What brands do you think are investing in Eid and Ramadan in the right ways?

For me, it’s important to see what brands are doing outside cultural moments. Eylure has focused on and championed the British Muslim community really well. Several years ago, it launched a lash collection with Sabina Hannan – a prominent British Bengali museum beauty blogger – so when they worked with a variety of Muslim influencers last year and hosted an event for content creators, it seemed extremely authentic and on brand.

Clinique is another shining example. It has been hosting celebratory Eid lunches for content creators within the beauty space for the last six years – the first was hosted way before the pandemic, at a time when brands were starting to focus on diversity but not entirely sure how to do it. As a brand, it was constantly and consistently featuring creators from the community on its social media pages. It featured Safiyah Tasneem – a hijabi make-up artist turned beauty blogger who has been in this space since 2010 – in a foundation campaign that was circulated on London transport and on billboards in shopping centres. Jo Malone London is another brand to celebrate: it works with creatives from different communities, whether it’s on social media campaigns, packaging, bottle design, in-store customer services or charity incentives that give back to the communities they are targeting.

I also noticed LookFantastic posted a beautiful video on Instagram recently. It includes snippets of internal staff talking about Ramadan and Eid, highlights how diverse they are behind the scenes and it gives the wider community a non-judgmental space to learn and ask questions. As a consumer, this would give me confidence that a brand really cares because the content isn’t product-focused; instead, it’s engaging the community and sparking meaningful conversations so we can all learn and grow.

Are there any obvious red flags to be aware of from your point of view?

One of the biggest for me is brands repurposing content from their Middle Eastern or Muslim-focused markets and hoping or assuming it will be relatable to their British counterparts. British Muslims are unique because we are a blend of cultures from all over the world. What unites us is our Britishness; what makes us relate to other British Muslims is the experience – both good and bad – that we have had growing up in this country. You cannot take marketing material that is designed and aimed at Muslims who live in a Muslim-practising country, and assume that it will be relatable. I think it does more damage for a brand in the longer term, especially when they use individuals that we don’t recognise or relate to.

This is the best way to navigate the beauty space throughout Ramadan and Eid