Known for their neon eye stickers and juicy beauty looks, Simi and Haze Khadra distil their love of vibrant make-up into a tight line-up of skin-first formulas
- Who is it? Simihaze Beauty, the DJ-founded make-up brand bringing joy to your everyday make-up routine.
- Why do I want it? Housed in pleasingly chubby compacts and bullets, Simihaze Beauty's skincare-infused formulas encourage experimentation and play.
- Where can I get it? At Space NK, or on the SIMIHAZE BEAUTY website.
Who is it? Palestinian twins Simi and Haze Khadra are textbook third-culture kids. They spent much of their formative years boinging between London, Los Angeles, New York, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. “When someone asks us where we’re from, my brain explodes,” laughs Simi.
While studying film production and fine art at the University of Southern California, Simi and Haze began DJ-ing, inspired by sounds from their various travels. They juggled exams with playing at Coachella and became known for their bold and colourful make-up choices. “We found it really exciting to perform in neon colours or fun make-up looks. DJ-ing gave us an excuse to experiment,” says Simi. But, Haze interjects, their kaleidoscopic looks were never too much. Instead, the twins made them look “casual” – their bright looks felt as nonchalantly at-home on the streets of New York as they did at gigs with the Hadids.
Simi and Haze created their beauty brand, Simihaze Beauty, after graduating and though well before Covid-19 hit, the pandemic sped things along. They were stuck, unable to perform at festivals, with nothing else to do but make their brand a reality. In the aftermath of 2016’s matte-lip obsession, the twins created Simihaze Beauty as an antidote to what was available on the market. Their version of a matte lipstick was way ahead of its time – creamy and comfortable, with a domed bullet for a blurred, undone look. And while they love make-up, they “hate” sitting in a make-up chair. “We just don't have the patience for it. I don't know why,” shrugs Haze. So the Simihaze Beauty roster is chock-full of speedy, easy-to-use formulas. “You don't have to be a make-up artist to have high performance artistry,” she adds.
Simi and Haze routinely drag their mum and teenage sister to the lab to test their products. “We want the products to work on everyone,” says Haze. “It all has to go through so many family and friend approvals before they come out in the real world.” Her purse is home to a stash of unreleased samples for on-the-go testing at all times. She hands them out to friends with abandon.
Why do I want it? Simihaze Beauty serves as a reminder that make-up application should be fun. From gem-encrusted eye stickers to juicy cheek tints, everything ignites joy. The packaging is pleasingly chubby and tactile, in sweet-shop colours. Each compact is made with wood pulp-derived acetate to reduce its environmental impact, too. “When we decided to enter the beauty space, there was a sense of dread,” remembers Simi. “We didn’t want to add to the saturated industry without making it different.”
Now, Simi and Haze are re-releasing their Lightbeam Liquid Highlighters, which they describe as “sunshine in a bottle”. The cooling, water-gel formula blurs skin as it gilds, and is housed in brand-new packaging, which Haze admits they’re always fiddling with. “I always say, when the first iPhone came out, it was thick because it was the first of its kind. Our packaging is the same – we're always refining things.”
The formulas themselves – from the lipsticks to the finger-friendly blushes – are a boon for sensitive skins. After sweaty club nights, Simi and Haze wanted formulas that wouldn’t feel heavy or clog pores. Many of their offerings feature cocooning plant extracts like jojoba esters and squalane, and they’re always non-comedogenic.
Then there’s Solar Tint – a single compact containing two separate cream blush textures. One side is velvety and pigmented, while the other is a sheer, dewy balm infused with soothing camellia extract. Another of Simi’s favourite formulas is the Soft-Blur Moisture-Lock Setting Powder: “It’s an emergency thing. If you have that, you won't look shiny in the wrong places.”
Color Glaze Lip and Cheek Pigment in Magnolia is another all-rounder for the twins. In the pan it looks like a dauntingly vivid, Barbie pink, but Haze swears by it: “It’s like a blush and highlighter in one. Every time I put it on, people are like, what is that?”
Where can I get it? At Space NK, or on the SIMIHAZE BEAUTY website.
