Simi and Haze Khadra discuss the functional vision of their beauty brand and its Middle East launch

Simi and Haze Khadra discuss the functional vision of their beauty brand and its Middle East launch
The sisters launched their brand in the Middle East. (Getty Images)
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Updated 04 May 2024
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Simi and Haze Khadra discuss the functional vision of their beauty brand and its Middle East launch

Simi and Haze Khadra discuss the functional vision of their beauty brand and its Middle East launch

DUBAI: US-Palestinian beauty entrepreneurs Simi and Haze Khadra this week went on tour in the Middle East to launch their brand, SimiHaze Beauty, in the region. Their travels included stops in Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

While in the region, the sister duo — raised by Palestinian parents between Riyadh, London and Dubai —  shared insights about their brand with Arab News.

The 31-year-old identical twins, who are also DJs, said that they initially launched the brand out of “pure functionality,” creating products they wanted and needed in their own makeup routines. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Simi & Haze (@simihaze)

Every product they develop undergoes the same rigorous process of ensuring functionality, they said. 

“We are constantly thinking of new ideas and ways to make makeup easy and fun to apply,” Simi told Arab News. 

The pair launched their US-born cosmetics brand in 2021 with a range of stick-on makeup designs that can be placed on the face for a bold beauty look achievable within seconds. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Simi & Haze (@simihaze)

The sticker book features an array of edgy designs inspired by their favorite DJ looks from the past, such as chrome wings, neon negative space eyeliner and holographic cat-eyes. 

SimiHaze Beauty then expanded to include a range of products, such as lipsticks, bronzing powders, and a lifting mascara. 

Simi and Haze believe they were “actually late bloomers to the beauty world.” 

“We only started becoming interested in it when we were around 18,” Haze said. “We started SHB from just a single product we wanted but couldn’t find in the market, which is our Velvet Blur lipstick.

“We loved a matte lip for every day at the time but couldn’t find one that wasn’t drying, so we created it.” 

The twins developed an interest in eye makeup when they began DJ-ing.

“We weren’t the best at applying eyeliner, so again we just created our perfect solution which became the eye stickers,” Haze said.

To the sisters, launching the brand in the Middle East “felt so surreal.”

“The market has been such a huge goal of ours since we started because we grew up here,” Simi said. “We’re so happy that our products are finally accessible to our amazing followers here, because they have been such huge supporters since the beginning.

“Now people are finally able to really see and touch and feel the products, which is so important to us because you will never get the experience and vision of SHB unless you actually hold the product and feel the texture, curves, and ergonomics of it. The online experience doesn’t do it any justice.” 

The sisters said that they personally oversee the development of every product. They visit their lab in Italy for a few days at least twice a year to test and create new formulas.

“It takes a while and a lot of back and forth because after we create something it gets tested on our whole family from my grandma to my mom to my little sister and also all my friends with different skin tones,” Simi said.

“My friends are used to me calling them and saying: ‘Hi can I come over and try on some blush colors on you?’ So by the end of it we know what formulas and shades work best on the widest range of people.”

While visiting the Middle East, the sisters observed a prevailing trend in the region: skincare.

“I’ve seen so much good skin here and I can tell people really care about skincare here,” Haze said.

“We’ve also been increasingly obsessed with it. Our products are all infused with skin-loving ingredients, because we’re personally super-paranoid about anything that’s clogging or could cause irritation.”


Highlights from Art Week Riyadh  

Highlights from Art Week Riyadh  
Updated 7 sec ago
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Highlights from Art Week Riyadh  

Highlights from Art Week Riyadh  

Ayesha Singh 

‘Liminal Gaps’ 

The Indian artist’s “Liminal Gaps,” according to the gallery Nature Morte, “explores the areas ‘in between,’ or transitional spaces” and “reshapes perspectives on India’s evolving cultural identity.’ The installation acts as a 3D drawing through which the viewer can move. Singh has said her works “aim to counter established narratives.”  

Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige 

‘Message with(out) a code’ 

This work comes from the Lebanese duo’s ongoing series “Uncomformities” (a geological term indicating natural disasters and geological movements). That series began in 2016 when the artists started collecting earth core samples that “revealed the subterranean worlds of cities omnipresent in the personal imaginaries: Athens, Paris, Beirut and Tripoli.  

Dhewadi Hadjab  

‘Untitled’ 

This work comes from a series of paintings that the Algerian-born artist created last year, which were presented in Paris in November. At the time, art critic Anael Pigeat wrote: “He shows unreal images of positions impossible to maintain: several times in one single time and several bodies in one single body.” 


