]
Zara Rahim
And I think that that is true of even our elected officials, if you think about it. They have to be perfect.
- [26:18]
Brooke Devard
Yes.
- [26:19]
Zara Rahim
And so that really also carries into behind the scenes. And so, like. Like, it was from the campaign, like, I would always show up to every event. I was like, the President of the United States is going to be here. Why wouldn't I be sort of like, looking to the nines, you know what I mean? Or just to the nines. And so I always cared as much as I could, but. And I think that's always just sort of carried through my career. And I realized that it actually just gave me that sense of dignity and sort of feeling in the morning that made me feel my best. And I tried to. I always tried to do that and carry that through.
- [26:52]
Mavi
What do you think about the way AOC's beauty choices are discussed?
- [26:56]
Zara Rahim
I mean, she does such an excellent job of addressing it in a way that I think that is exactly why she is who she is. And thank God we have young, progressive women more and more, you know, since she's been elected. It's been sort of, like, incredible to see the impact or just sort of like the carrying on of sort of. Of what it looks like to elect young progressive women into office who don't take shit, you know what I mean? Like, the fierce urgency of. Of the right's interest in. In whatever it is that she's doing and being able to sort of address the things that she does, particularly that they like did or does that they think are frivolous. Bartending, getting dressed up, doing a shoot for a magazine where she's very clearly lent clothes that are not hers.
- [27:53]
Mavi
Right.
- [27:54]
Zara Rahim
That somehow it becomes like the dog whistles are sort of no longer dog whistles. They're just saying how they feel.
- [28:01]
Mavi
Outright attacks.
- [28:02]
Zara Rahim
Totally.
- [28:02]
Mavi
Yes.
- [28:03]
Zara Rahim
If Trump did one thing, it was made. People say what they feel outright, more so than hiding behind what it is that they're not scared to say. And I think that, like, I'm sort of more fearful of people pretending that they're saying one thing when they're saying another.
- [28:23]
Mavi
Sure. I prefer outward.
- [28:25]
Zara Rahim
Totally. 100 show me who you are. So I know where you where. Where, where to move, to navigate around you.
- [28:33]
Mavi
Yes.
- [28:33]
Zara Rahim
Or how to see you.
- [28:34]
Mavi
Yes.
- [28:35]
Zara Rahim
And so, yeah, I mean, I'm so grateful for her and. And to, you know, what she's done to make it so that she can show up as her full self at work. And I think that should be true for every woman.
- [28:48]
Mavi
Talk to me about your approach to beauty today. You've got this gorgeous glitter eye moment happening that I love. And now you also, you have the luxury of working for yourself. You pick your own clients. You still have to, you know, command respect and attention. How do you navigate your beauty choices now?
- [29:06]
Zara Rahim
Oh, my gosh. The pandemic certainly, I think, had a really significant impact on the way that not only I, like, think about beauty, which is just one way people perceive me, but the way people perceive me in general. I spent a solid portion of my career, the majority of my career, really thinking about letting my career define me. And I think that I had a sort of moment after, you know, when the pandemic begun, where I was like, all right, no office, no work. That is sort of, you know, like. Like a. I was no longer sort of working in house anywhere. I'm on my own. Society was certainly going through a reckoning on ethics, morals, race, all of the above, immigration. And I think that I had a moment where I was like, who am I? You know, and tell me a little.
- [30:10]
Mavi
Bit more about what you just said about defining yourself by your career, because I think a lot of people inadvertently define themselves by their career.
- [30:19]
Medikaite Ad
Yeah.
- [30:19]
Mavi
And they don't realize it. How did you realize that that's where your sense of self worth was coming from?
