This month, Saudi beauty Yara Alnamlah graces the cover of Vogue Arabia’s 2024 Saudi issue, coming face to face with the Arabian leopard in celebration of the Kingdom’s majestic wildlife.
Photo: Nima Benati
While the 25-year-old has become a name to follow for her undeniable beauty, she’s also a multidisciplinary individual who adorns multiple hats. Yara Alnamlah isn’t just an entrepreneur whose ventures extend from hospitality to beauty, she’s also a social media favorite with over 1.4 million followers on Instagram. Below, Vogue Arabia reveals five things you didn’t know about the stunning Saudi cover star.
Yara Alnamlah’s makeup artist journey started very young
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Yara Alnamlah’s love affair with the world of beauty kicked off when she was just a child. “My first memory with makeup is when I was 6 years old, it’s the funniest memory,” she recalls. “I used to eat my mom’s purple lipsticks! She knew since then that I’m obsessed, so she started getting me toy makeup to play with and this continued till school.” As a teen, Alnamlah continued to hone her makeup skills by creating new experimental looks and sharing them online, and then progressed to practicing her skills on clients. Over the years, she discovered her signature beauty look: a glowy, lit-from-within base which has earned her thousands of followers.
She is an architecture graduate
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Although Yara Alnamlah is renowned on social media for her makeup skills and unique sartorial aesthetic, her artistic skills go well beyond the realm of beauty and fashion. The multi-hyphenate earned her degree in architecture during Covid-19 from one of the best universities in Saudi Arabia. Talking about the experience with Vogue Arabia, she shares, “I always feel that life is art, the way of thinking, of living and creating a story for yourself. I had a deep understanding of concept creation, and I couldn’t find a better major to study where I can unleash the stories and ideas I have in mind. I’m glad to have graduated with an architecture degree, as I was also working and studying at the same time — and it wasn’t easy! But I got an excellent degree from Prince Sultan University in Riyadh.”
Yara Alnamlah is also the founder of this Saudi hotspot
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Never one to shy away from a challenge, Yara Alnamlah also founded her own culinary hangout in Saudi Arabia in 2021 — the kingdom’s very first specialized matcha café, named SoMatcha. “I remember the first time I tasted matcha was in New York during fashion week in 2018,” she reveals. “Since then, I was in love and I couldn’t forget the taste. I started looking for matcha in the region and I couldn’t find the best quality. So, I decided to contact suppliers in Japan to create the brand I dreamed of.” During the Covid-imposed lockdown, Yara worked tirelessly on her dream café with her mother, working on the interiors of SoMatcha and meticulously curating the menu after endless trials of different recipes using a variety of matcha from Japan. “It took three years to create SoMatcha, and now we’re looking for an international expansion!”
She made her first ever Cannes appearance in 2024
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2024 has already turned out to be an exceptional one for Yara Alnamlah. Just days before starring on the cover of Vogue Arabia, the Saudi entrepreneur took over the internet with her debut appearance at the Cannes Film Festival, where she represented the kingdom on a global scale. “Attending Cannes Film Festival for the first time felt amazing, the whole experience was new for me!” she beams. “I feel like it’s a milestone that was checked!” To celebrate the milestone moment, Alnamlah took Vogue Arabia behind the scenes as she got ready for the esteemed event in a dazzling black gown by Rami Kadi and Chaumet jewelry.
She always wears her Saudi culture proudly
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Yara Alnamlah became an acclaimed public personality not only because of her incredible makeup skills, but also thanks to her unique sense of style, always serving sartorial inspiration for modest dressers around the globe while showcasing her Saudi heritage. Alnamlah is also ever mindful about representing talent from her nation, and can often be seen dressed in abayas from Saudi names. “Saudi brands have a lot of beautiful concepts and deep philosophies,” she shares. “I really love when they link it to our Saudi culture. A lot of my favorite designers are from the Saudi100 brands.”