Inside season two of ‘Star Wars’ spinoff ‘Andor’ 

Inside season two of ‘Star Wars’ spinoff ‘Andor’ 
Updated 7 min 37 sec ago
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Inside season two of ‘Star Wars’ spinoff ‘Andor’ 

Inside season two of ‘Star Wars’ spinoff ‘Andor’ 
  • Stars and showrunner discuss the final episodes of the acclaimed series 

DUBAI: As “Andor” returns this week on Disney+ for its second and final season, the acclaimed “Star Wars” spinoff barrels toward the events of 2016’s “Rogue One,” in which rebel spy Cassian Andor gives his life on a mission that triggers the events of the 1977 film that started it all: “Star Wars: A New Hope.” 

For Diego Luna, who reprises his role as the titular rebel hero, that inevitability heightens the emotional stakes. 

“As the events kept getting closer to ‘Rogue One’ it made every moment meaningful and full of complexity, because you know that that very dramatic fatal finale is coming,” Luna tells Arab News. “Therefore, every moment of life, every chance these characters have to breathe, is like a reminder of the end approaching. At least from my perspective, I was always thinking, ‘Oh my god, poor guy, he doesn't know what's coming.’”  

Tony Gilroy and Genevieve O’Reilly on the set of 'Andor' season two. (Supplied)

Showrunner Tony Gilroy adds: “Knowing where you’re ending up is the most liberating thing. It frees up everything else.” 

The new season will also bring closure for other characters in Andor’s life — some of whom aren’t in “Rogue One,” notably Adria Arjona’s Bix Caleen and Stellan Skarsgard’s machinating revolutionary Luthen Rael. 

“I got really lucky this season; I got to dig a bit deeper than I did in in season one,” says Arjona. “Bix goes through so much this season, so much healing and so much heartbreak. Every scene is a challenge. There's not a single scene in this show any of us can say was easy. You never let your guard down when you're handed such a great piece of material. It feels like a gift and I didn't take a single moment lightly.” 

“Andor” charts the title character’s transformation from disinterested, cynical nobody into a rebel hero on his way to an epic destiny. Season one, which debuted in 2022, was set five years before “Rogue One” and covered the first year of that journey. The 12 episodes of the final season are split into four equal “chapters,” each moving us a year forward. 

Adria Arjona in 'Andor' season two. (Supplied)

“There are 25 to 30 regular characters,” Gilroy says. “And the questions are: Who lives? Who dies? Who triumphs? Who fails? Who betrays whom?” 

British star Ben Mendelsohn, who reprises his role as the menacing Imperial officer Orson Krennic, tells Arab News: “I hope the audience takes away an experience of seeing two sides going to war. And I hope somewhere inside themselves, they can think both of these sides are fighting for what they think is a good idea, and ask themselves, ‘Which one do I prefer?’” 

While “Andor” draws heavily from real-world history, Luna insists it isn’t designed to mirror current global politics. 

“This is a story about revolution and about a community getting their hands dirty and coming together. It’s inspiring, yes, and it'll always be inspiring, because, throughout history, change has always been needed. However, we weren’t thinking about today,” says Luna. “We were concerned with being honest in telling this story within the framing of ‘Star Wars.’ 

“Basically, the writing of Tony Gilroy reflects everything he has gone through and the world he’s lived in. It's all there,” he continues. “There are references to 10 years ago, to 50 years ago, to the history we know about who we are and why we're here. And that's always going to be pertinent, not just today. Probably in 50 years, someone could see ‘Andor’ and be, like, ‘Is this about today?’” 


Pakistani actor Yasir Hussain says ready to put career on hold for wife Iqra Aziz

Pakistani actor Yasir Hussain says ready to put career on hold for wife Iqra Aziz
Updated 18 April 2025
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Pakistani actor Yasir Hussain says ready to put career on hold for wife Iqra Aziz

Pakistani actor Yasir Hussain says ready to put career on hold for wife Iqra Aziz
  • Hussain and Aziz are among Pakistan’s most talked-about celebrity couples who tied the knot in 2019
  • Despite shared background in showbiz, Hussain says they maintain professional boundaries in the industry

KARACHI: Pakistani actor and director Yasir Hussain has said he is willing to pause his career and stay home with his young son if his wife, acclaimed actress Iqra Aziz, required him to, highlighting his support for her flourishing career in the entertainment industry.

Aziz and Hussain, one of Pakistan’s most talked-about celebrity couples, tied the knot in December 2019 following a public proposal at the Lux Style Awards that year. The couple welcomed their son, Kabir, in July 2021 and have since carefully balanced their personal life with demanding professional commitments.

Aziz is currently starring in the television drama Paradise, while Hussain is performing as the director and male lead in the theater production Monkey Business, running at the Karachi Arts Council. 