- [30:24]
Zara Rahim
My. I think my politics changed. I think the way that I saw the world changed. I think that the things that I was telling people they should. The things that I was like as a communications person, really going out and, like, going to bat for. I had a moment of inflection where I was like, is this totally aligned with what I believe and who I am? And I think that, like, a lot of people are really scared to have an honest, particularly when it comes to politics, like a really honest conversation about opinions changing. And I just have realized in the last two years, I'm far more progressive than I ever let myself be. I had a moment where I was like, okay, actually, I realized that, like, carrying other people's water has actually never served me totally well. And I think that that happened at Vogue. I think it happened at the wing. I think it happened, you know, in. In Many of the, The. The jobs that I've had where I realized, like, okay, I went in with this mentality that I can, like, you go in and you. You leave something better than you found it. You do the best you can to. To push people to a place where. Where seeing different perspectives and. And you're commanding respect and, and you're telling them the right thing to do. And the reality is, is that that has a limit, as do corporations and capitalism and all the sort of things that are involved with having a job. That I realized that, like, those things were not giving me back the same sort of compassion and benefit of the doubt and service that I was putting into it. And I think that that is a really hard realization to have. And so in these last two years, like, I had so much fun, like, working on things that I thought were certainly different than work that I've done before, but allowed me to try doing things and either say I enjoyed that or I didn't enjoy that. I liked that and actually like letting myself have that conversation about what parts of my work I enjoy because I get to work for myself and figure that out. 31 years old. Do you know what I mean? So.
- [32:38]
Mavi
And 31 is still so young. So I'm excited to see, you know, all that you've accomplished in the years ahead. Being someone that is mindful of just politics, that has a progressive way of looking at the world, do you sometimes find it difficult to be a beauty consumer? And I ask this because the beauty industry is just that. It's an industry with, you know, the bottom line is ultimately what these. These companies care about. How do you think about supporting certain beauty brands, your relationship with purchasing things? Is that something that you interrogate a lot?
- [33:12]
Zara Rahim
Yes and no. I think that because I now have sort of, like, curated, trusting voices so much and looking to voices and faces that I trust their ethics and their perspectives on guiding me to the right products that I've been able to, like, create a foundation that allows me to sort of pick beauty products.
- [33:41]
Mavi
Yes.
- [33:42]
Zara Rahim
Based on that.
- [33:42]
Mavi
That makes sense.
- [33:43]
Medikaite Ad
So.
- [33:43]
Zara Rahim
So, for example, like, many of the sort of, like, recommendations that I get come from very specific people, other black women in the beauty space who are building businesses that actually contribute to the bottom line of building out financial equity and wealth for communities of color.
- [34:05]
Mavi
Yes.
- [34:06]
Zara Rahim
I have to say that I think about that more than I think about sort of sustainability. And I absolutely believe that sustainability and the environment are fundamentally important. And I think that there's certainly an undeniable racial layer that comes to the way that, that global warming impacts communities of color, of course. But for me and many folks of color, like, I'm really focused on sort of the people that are making good paying jobs that are going into the pockets of people who look like us, that are creating businesses that reflect faces that look like ours or you know, women who look outside of the, the Eurocentric standard of, of beauty.
- [34:52]
Mavi
It's amazing to me that in 2022 that is still a. There are so many brands that come into my DM saying we'd love to send you, you know, XYZ moisturizer, serum eye cream. And then I look at their page and there is not a single. I mean, maybe if I scroll and scroll and scroll, there'll be like one or two totally women of color. And it's like, why? I guess I just haven't fully wrapped my mind around not having that's like the bare minimum diverse representation in your marketing, social presence, website. And still some brands aren't even there yet.
- [35:30]
Zara Rahim
I know. And, but the good thing to, for us though, it's like sort of goes back to what you were just saying about like you'd rather somebody say out loud.
- [35:37]
Mavi
Yes, yes, yes.
- [35:38]
Zara Rahim
Is that you get to like look at that page and be like, oh, okay, well if this looks like this, you certainly don't have any people of color behind the scenes. Black people behind the scenes.
- [35:47]
Mavi
Right.
- [35:47]
Zara Rahim
Like, I can just assume that.
- [35:48]
Mavi
Yes.
- [35:49]
Zara Rahim
And if you do, they're minimal at best.
- [35:51]
Mavi
Yeah. Or they're not in a position where they're empowered to speak up about it, which is also a problem.
- [35:56]
Brooke Devard
Right.
- [35:57]
Mavi
So.
- [35:57]
Zara Rahim
And they're not doing the creative work, which is like the chunk of your business. Right. Like the eating portion of your business. And so yeah, it absolutely is. Is mind boggling. And I think that those, those sort of like more household names institutions. I'll leave names out that, that are sort of the people you find when you walk into a Macy's or a Bloomingdales are realizing that actually beauty is being more and more defined by real people now.
