Open letter: My life as a hijab fashion blogger

As part of an ongoing series, Yahoo Canada is profiling personal experiences in open letters. Our third entry speaks of Saman Munir, a Canadian-born fashion blogger and hijab stylist who uses beauty and fashion to inspire what hijabs mean to Muslim women. For more from the series, click here ^[1].

As told to Nisean Lorde

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Photo: Saman Munir | makeuphijabs ^[2]/InstagramMy name is Saman Munir.I am a wife, a full-time mother of three and a devout Muslim. I am also a Canadian beauty blogger and I review modest clothes and hijabs from all over the world.
My relationship with hijabs goes back a long way. I started wearing them in 1999. No one forced me to wear them. I was 18-years-old and only wore them because my sister wore them — she's a year older than me. I felt like I was obligated to wear them, so I put them on. After my sister got married, about a year later, I didn't feel comfortable wearing hijabs anymore. I felt it was not my decision to wear them in the first place, I was simply following in the steps of my sister. I was disappointed in myself, but I knew that one day I would wear them again, when I felt it was the right time.In 2005, one day after my 24th birthday, I decided to go to work with my hijab on. There was no moment of epiphany for me – it was simply a decision that I decided to make and one that I was comfortable with. I got so many questions from my co-workers— I don't think anyone knew much about hijabs— so I had people asking me questions.
"Did you get married?"
"Is this a birthday thing you're doing?"
"Is it a cultural thing?"ALSO SEE: Canadian Muslim blogger becomes online sensation for nailing hijab styling ^[3]They were curious. I told them it was part of my faith—that I should have been wearing it a long time ago, but now I felt ready to wear them again. Some of the questions were funny but most of the comments were supportive. Many people told me I looked more beautiful and more modest.It was my first real experience learning how to respond to questions about my hijab styling—something that would come in handy a few years later when I started blogging.

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Photo: Saman Munir | makeuphijabs ^[4]/InstagramI have always loved makeup. Growing up, I used to admire my mom as she carefully applied her makeup and experimented with different techniques. I wanted to explore with makeup, too. I used to buy makeup, but I didn't know how to put it on. I was curious as to how Muslim fashion bloggers applied makeup and styled their hijabs, so I began looking up videos on YouTube. It was 2007, and more people were starting to become interested in YouTube channels. That's where I found one hijab tutorial.
I remember watching this video of a beautiful Hijabi girl, wearing a hijab and giving a tutorial on how to put makeup on. I was really inspired. I remember thinking, "Whoa, she looks so good with her hijab and makeup on."

Through her channel I found another Hijabi blogger who was selling hijabs and demonstrating how to style them through her social media channels. I bought a few hijabs from her shop and started styling them and tagging her. I got an amazing response, and people started asking me for tips on how to style a hijab.

I was 26-years-old and recently married. My husband wasn't too comfortable with me posting pictures on social media.

"I don't mind you having Facebook, but I don't want any pictures on it," he told me.

I said that was fine. We were still learning each other's' likes and dislikes.

ALSO SEE: This makeup artist uses her hijab to transform herself into Disney princesses ^[5]

In 2011, I had the opportunity to do makeup for a family friend. My friend liked how I applied her makeup and invited me to be the head makeup artist for an upcoming fashion event. She wanted me to apply makeup for all of her models. She asked if I had a website so she could pass my information on to the Asian Television Network, which would broadcast the show. At that time I had no business cards or even a Facebook fan page to showcase my work. I asked my husband if it was okay to create a fan page and he agreed. As it turned out, it was not hard to convince him. He was very supportive.

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