Despite their shared background in showbiz, the two have taken different routes, with Aziz focusing largely on television dramas and Hussain leaning toward theater and directing.

“Today, if she [Iqra] tells me to leave everything and take care of Kabir because she is doing a film, I’ll leave everything,” Hussain told Arab News in an interview this week. “Obviously, my child comes first for me.”

He said fatherhood and marriage had brought a noticeable change in his temperament.

“I was very hyper before marriage,” he said.. “It’s a good change and I am liking it.”

Hussain said being part of the same profession had helped him and his wife better understand each other’s demanding schedules.

“If I was married to a doctor, maybe, so I don’t know her profession, she doesn’t know mine,” he said. 

“So, maybe there would have been some issues in between us like what are these shift timings or it’s not fair that you go to the theater everyday all day. So, there would have been issues perhaps. But now we know how it works.”

Still, Hussain said he made a conscious effort to maintain professional boundaries, including not seeking roles opposite his wife on screen.

“I think there is a gap of 10 or 11 years between Iqra and I,” he added. “I want her to work with actors her age. I don’t want her screen age to increase for no reason because of me.”

Hussain also said he didn’t seek to share the small screen with his wife just because she was a famous actress.

Previously, though, the couple have worked together in the drama serial Jhooti while they were engaged, and later in the mini-series Aik Thi Laila, which Hussain directed. He has also produced Paradise, which Aziz is currently starring in alongside actor Shuja Asad.

“Marriage is a very personal thing and I don’t want to show that chemistry onscreen in a TV drama at least.”

And though they were both part of the entertainment industry, Hussain said they maintained clear professional independence.

“We have a life as individuals as well. We don’t influence each other on the career choices we wish to make,” he said.

That said, he expressed a preference for Aziz to avoid dark or gritty roles.

“I don’t want Iqra to do films like Javed Iqbal or Taxali Gate or the series Khatarnaak that I’m shooting in Lahore,” he said. 

“I don’t want her to get into such dark content. She is a very lively person and has the image of a happy-go-lucky individual. I don’t want her image to be dark or political.”


Benson Boone to perform in the UAE

Benson Boone to perform in the UAE
Updated 17 April 2025
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Benson Boone to perform in the UAE

Benson Boone to perform in the UAE

DUBAI: US singer and songwriter Benson Boone will open this year’s Yasalam After-Race Concerts, part of the Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix weekend in December.

Boone, known for chart-topping hits like “Beautiful Things” and “Slow It Down,” is set to take the stage at Etihad Park on Dec. 4.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Yasalam (@yasalamae)

Last week, organizers announced that pop superstar Katy Perry will headline the event’s grand finale on Dec. 7.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Yasalam (@yasalamae)

The 2024 lineup featured performances by Teddy Swims, Peggy Gou, Maroon 5, Eminem, and Muse.


Disney+ launches limited-time immersive experience in Riyadh

Disney+ launches limited-time immersive experience in Riyadh
Updated 17 April 2025
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Disney+ launches limited-time immersive experience in Riyadh

Disney+ launches limited-time immersive experience in Riyadh

RIYADH: For one weekend, Disney+ has unveiled an interactive activation at U Walk in Riyadh. From April 17-19, this pop-up invites families to immerse themselves in their favorite stories from the entertainment company, transforming beloved movies and series into an experience that blends film and food.

The experience includes interactive zones like the “Roar Challenge,” inspired by “Mufasa,” and rhythmic drumming experiences set to the beats of “Moana.”

For one weekend, Disney+ has unveiled an interactive activation at U Walk in Riyadh.  (AN Photo)

Saleh Al-Anzi, one of the attendees, remarked: This is a very special occasion, and it’s the first time this happens in Saudi Arabia. When I got the invitation, I was so excited and came here with my children. Everything here was amazing—the hospitality, the food, the cupcakes, and the desserts. We had a really fun time with the kids. I like this activity because it's not only for children; it's also for adults like us. We also watch Disney+ with our kids.”

Disney+ partnered with the Saudi premium confectionary brand Milaf to craft a bespoke menu of desserts and dishes available only at the event. Merging local heritage with global storytelling, the menu was tailored for the Saudi audience, blending iconic Disney+ tales with the rich flavors of Saudi cuisine. From Hanini and Masabeeb to Kleija, each creation celebrated Saudi culture while offering a journey through Disney+’s most iconic stories.

Tamim Fares, Director of Disney+ Middle East & North Africa, remarked: We were thrilled to bring this one-of-a-kind Disney+ activation to Riyadh, providing families with a unique experience that transcended streaming. This event was more than just entertainment — it was a celebration of stories that resonated across generations, brought to life with a local Saudi touch.”