- [36:25]
Brooke Devard
Abso.
- [36:26]
Zara Rahim
And that, that the inverse is happening when you go to TikTok and you are scrolling through beauty Instagram or sorry, Instagram's TikToks or you go to the Instagram Explorer page and you see that wins that women are following real people now. They care more about real recommendations.
- [36:46]
Mavi
Yeah.
- [36:47]
Zara Rahim
Versus who's on a billboard or what, you know, what model is wearing what. It's becoming less relevant. And I think that that's really why you'll See, so many of these, like, scrambling to like, make their, like, oh, look, we have a, we have a creator page or like a creator program, you know, but they still have no idea what they're doing.
- [37:08]
Mavi
Many of them do not. As I, as I've learned, as I, as I talk to more and more brand leaders. So what are your favorite beauty brands products? Like, you also have amazing skin. You've got great hair. We've already talked about your brows, which are very much on point. What are your favorite beauty products at the moment?
- [37:25]
Zara Rahim
I both love to try new products, but I also am a creature of habit. So when it comes to, I think skin care has been sort of a primary focus of mine again in the pandemic because I was sort of sitting with my bare face every day that I, I, you know, like many of us, like, I, I think I, I started to focus more on the long term health and appearance of my, my skin without any makeup on. I went through the phase of, you know, baking and like super intense foundation and contour and making my face, like beating my face rather. And now I've certainly come down a lot. And so foundationally, I think I really like to keep it light. Like, I, I have a gentle cleanser. Like, I use a Dermalogica face wash. I also have a Cetaphil one that I use.
- [38:18]
Mavi
We love Cetaphil.
- [38:19]
Zara Rahim
Yeah. I really fundamentally believe in drugstore stor alternatives. I wash my face in the shower. And you know, I'm gonna be honest, sometimes I forget to like, wash my face at night. You know, like, I'll use a makeup wipe and I'll be like, you know what? I'm too tired tonight and I don't do my skincare routine. And I just want to tell everybody that's okay. Okay, that is okay. But for the most part, I wash my face. I am a very huge fan of biologique recherche products.
- [38:53]
Mavi
You're part of the, the, the.
- [38:55]
Zara Rahim
I'm part of the VR hive.
- [38:57]
Brooke Devard
I.
- [38:58]
Mavi
What is about the products that you love so much and what are your faves?
- [39:03]
Zara Rahim
Like, who, who's to say? You know what I mean? Like, I feel like I'm drinking the Kool Aid, but like, and I'm sure that there's like, you know, different alternatives and I don't need to be doing everything, but I am a very big P50 fan. I do not use it as often as many people do, but I do love to just like, have it. Like, I love to like, use it like once a week.
- [39:24]
Mavi
Okay.
- [39:25]
Zara Rahim
Like really deeply tone my face. And there's a moisturizer that I really love by them called Dermapirifonte.
- [39:32]
Mavi
Okay.
- [39:33]
Zara Rahim
That is, it feels like oatmeal and gorgeous.
- [39:37]
Mavi
Like a nice soothing moisturizer.
- [39:38]
Brooke Devard
Yes.
- [39:39]
Zara Rahim
I also have started using face oil.
- [39:42]
Mavi
I love a good facial oil. Okay, what's your good? Okay. But I have to say though, I.
- [39:46]
Zara Rahim
Don'T know if you feel this way or like, like, I had to sort of like, like mentally break myself out of a place of the fear of putting oil on my face.
- [39:55]
Mavi
I have not had to do that, only because my skin tends to be dry and I'm not that like breakout or acne prone. So I've always been like, drench me in oils.
- [40:04]
Zara Rahim
Yeah, I, I, I'm, I'm not breakout prone either, but I guess I always just was like, if I put oil on my face, my face is going to be oily. You know what I mean?
- [40:13]
Mavi
Right.
- [40:14]
Zara Rahim
And then I, I tried the Augustine Bader face oil.
- [40:19]
Mavi
Okay. I have that at home and I have it yet.
- [40:22]
Zara Rahim
Yeah.
- [40:22]
Brooke Devard
Okay.
- [40:23]
Zara Rahim
It's pretty great.
- [40:24]
Mavi
Okay.
- [40:24]
Zara Rahim
But also, if you're like an oil person, I would love to hear how you feel about it.
