Interview with Fashion & Beauty Saudi Influencer Nojoud Al Rumaihi

Nojoud Al Rumaihi is a woman of ambition. She is a mother of two, an entrepreneur, a fashion and beauty Instagram influencer, a Marketeer by degree from King’s Business School in London. Whether sharing her latest fashion finds with an audience of nearly 500k or documenting her worldwide pre-pandemic travels, Nojoud constantly entertains.

3oud.com sat down with Nojoud to discuss her journey to becoming a social media influencer, balancing life as a new mother, and her future plans.

1. Tell us a little about yourself. How did you first get your start in the fashion and beauty world?

I’m a mother of two and I specialized in international marketing, I chose it as my undergrad major as well as post-grad studies. That being said, I think this has contributed so much to my work on social media. I’ve been a fashion and beauty blogger for the past 6 years. The journey has been beautiful, it is constantly growing. When I first started a career in social media, it was nothing like what it is now, it was actually a taboo in our society to be public on social media. It wasn’t easy overcoming these stereotypes and coping with all the stigma that sticks around the fashion and beauty industry, but it was something that I always wanted to do and very much passionate about. I personally love public speaking and being around people in event at very young age. I feel like social media somehow a replication of that, it’s building an online presence for yourself, being able to create content of value and relevance. When I first started it was a bit random and I was testing thing out, with time I have managed to have a clear understanding of the type of content I’d like to share with my audience.

2. What inspired you to pursue social media as a career?

I love the fact that you described it as a “career”, because until now a lot of people do not see this as a stable job or a source of income or way of living that you can actually pursue. I do remember one of the most beautiful interviews I’ve ever watched was one conducted by TV Presenter and podcaster Joe Rogan where he interviewed entrepreneur Naval Ravikant. In this interview, Naval was speaking about modern day jobs, and how there is so much to be discovered online, and so much money to be made in new industries that haven’t been tapped before, he was actually telling Rogan that “If I told you 10 years ago that you’d be podcasting for a living you probably would have laughed at me.”, and I feel it’s the same with social media. It’s a career that takes a lot of energy and requires a lot of research, attention, consistency, and being present, and proper, whether in photoshoots or PR events, or day-to-day collaborations with clients. I still love it, and I love the dynamics of it, and how it’s constantly changing. You need to always step up your game and you always need to present something better, and grow, and keep up with what’s happening. It’s a cut-throat industry and I love it. It’s the main reason why it keeps me going.

3. How have your Instagram feed evolved over time? Any specific turning points?

I think this is a very interesting question and it highlights my point of the need to evolve with your content. If you scroll down my instafeed, you will find so much growth happening in terms of deliverables and content. A turning point for me is working with one of the most brilliant people I’ve ever worked with. I did seek help from one of my friends, who’s a stylist named Dina Al Baker, and I shared with her that I felt like I’m in a phase where I feel stuck and I want to communicate the messages I want to deliver in an esthetically and visually appealing way, and she helped me so much in terms of turning my content around, by creating content that is consistent and that represents me. I truly feel that my feed has evolved in a positive way throughout the past years. Of course, there are some ups and downs, on some days I’m not as organized, like now for example because I’m taking care of my newly-born baby. However, when I’m traveling on press trips, it becomes my job to be fully dedicated to the job and I make sure that I deliver content as per expectations of my clients.

4. What’s the most overrated part of working in social media?

The most overrated part of working in social media is that people assume that you get everything easy, and get freebies all the time, and I keep telling everything, nothing is for free. When I receive a PR kit, it’s mainly for the purpose of promoting the products and creating new content for it, and it’s a lot of work. With social media as my job, I don’t get certain hours of work, somedays I’d work for 8 hours and on other days I might work for 18 hours a day! And I always have to look proper and presentable, and that can be very consuming to my energy.

5. What is one thing you have accomplished in your career that you’re extremely proud of?

I’m honestly proud of so many moments, to me it will always be doing something that I actually love and pursuing something that everyone was against. I also feel very proud working with the most prestigious names in the industry. On a personal level, I’m also very proud of myself for completing my master’s degree because I’ve also been told not to pursue higher education, they thought it was a waste of time, and I proved them wrong. It actually taught me to be stronger and become that woman that I am today.

6. What advice would you give to those interested in building a following online?

• Do not obsess about increasing the number of your followers, because this will make you lose focus over what’s more important, which is creating content of value.
• Find something that you really want to deliver, what kind of service you want to provide your followers with?
• Find your niche and your strength points, and experiment
• It’s ok to fail or make some mistakes, you will bounce back
• Consistency is key in this industry

7. Who are your favorite fashion designers internationally and in the MENA region?

I feel like I’m a forever Dior girl. It’s my go-to brand because it’s very feminine, elegant, and classy. I’m also in love with many Georgian brands like MATÉRIEL, and other emerging talents from Tbilisi that are elevating the expectations of contemporary fashion. I love Hermes as well, it’s very solid as a brand.

As for the local designers, we have so many talents in our region, a personal favorite of mine is Hadeel Al Hussain, whom I have collaborated with once, she’s incredible as a designer and she’s very professional.

8. What are the most treasured items in your closet and why?

I have a celine bag that I got during my honeymoon, and I know the brand hasn’t been so active lately, which is sad. To me that bag is just different from anything I have in my closet because it has this sentimental value. I also have a couple of pieces from my grandmother which are very close to my heart, and items that I bought as a treat for myself for working so hard, like when I graduated.  

9. What three products do you always keep in your makeup bag?

A lipliner, a concealer, and a blusher.

10. One beauty tip that you live by?

Good skin care is everything. It’s the foundation of beauty, I’m a firm believer of good skin routine. I have probably tried every skin product in the market.

11. What are your most healing self-love rituals?

To me it’s sneaking in to my daughters’ bedroom in the middle of the night, and just watching them asleep. They drive me crazy in the morning but the moment I see them sleeping at night, I forget everything around me, it’s very therapeutic. Also never underestimate a good massage, it always helps.

12. What lessons have you learned from this pandemic?

One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned from this pandemic is that nothing stays forever. Everything can be gone in a second, so one has to be grateful. I’m very thankful for so many things in my life. I think throughout this pandemic I have learned to slow down, live in the present moment, and worry less as these are essential ingredients for a happy life.

13. As a mother to two beautiful girls, how would you describe your parenting style?

I don’t think I have a certain style in parenting, I’m experimenting with what works and what doesn’t. Each child has different needs, my daughters for example have completely different characters. I think it’s about how to approach every situation differently. If there is one thing that I always try to do as a parent, is to be patient, try to understand my child’s tantrums, and always always always talk to them as if I’m talking to a 30 years old friend, which really does work!

14. What are the challenges you have faced to find work-life balance?

I do not believe in the work-life balance, because it’s unrealistic. I think you need to give and take, you do well at your work sometimes, which means you’re less present for your family, and sometimes you’re fully dedicated to your family, and hence you’re less present at your work, which is totally fine because you need to give and take, and you cannot do everything at once. So, to me that’s balance. This whole race to perfection is just unrealistic and unachievable, and I made my peace with that, and I think that’s my key for balance.

15. Favorite travel destination of all time?

Hands down, Switzerland. I’ve been going there since I was a child with my family, it’s like my second home, I miss it so much and for the first time I haven’t been there for two years now. It’s been a hub for our family gathering, especially that I don’t get to see my brother much who lives in Canada, and Switzerland was our meeting point.

16. Any exciting 2021 projects that your fans should know about?

So far I haven’t planned anything, but there are still cooking, but nothing is ready to reveal yet, hopefully things will be clearer within the next couple of months.