Making An Inclusive Stand

Influencer, makeup artist and beauty brand CEO Sahur Saleim is using her powerful reach on Instagram to move the needle towards inclusivity.

- Sophie Hong

It’s so easy to have a conversation with Sahur Saleim, even if you’re a stranger that she’s just met. The 23-year-old popped up on Zoom, clad in a loose Metallica T-shirt, bare-faced with her hair pulled back into two fishtail braids. Never mind that she had just recovered from a bout of food poisoning over the weekend – you wouldn’t be able to tell from her upbeat, high energy tone. The makeup maven sounds exactly like how she presents herself in her video tutorials that have endeared her to 303K followers and counting on Instagram (@sahursart): bubbly, animated and sincere.

Since the beginning of her social media career, it is clear that Sahur stands for inclusivity. She doesn’t filter away her acne or the resulting post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, and her beauty tutorials feature not only herself but also other women, showcasing her artistry on a myriad of skin tones, textures and facial features. Her latest venture, the eponymous makeup line Sahur’s Art, is inspired by fine art and runs on the ethos of inclusivity. Its products are vegan, alcohol-free and cruelty-free.

“Nothing gets approved till I’ve seen it on at least three different skin tones,” she says. “I cannot imagine launching a brand without inclusivity being at the forefront.”

As of now, there’s the Mona eyeshadow palette ($48), which features 10 highly pigmented shades, and The Kiss ($23), a long-wearing liquid lipstick range in five colours. There’s another eyeshadow palette that is “more fun” in the works, but Sahur is coy about the details. What she does share, though, is how she bootstrapped a business in the midst of a global pandemic, her strong stance on representation, and her journey towards self-acceptance.