- [40:29]
Mavi
Do you know what type of oil it is?
- [40:31]
Zara Rahim
No.
- [40:31]
Mavi
Okay.
- [40:32]
Zara Rahim
Absolutely.
- [40:32]
Mavi
Okay. I'll do my research and find out.
- [40:34]
Brooke Devard
What type of oil.
- [40:34]
Zara Rahim
Yellow.
- [40:35]
Mavi
Okay. I have their moisturizer that everyone loves. And you know, it's always difficult for me when I get gifted things because I am not paying for it. So it's easy to love things that are free. You're like, oh, this is great. But then people say, oh, is it worth $260? And that's where I have to say, maybe not. Maybe not.
- [40:53]
Zara Rahim
Okay.
- [40:53]
Mavi
Or maybe I haven't used it enough.
- [40:55]
Zara Rahim
To say a hundred percent. I. And I again, like, when, as I was saying, like when people DM me and it'll be like, is it worth it? Or whatever. I'll be like, if you have the means to get it, get it. But I, if I didn't, like, I don't think I would buy this. I'm happy to say that. Yeah, I love the Neutrogena Hydro moisturizer. Ooh, that's like a good one. Yeah. But you know what my big thing is, is spf.
- [41:19]
Mavi
Okay, what's your go to spf?
- [41:22]
Zara Rahim
I want to use this soapbox I have now to talk to brown and black women specifically about spf because I think that enough of us don't use it because we believe and it is true scientifically. Our skin is more with melanin, obviously protects us from a certain level of.
- [41:44]
Mavi
UV harm to a degree we're not gonna get. We're going to become extremely sunburnt with 15 minutes of sun exposure the way one of our paler counterparts might.
- [41:56]
Brooke Devard
Right.
- [41:57]
Zara Rahim
Our alabaster friends, allies. I have become obsessed with spf and I think that it has really changed the health and sort of, of way I feel about the confidence of the long term health of my skin in a way that I am obsessed with.
- [42:22]
Mavi
Yeah.
- [42:23]
Zara Rahim
Like I am always hounding people to put SPF on.
- [42:27]
Mavi
Yes. Well, in terms of the naked beauty audience, you are very much preaching to the choir, I think. I think everyone is like on, like deep on the sunscreen train. I think people now are looking for mineral sunscreens that, that work well with, you know, brown skin.
- [42:43]
Zara Rahim
Don't leave a white cast.
- [42:44]
Mavi
Don't leave a white cast. And I've been getting recommendations. There's like undefined. There's another brand called Kypris that has a product called Pot of Shade, that's a mineral that rubs in. There's another brand called Taizo that has a mineral sunscreen. So like people are finding even mineral sunscreens. I do chemical sunscreen.
- [43:03]
Zara Rahim
Okay, interesting.
- [43:04]
Mavi
I'm a super goop girl. Okay. And I found a lot of success with Super Goop.
- [43:07]
Brooke Devard
Okay. Okay.
- [43:08]
Zara Rahim
Asian made sunscreen.
- [43:10]
Mavi
Yes.
- [43:11]
Zara Rahim
Does not leave a white cast.
- [43:12]
Mavi
Okay.
- [43:13]
Zara Rahim
So there's one by Innisfree, I believe.
- [43:16]
Brooke Devard
Yes.
- [43:16]
Mavi
This Innisfree sunscreen.
- [43:18]
Zara Rahim
I hear a lot about Biore. Is that, is that how you say it?
- [43:21]
Mavi
Biore.
- [43:22]
Zara Rahim
Biore makes a great one. I also have found with ones that do tend to slightly leave a little bit of a white cast that I'm happy to mix it in with my tinted moisturizer. And I use, use ami.
- [43:37]
Mavi
Ami, yeah. Yes.
- [43:39]
Brooke Devard
Yeah.
- [43:40]
Zara Rahim
And I love, I love their product. I have it all over my face right now. I have AMI on. I, I'm obsessed with the, the highlighter stick.
- [43:48]
Mavi
Yes. I love that highlight.
- [43:49]
Zara Rahim
It's fantastic.
- [43:50]
Mavi
Just like a little bit of glow and sheen.
