The Beauty Issue Editor's Letter: Happy Girls Are The Prettiest
Acting Editor in Chief Sophia Serin shares her thoughts on what true beauty looks like in 2025, reflecting on what makes us look—and feel—good
I grew up getting my beauty news from magazines, or my sister – both equally great sources of information which shaped my perspective on the world of beauty growing up as a teen. This issue of Bazaar Arabia is dedicated to all things bright and beautiful, and has made me take a mental step back in time when Madonna was setting make-up and hair trends, and when dousing yourself in Lou Lou by Cacheral was a thing. Sun In was also a cult product and one I used hoping it would turn my dark brown, curly hair into a silky blonde mane after a couple of spritz and a night's sleep…
With the birth of the internet in the 80s also came the introduction of online shopping, social media and Sephora with up-to-the-minute beauty news and must-buy make-up and skin care at our fingertips 24/7. Celebrities and beauty and fitness influencers wrote us a new set of rules when it came to make-up, skin care and diet and exercise, often developing their own line of products and promoting them via their millions of followers.
This technology didn't just transform the way we chose and shop for products, but also revolutionised the medical side of aesthetics too. We can now change absolutely anything about the way we look. Battling with a furrowed brow? Get Botox. Want to lose weight? Inject Mounjaro. Lost volume in the jowls? Get a neck lift. Whilst I am grateful for all of these advancements and eagerly indulge in the latest and greatest, the one maxim I have taken with me throughout the decades is the quote from Audrey Hepburn: 'Happy girls are the prettiest.' Regardless of your beauty mantra, the pages to follow are a guided tour on what's best to buy, try and take out of your regime to get you glam and feeling good from inside out in no time.
Enjoy the issue.
From Harper's Bazaar Arabia May Issue 2025.
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