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This Muslim Beauty Blogger Styles Her Hijab With These Amazing Anime Looks

Saima Chowdhury, dressed as 'Sukura Kinomoto' from the manga series Cardcaptor Sakura.
Saima Chowdhury, dressed as 'Sukura Kinomoto' from the manga series Cardcaptor Sakura.

It all started with some Disney princesses. It was 2015 and Birmingham based beauty blogger, Saima Chowdhury, was attempting to recreate Jasmine from Aladdin and Rapunzel from Tangled for a new video series on her YouTube channel.

She dressed up as some other characters from the Disney kingdom, too – everyone from Cinderella to Ariel – always making sure to shape her hijab to match their trademark princess looks. But it was Rapunzel – she of the long flowing hair – who got the biggest response.

Chowdhury had started her channel, saimasmileslike, in 2009 at the age of 16. What began as a comedy platform is now home to a range of brilliant videos from make-up routines and hijab tutorials to myth-busting period and sex ed chat. It found a loyal audience, including but not limited to other young South Asian Brits. Such is her following, she dropped out of Birmingham City University to pursue a full time career as a social media influencer.

“That was the closest I got to cosplay,” says the 26-year-old of the Disney project that inspired her to venture deeper into the world of dressup.

As a photography student, she’d discovered the joys of Japanese anime culture in a big way. It soon became an obsession. “After watching [Japanese manga series] Demon Slayer I was so inspired to recreate these characters,” she tells HuffPost UK. “Then one thing led to another.”

Chowdhury as 'Miwako Sakurada' from Japanese film Paradise Kiss.
Chowdhury as 'Miwako Sakurada' from Japanese film Paradise Kiss.

Cosplay, the art of dressing up as a fictional character by meticulously matching their outfit, face and gestures, has a huge global community. But talking about what it means to her, Chowdhury says: “It’s all about transforming yourself into a different character! There’s no rules, it’s all about having fun and showing your interpretation of the character you love!”

In the case of Demon Slayer, that’s a young boy who becomes a demon slayer after his family are slaughtered and his sister who becomes, well, a demon. “I was really surprised by the response I got from everyone...

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