- [43:52]
Zara Rahim
Gorgeous. Yeah, they've, they've made such amazing products. I hope that they make SPF next. But yeah, I, I've, I've really become obsessed with spf and it goes back to like, sort of like the foundational, like care of. Um, I have now started to use more in the last, like two years more eye creams because I really want to make sure that like, I'm thinking about the, my eyes because, you know.
- [44:21]
Mavi
What'S your go to Eye cream I just started using.
- [44:24]
Zara Rahim
Gosh, I'm so bad at, like, pronouncing. This is it. Is it clue De.
- [44:29]
Mavi
You know, I'm talking about clay de peaul.
- [44:30]
Zara Rahim
Clay de po.
- [44:32]
Mavi
I believe that's how it's pronounced.
- [44:33]
Zara Rahim
Yes. I just. I like their eye cream. I was gifted the Augustine Bader one, which I've been enjoying. I was using another one before, but what I noticed is, is that my skin underneath my eyes is really sensitive. And so I don't know what it means if I. It feels a little burny underneath.
- [44:50]
Mavi
That's not a good sign.
- [44:51]
Zara Rahim
Yeah.
- [44:52]
Mavi
Okay.
- [44:52]
Zara Rahim
Yeah, so I definitely. I won't say who it was, but I stopped using their eye cream.
- [44:58]
Mavi
You can say who. We. We talk about things that don't work all the time.
- [45:01]
Zara Rahim
Yeah.
- [45:01]
Brooke Devard
What?
- [45:01]
Zara Rahim
Who was it? Oh, Valmont. It was a Valmont one.
- [45:04]
Mavi
Okay.
- [45:04]
Zara Rahim
Didn't love that immediately.
- [45:07]
Mavi
Different things work for different people.
- [45:08]
Zara Rahim
Yeah. Valmont didn't work for me, but I'm new on my eye care journey, so if anybody has any recommendations, please send them to me.
- [45:16]
Mavi
Yes, slide into Zara's dm.
- [45:17]
Zara Rahim
Yeah. Please tell me.
- [45:18]
Mavi
Well, you seem. You seem very together from the outside looking in. As you look back on your beauty life, have there been any, like, big beauty mistakes you've made?
- [45:30]
Zara Rahim
Yeah, my eyebrows, like that razor moment.
- [45:32]
Mavi
Moment.
- [45:34]
Zara Rahim
Well, like, even just sort of like, you know, like 20. What year was it? Like 2015 and 2016 when, like, I really believe that was probably when people started, like, hyper focusing on brow shape.
- [45:46]
Mavi
Yeah. Like Cara. I feel like Cara Delevingne, like, ushered in.
- [45:50]
Zara Rahim
Yeah.
- [45:51]
Mavi
Full brow moment.
- [45:52]
Brooke Devard
Now.
- [45:52]
Mavi
I've never had brows. I have to do microblading because I do not have brows.
- [45:55]
Zara Rahim
Okay, got it.
- [45:56]
Mavi
So I've always been on the sidelines of this brow conversation. But, yes, it. It did become.
- [46:00]
Zara Rahim
I definitely overdid them. I think that, like, I can't tell, you know, the people in my life enough, like, men and women. Like, a growth in a brow to me is so, so gorgeous. Like, stray hairs underneath and being able to, like, brush that up and, like, just leaving your brows, like, as sort of natural as possible. And then of course, like, shaping them slightly is, like, great. But, like, yeah, I had, like, super shaped eyebrows. I was looking back at a picture of me with eyelash extensions. Never again. I, like when I was living in LA for, like, the year of my life that I was there, like, I really went in on sort of like, that world of, like, really over grooming, and my lashes looked crazy. Like, I was like, what like, who? Like, what's happening here?
- [46:52]
Mavi
Did you just get them really long?
- [46:54]
Zara Rahim
Yeah, like, I guess. Like, I just. I didn't really sort of, like, think about, like. Yeah. Like, how long would look natural.
- [47:02]
Mavi
Yeah. Because you naturally have very long, thick eyelashes.
- [47:06]
Zara Rahim
Yeah. Like, I like to put, like, when I'm. When I'm going to an event or something, I like to put, like, individual lashes sometimes on the outside. Like a little moment.
- [47:14]
Mavi
Yeah.
