Halima Aden Is Taking Over the

Alima Aden is many things. The first hijab-carrying version to be signed to the mega modeling company, IMG. The first lady to wear a burkini in the Miss Minnesota competition. She is breaking obstacles left and right; however, the day she showed up for her Glamour shoot, she turned into just a bubbly, smiley 19-year-antique excited to talk makeup and her dreams of working for UNICEF. Here’s how the previous refugee is taking on the splendor universe just by being herself.

First things first: I’m Somali, but I Taking changed into born in a Kenyan Halima refugee camp, and we came over to America after I was seven. We settled in St. Cloud, Minnesota, where there’s a massive Muslim population. Still, Muslims make up the handiest approximately one percent of ­America, so it’s a tiny organization. There are plenty of stereotypes approximately us­—we’re not regularly portrayed as people doing the right things. I want to exchange that. I want absolutely everyone to stay to their complete ability while not having to fear someone will attempt to knock them down or discriminate in opposition to them.

So once I competed in the Miss Minnesota pageant remaining November (seeing Deshauna Barber, a female in the U.S. Army, win Miss USA earlier that month or become a large push), I desired to project a positive human beings’ thoughts of Muslims, especially around standards of beauty. I desire to say I turned into calm behind the scenes; however, being the primary hijab-wearing Miss Minnesota contestant, I became tense. How were Somalians going to react? I didn’t want to permit everybody down. But then I idea: It’s Miss Minnesota. I am a Minnesotan. I recognize I qualify—I shouldn’t restrict myself.

PHOTO: BENJAMIN VNUK. FASHION EDITOR

VANESSA CHOW. PRADA DRESS, HAT. DELPOZO HOODIE. Missoni TURTLENECK. HIJAB-ISTA HIJAB. The Icy-Blue Eye: Start by dipping your finger right into a pot of cream eyeshadow, like Tom Ford Cream Color for Eyes in Siren Blue, then pull the pigment from the internal nook of the eye outward, staying above the crease. My friends wore bikinis, which is nice. However, I determined to wear a burkini, a full-insurance go well with that is greater comfortable for me. Growing up, I had used my worry about searching distinct as an excuse to stop choir. The real purpose became clear that my Somali family and pals weren’t coming to help me ( the song is normally frowned upon in our faith). However, I blamed it on standing out. I wasn’t going to end again. For me, competing changed into taking opportunities and not worrying approximately the outcome.

PHOTO: BENJAMIN VNUK. FASHION EDITOR: VANESSA CHOW. LOUIS VUITTON JACKET. AWAKE TURTLENECK. UNIQUE HIJABS HIJAB. HIJAB-ISTA underscarf. The White Liner: Using a white eye pencil—try L’Oréal Paris Infallible Never Fail Eyeliner in White—draw from the inner to the outer corner simply above your crease. Lift on end for the sixties feel; cross instantly for a punk vibe. PHOTO: BENJAMIN VNUK. FASHION EDITOR: VANESSA CHOW. VALENTINO DRESS. HIJAB-ISTA HIJAB, underscarf. MARNI EARRING.

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And the reaction to the pageant has been 98 percent fine. While I didn’t win, I got signed using a massive modeling corporation, IMG, quickly after, and walked in the Yeezy display—then editor Carine Roitfeld put me on the cover of CR Fashion Book. After that: a Vogue shoot, an Allure cover, and an American Eagle marketing campaign. Now I’m beginning to feel a lot of pressure; people seek me to represent Muslim women, and the last aspect I need to do is create a poor photograph. But I’m up for the venture, and I’m finding my very own route.

I mix things from my Somali subculture and my American side. I wear a suit (a conventional long suit). However, I was also homecoming queen and in the pupil government. I love Somali foods like Sanjuro, a pancake-like bread, identical to pizza, burgers, and sushi. I want to reveal to people there’s now not just one manner of being Muslim. Mostly, I want to reveal all women: You don’t have to conform to at least one preferred standard of splendor. And to all the other Muslim ladies: If you’re into something and don’t see different Muslim humans doing it, that’s your task. Open the doorways for others. I don’t think I’ll be the handiest hijabi model. I suppose it’s going to be so normal anymore.

Beauty is not skin deep. It’s an attitude that separates the beauty from the crowd. “Looking at the beauty in the world is the first step of purifying the mind.” The beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure that she carries, or how she combs her hair. The beauty of a woman is seen in her eyes because that is the doorway to her heart, the place where love resides. True beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul. A woman whose smile is open and whose expression is glad has a kind of beauty, no matter what she wears. All women are beautiful, regardless of their looks. It would help if you touched their soul with respect and appreciation for their inner beauty, and you will be rewarded with joy. The heart is way more important than the package.

I love natural beauty,

And I think it’s your best look, but I think makeup as an artist is so transformative. I would never like to endorse a fairness cream. I believe in natural beauty. True beauty can’t shine through makeup. Many of us can’t even imagine our lives without makeup. It sounds strange and even scary for many girls, thanks to the media’s popularization of unrealistic beauty standards. To be beautiful without makeup?! Is it even possible?! For many of us, it would be a big nuisance even to go to a supermarket with no makeup on. The media often forces us to believe that a woman with no makeup on can’t look somewhat attractive. If someone wants to live a makeup-free life, or at least to be able to have makeup-free days, then it makes sense to put a little bit more effort into caring about the natural beauty of your face, hair, and body.