From designer abayas to breathable nail polishes, Muslim fashion has become
“I think that even though many of us are practising Muslims, we sometimes fail to completely understand the halal lifestyle, which is related to purity and doing the permissible. Make-up products are used to bring out the natural beauty, so why not use products that bring out a woman’s pure beauty,” Misbah spoke to Instep. “The halal make-up industry is well established in Europe and South East Asia and we felt that now is the time that one of the largest Muslim countries in the world, Pakistan, had its own halal make-up line with MM Makeup.”
According to a report by Reuters, halal beauty products comprise $500 million of the $2 trillion global halal market in the 1.6 billion Muslim population of the world; tapping into a market of 185 million Muslims in Pakistan seems to offer Masarrat an edge over her competitors like Mehrbano Sethi of Luscious Cosmetics and Nabila, who recently launched her quick-fix, No Makeup palette for South Asian skin. And since halal make-up also mirrors the trend of ethical beauty products as it is said to be free of parabens and animal testing, it may also penetrate a market which is perhaps not too picky about halal products but is particular about socially-responsible ones.
However, cosmetics is a growing industry in Pakistan more in terms of imports, constituting about 29% of all imports. Multi-label brands are now increasingly offering customers easy access to these high-quality, international beauty products that enjoy mass popularity. Therefore, only time will tell how these local beauty denizens juggle competition at all levels but for now, the MM Makeup range is available online through its own website and is available within an affordable price bracket of PKR450 and PKR 1100.
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Mathira croons a tribute to Adnan Sami Khan
After a rather controversial song ‘Jhoota’ and the birth of her first baby, VJ-turned-singer Mathira is back in business – this time in collaboration with two emerging musicians Furqan and Imran – for a video dedicated to none other than Adnan Sami Khan.
The song titled ‘Piya Re’ is the duo’s personal take on Adnan’s classic ‘Bheegi Bheegi Raaton Mein’ and perhaps the best feature of the song is that it has nothing to do with the original’s composition. While guitarist Furqan does an impeccable job with the varying electric riffs and the haunting sound of the piano mixed with hints of harmonium adds to the emotional feel of the song, vocalist Imran Butt is only mediocre in his delivery of the low-pitched notes and only nails the high ones. Mathira, on the other hand, is a lot toned down than her usual sultry self as she croons the English lyrics of the song “I’ve been trying so hard to shed my tears, I have been trying so hard to end my fears…”
Her singing skills, though well covered up by the complementing beats, are still questionable with no depth in her voice whatsoever. Nevertheless, the song has the potential to grow on you after a few listens. Mathira is also said to be working on another item song for an upcoming Pakistani movie called Blind Love after having said no to item numbers post her baby.
“With fame comes responsibility” –
Hamza Ali Abbasi speaks out
Hamza Ali Abbasi may be known to us as an actor-director first, but his recent claims to fame (or infamy as some may call it) have nothing to do with his showbiz
“With fame comes responsibility,” Abbasi says, “...I’ve been very socially active since my school days and I think I’ve been doing and saying these things for years – now I think I just have a bigger audience.” He continues, “Every person in Pakistan should be political because we’re in a country that’s going through a transition ... If good, educated Pakistanis refuse to be politically active and fill the vacuum (which is being filled by the scum of Pakistan), then we’ll keep suffering.” Fair enough.
While Hamza’s passion for politics is justified, some have found his comments on the film industry hypocritical – after all, even the Jawani Phir Na Aani trailer had him surrounded with bikini-clad women. But Hamza sticks to his guns in this latest interview: “The Pakistani film industry is not representing the country; it represents something which we’re not. Giving into the whims of commercialism, people are making things which are not us. Unfortunately, I was a part of this in [Jawani Phir Nahi Ani] which was mainly due to my commitment to and friendship with Humayun Saeed, who is like a brother to me.”
He later added, “If I can’t practise what I preach then I don’t have the moral authority to be the Culture Secretary of Pakistan’s biggest political party, and hence, I thought I should resign.”