- [47:15]
Zara Rahim
But, boy, those were bad days for me. I was looking back and I'm like, oh, delete. Lose it. Like, never want to see these again.
- [47:24]
Mavi
Yeah.
- [47:25]
Zara Rahim
And then, like, what else? Like, again, like, I. I went through, like, super intense makeup stages. Like, I wore, like, what was your favorite Mac lipstick?
- [47:35]
Mavi
Who. You know, for me, it was more of the lip glass.
- [47:38]
Zara Rahim
Okay. I was like. You know what I mean? I was, like, wearing, like, Rebel.
- [47:43]
Mavi
Okay.
- [47:43]
Zara Rahim
Like, strong, but on, like, a Tuesday.
- [47:45]
Medikaite Ad
Okay.
- [47:46]
Brooke Devard
But here's the thing.
- [47:46]
Mavi
I actually, like, love that for us because I feel like, as women in our early 30s, we did have the opportunity to live through, like, the bold lipstick era.
- [47:55]
Zara Rahim
Totally.
- [47:55]
Mavi
Of, like, you would just throw on, like, a. Like, a purple lip, like a pink lip, a red lip, and, like, I like that.
- [48:02]
Zara Rahim
I feel like you're my people. Definitely. Like, if I know that you, like, went through that phase, like, it makes it easier for me to sort of be like, okay, like, we were the same people.
- [48:10]
Mavi
Yes. Yeah.
- [48:11]
Zara Rahim
But, like, yeah, in retrospect, I was, like, wearing, like. Like, my, like, Rebel lipstick with, like, my lime green top. And, like, I was just out on the streets, like, being like, here I am, you know?
- [48:23]
Brooke Devard
You know what?
- [48:23]
Mavi
I love it. I've landed on this side of TikTok about, like, I don't know, like, how to be, like, classy, which.
- [48:30]
Zara Rahim
Interesting.
- [48:30]
Mavi
Yeah. I'm not loving. Some people say it's kind of like an extension of, like, luxury black girl TikTok. But there's all of this stuff about, like, don't wear neons. Don't wear things with cutouts.
- [48:41]
Brooke Devard
Have your hair this way.
- [48:42]
Mavi
And I actually think that that's not great because I think especially young people, like, you should have been in that neon top.
- [48:49]
Zara Rahim
Totally.
- [48:50]
Mavi
Like, I think that there's a lot of value to experimenting with your look.
- [48:53]
Brooke Devard
Yeah.
- [48:54]
Mavi
While you're young or actually at any stage, experiment with your look and having fun.
- [48:58]
Zara Rahim
Yeah, absolutely. Like, I would say that I don't, like, it wasn't like, a mistake as much as it is one of those things I look back on, like, never doing that again.
- [49:08]
Mavi
Right. You know what? I mean, part of the journey. Yeah, totally.
- [49:11]
Zara Rahim
And yeah, absolutely. Like, I actually, like, I'm lucky that like, I was for sort of like that time and at that age, like, good at makeup up.
- [49:22]
Mavi
Yeah.
- [49:23]
Zara Rahim
For again, like, the standard that like, was sort of set forth, but, like, I was trying things and I wasn't scared to try things. And so I certainly feel grateful for that. But yeah, I mean, Mac lipsticks were crazy. I still wear my whirl, you know, that's one of my favorite nude lipsticks for me. But yeah, I definitely, like, only pull out the red occasionally when you want.
- [49:50]
Brooke Devard
To have a moment.
- [49:51]
Zara Rahim
Yeah, yeah. But with makeup, like now it's sort of like less is more for me. Like, if I can sort of like accentuate the features of my face that I feel, you know, really I believe are beautiful parts of my face, then I'm doing a good job with my makeup. And so I've really appreciated this phase of sort of the makeup movement.
- [50:13]
Mavi
Yes.
- [50:13]
Zara Rahim
Of like natural, like sort of sun kissed, wearing like a nice, like, highlighter that's like just natural and doesn't have a lot of ton of like, glitter. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But, like, you know, right now I have. I've never been good at eyeshadow, but, you know, I have like a brown eyeshadow on now and I've been. I've been using this fun makeup by Mario. Like, I don't even know. It's like an iridescent sort of finish. That's what's on my eyes right now.
- [50:39]
Mavi
It's so pretty. It's like this twinkling sparkle.
- [50:43]
Zara Rahim
Yeah.
- [50:43]
Mavi
I'm obsessed.
- [50:44]
Zara Rahim
I know. And it's like synopsis and it like translates really well from night to day. Day or day to night, rather. No, day to night, day to night.
- [50:52]
Mavi
And it seems to not be moving. I'm always conscious about glitter on my eyes because I feel like it's going to end up all over my face. But this glitter is like on the lid and nowhere else.
- [51:01]
Zara Rahim
Awesome. I will definitely. I'm going to send you one. But it is truly just like a nice thing to just like slide on my eyes. And yeah, like, it's like, as you said, like, it's not something that like falls off of your eyes throughout the day.
- [51:15]
Mavi
It looks.
- [51:17]
Zara Rahim
But yeah, this is where I am on my makeup journey right now. I've been loving using cream products more. Definitely. Like, I've sort of like moved out of like powder and so definitely, like cream blushes.
- [51:29]
Brooke Devard
Love.
- [51:30]
Mavi
Okay, what's your favorite cream?
- [51:31]
Zara Rahim
Okay, so I have four different ones right now.
- [51:34]
Mavi
Tell me all of them.
- [51:35]
Zara Rahim
Okay. I have elf putty.
- [51:36]
Mavi
Okay.
- [51:37]
Zara Rahim
Which I love. $4 at Ulta or wherever you can find the CVS. Those are gorgeous. And they're, like, nice. Sort of like, if you're just going out to, like, like, like on a. On a weekday or whatever, you definitely have to build those a little bit, but they're just, like, gorgeous. There's one called. I think it's Bora Bora, and then I have the lighter version of that one as well. Four bucks. Okay. Nighttime. I've actually been learning a lot about color theory.
- [52:05]
Mavi
Okay.
- [52:06]
Zara Rahim
And with black and brown or just even melanated skin, purple works really well for our skin tones.
- [52:13]
Mavi
I love a purple.
- [52:14]
Zara Rahim
And so I've been using the rare.
- [52:17]
Mavi
Beauty blush, which is so purple. It's so pigmented. Yeah.
- [52:22]
Zara Rahim
And you need a tiny bit of it, and if you blend that out, it is okay.
- [52:28]
Mavi
Love it.
- [52:29]
Zara Rahim
I love that blush. And I really. I think she's done such a great job with that brand. It's quality. It's good. And she's, like, one of the, like, 9,000 celebrities that have put out beauty products and lines that actually, like, should stay. Yes, I believe.
- [52:46]
Mavi
Yes, yes, yes, I agree.
- [52:48]
Zara Rahim
And I really love that blush. And I learned that from a TikTok, and from there, I, like, just searched purple cream blushes, and I just went on a journey, and so I found that. And the other blush that I really like is actually also makeup by Mario, and it's a cream blush dash, and it's a hot pink, which I was sort of like a little, like, like, resistant to, but when I blend it. Gorgeous.
- [53:16]
Mavi
Yeah.
- [53:16]
Zara Rahim
And it's just. It feels nice. It feels like it just, like, blends right in with your foundation or your moisturizer or whatever it is that you're using.
- [53:22]
Mavi
That creaminess just makes it that finish of cream blush the best. I just love it. Yeah. I'm wearing the, like, Merit beauty little.
- [53:30]
Zara Rahim
Oh, yeah. Merit is great.
- [53:32]
Mavi
Super easy.
- [53:33]
Zara Rahim
A lot of people love Merit. And then also Westman Atelier makes a nice cream blush as well.
- [53:41]
Mavi
Yes, I agree. I agree. And I love that packaging.
- [53:43]
Zara Rahim
Yeah.
- [53:43]
Mavi
Well, I feel like I can't have you leave here without just dropping some career advice, just because I think you've. You've had such an incredible career, and I think you're able to speak really well about what it's like to be a woman of color navigating, you know, predominantly white institutions. Any career advice you can share, extend.
- [54:03]
Zara Rahim
More grace to yourself. Like, let yourself Be somewhere where you feel really happy about what you're doing and not sort of the sexiness of what the brand means to the world or. You know what I mean? And I think refocusing the sort of perspective to center yourself in the way that you move through the world, like, we all have to do capitalism, you know, like, if you're living in this country, like, unfortunately, we have to grind, we have to work. It would be misguided and irresponsible for me to be like, just figure it out. Take some time off. And we don't all have that luxury. But if you can sort of keep your North Star to a place of, I want to work somewhere, I want to do something that makes me feel like a fuller version of myself, then you're good. And so long as you can do that, that's great. And also that it's not going to be easy. You know, it's really hard to have that conversation with yourself. It's really uncomfortable. It can feel really lonely, especially if you're. You're thinking about doing work that is creative and vulnerable and asks you to do something that pushes you to a place that's, like, uncomfortable. You know, I'm going through that right now with writing. I've always wanted to write. You know, I've always wanted to. To think about telling a story that is not somebody else's. And it's really hard and vulnerable work, you know?
- [55:31]
Mavi
Yes.
- [55:32]
Zara Rahim
And it's really scary and. But I keep trying to tell myself that it's supposed to feel this way. If it felt any other way, then I wouldn't be doing it right. Or would it be good?
- [55:43]
Mavi
Yes. And I think it's important throughout your career to ask yourself when you're getting too comfortable and when you need to push yourself to be in a more uncomfortable space because that's where you find grace.
- [55:52]
Brooke Devard
Growth.
- [55:52]
Zara Rahim
Absolutely.
- [55:53]
Brooke Devard
Yes.
- [55:54]
Zara Rahim
Yeah.
- [55:54]
Mavi
Final question for you. When do you feel most beautiful?
- [55:57]
Zara Rahim
Oh, gosh, when I'm with other women. Yeah, Truly. I know it sounds like, so sort of like, corny and dumb, but, like, I. I have realized that, like, getting dressed up to, like, be out with my girlfriends or, like, be at dinner with my friends and, like, looking around the table and, like, realizing that I'm with. With a bunch of incredible, smart, gorgeous women and feeling like we're doing that for each other is the best feeling in the world. And I think that, like, that is the most beautiful.
- [56:33]
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- [56:34]
Zara Rahim
Women have always made me feel the most beautiful version of myself. My matriarchs, my peers, younger Women, Random women in the street. Like, there is nothing that gets me off more than a woman giving me a random compliment. You know what I mean? The best man, Men, like. And I think that, like, I feel most beautiful when I'm around other women and when I'm doing it for myself too, you know, when I feel like getting up and getting, you know, putting makeup on, that I'm not like, who am I doing this for? Why am I doing this? I've stopped doing that. And I think that those are sort of like the ways that I think about beauty. And it's just made it so much more fun to engage in and valuable and less sort of like icky and commercial and, you know, it's just made it more enjoyable.
- [57:23]
Mavi
I love that. I love that. Well, such a pleasure to hear the best and have you on the podcast.
- [57:27]
Zara Rahim
We're so good at this and I think that I am so grateful that people like you are doing this work and doing it so flawlessly. And the way that you approach your work and do this podcast, the people that you interview, it's important. And you don't do it with sort of any radical, like, we have to talk. You do it so effortlessly and naturally. And I think that that's the best way that it can exist.
- [57:56]
Mavi
Thank you very much.
- [57:57]
Zara Rahim
I can't wait to see where this goes, you know, and I, I love you for it.
- [58:01]
Mavi
Yeah. We'll come back when your book is out. Talk about your book.
- [58:05]
Brooke Devard
We'll see.
- [58:06]
Zara Rahim
Only if Mavi can. Can come.
- [58:08]
Mavi
Oh my gosh. Of course. I know. Everyone's like the biggest Mavi fan. Definitely you.
- [58:13]
Zara Rahim
You, Mavi Hive.
- [58:14]
Mavi
Mavi Hive. For real.
- [58:16]
Brooke Devard
All right.
- [58:17]
Mavi
Than much, Zara.
- [58:18]
Zara Rahim
Thank you, Brooke.
- [58:22]
Brooke Devard
All right. That was Zara. Wasn't she?
- [58:25]
Mavi
So interesting and fabulous and just thoughtful about everything that she spoke about.
- [58:30]
Brooke Devard
I really, really enjoyed talking to her. I hope you all did too. And I will be back next week with a new episode.
- [58:52]
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- [59:47]
Zara Rahim
Can I make my site softer?
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