How I Got Here: Adore Beauty’s Senior Beauty Editor on the power of POC representation in media
Words by Lucy Andrews
“We need a lot more POC stories, faces and creatives in this industry, especially in beauty and fashion.”
Have you ever stalked someone on LinkedIn and wondered how on earth they managed to land that wildly impressive job? While the internet and social media might have us believe that our ideal job is a mere pipe dream, the individuals who have these jobs were, believe it or not, in the same position once, fantasising over someone else’s seemingly unattainable job.
But behind the awe-inspiring titles and the fancy work events lies a heck of a lot of hard work. So what lessons have been learnt and what skills have proved invaluable in getting them from daydreaming about success to actually being at the top of their industry?
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Welcome to How I Got Here, where we talk to women who are killing it in their respective fields about how they landed their awe-inspiring jobs, exploring the peaks and pits, the failures and the wins, and most importantly the knowledge, advice and practical tips they’ve gleaned along the way.
This week we speak with Sadaf Razi, the Senior Beauty Editor for online beauty retailer Adore Beauty. Since finishing her degree, Sadaf has worn just about every hat you can in the fashion and beauty space. She’s interned for glossy magazines, worked in fashion cupboards and departments, freelanced as a writer, editor and stylist, shot with Kendall and Kylie Jenner, styled Meghan Markle (yes, really!) and eventually landed her dream role at Adore Beauty.
As a person of colour (POC), Sadaf understands what it’s like to not see yourself represented adequately in an industry that you love. Below, she speaks about her journey so far and how changing POC representation, particularly for women of colour (WOC), has been fundamental in the evolution of her career.
What do you do and what’s your official job title?
I’m the Senior Beauty Editor at Australia’s leading online beauty retailer, Adore Beauty. I lead our amazing Beauty IQ channel which houses thousands of engaging and informative beauty articles including first-person reviews, expert tips, viral trends and recommendations from our amazing internal and external writers!
Take us back to when you were first starting out. Did you study to get into your chosen field, or did you start out with an internship/entry-level role and climb the ladder? Tell us the story.
Coming from ethnic household, going to uni was a non-negotiable (IYKYK). My last week of uni essentially led me to where I am today. A uni friend landed a one-week internship at Dolly magazine and couldn’t do it, so she asked if I wanted the internship instead. I had always dreamed of working in magazines or on TV/radio, so I jumped at the chance. After assisting each department, I feel like I had my ‘Aha!’ moment in the fashion department. The production of shoots, styling, all of it – I was enchanted. Already obsessed with fashion, that just further sparked my love for magazines and I knew it was where I had to be.
From there, I scored a regular internship in the fashion department and decided my goal and dream was to become a fashion editor. That dream came true about two to three years later… I ended up getting my first job as a Junior Fashion Editor at Famous magazine. Two years later I became the Fashion Editor at Girlfriend Magazine (highlight: flying to LA to do a cover shoot with Kendall and Kylie Jenner!!).
Then I packed my bags and made the very big, exciting and hard move to New York. It was TOUGH. But I did some really cool stuff, like style for Seventeen Magazine as well as produce and style a shoot with Meghan Markle for Gritty Pretty magazine which later ended up on the cover of international titles like Elle France – wild!
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After two and a half years in New York, I came home and took a role as the Fashion Director of Bride To Be magazine for a really short time before experiencing my first redundancy and the magazine’s closure. The rise of the ‘influencer’ was happening and magazines were starting to fold.
An old editor of mine helped me pivot over to digital where I started writing both fashion and beauty for Who Magazine online (while still freelance styling on the side) and that’s when I really fell in love with beauty. Back then ‘slashies’ weren’t a thing. You were pigeonholed and had to choose either fashion or beauty. After about ten years in fashion and styling, I decided to pursue my passion for beauty writing.
I freelanced for brands and websites and just really grinded (with this came lots of unsuccessful job applications and setbacks) which eventually led to me freelancing for Adore Beauty. Funnily enough, I had written down Adore Beauty as one of the places I really wanted to work after seeing a WOC on their YouTube channel and in a senior marketing position.
So I applied for a job I wasn’t qualified for and got an interview (which I flew to Melbourne for) and grabbed coffee with the then Content Manager Hannah Furst. I didn’t get it, but freelancing for a year after that led to my position now – it all felt quite serendipitous! Like I used to always tell my previous manager Joanna Fleming, I feel like I’ve lived nine lives. I feel so grateful that I’ve been lucky enough to essentially have two careers and two dream jobs over the last decade of working in this industry.
What challenges/hurdles have you faced getting to where you are now? Can you tell us about one in particular?
As a POC, working towards where you wanted to be and having a seat at the table was a lot harder and at times felt like [it] was never going to happen. It still is in some ways! But things are getting much better. There weren’t a lot of POC voices or stories being told or content being made by POC, so I was still creating content to suit a very linear audience.
However, I also had some wonderful mentors, editors and colleagues along the way who championed and believed in me. At times, more than I believed in myself. I’m still grateful for and in touch with them and some of them are dear friends of mine.
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Here’s one cute story though. After years of interning at Dolly I applied for the Fashion Assistant position and it went to someone else who hadn’t been there as long as me but they had the right connections. I was gutted. She ended up being my senior and she was so lovely and talented. I loved working with her, but it still hurt.
A few years later, after a lot of hard work and a few setbacks we both ended up being Fashion Editors for competitor titles. She sent me a congratulatory email on my first week – class act. The universe always balances everything out in the end. So never be disheartened; one closed door is always the beginning of another. Such a cliché, but it’s true. If I hadn’t ended up at Girlfriend, I never would have done those amazing cover shoots in LA!
What do you want people to know about your industry/your role?
That there’s a lot of hard work behind the surface. Like many industries, there’s always blood, sweat and tears. We have the best jobs in the world, but you definitely need thick skin. There’s good and bad stuff in every industry, but if you follow your strengths and love what you do, stay the course! You’ll meet some really special people along the way too.
What’s the best part about your role?
Everything! From reviewing and writing about beauty myself to working with amazing creatives and writers. I really am in my dream role so I love everything about it (even the boring admin tasks!!). I also love that I can flex my other creative muscles too, like host some of our events, film for our YouTube channel or occasionally record for our award-winning podcast, Beauty IQ Uncensored. I even got to appear on Sunrise!
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On a personal note, the best part would have to be being the representation I never saw in the media growing up. If you told teenage Sadaf that one day she’d see someone who looks like me (or that it would be me) on TV talking about beauty, I wouldn’t have believed it.
I’ve had a few POCs slide in my DMs and say they follow my content or are so happy to see a WOC in a senior position in beauty and I can’t tell you how rewarding and special this feels. It’s the reason I’m here. For me, beauty isn’t just a surface-value thing, and it’s one of the things I love most about Adore Beauty – they work to make POC feel seen. The perfect example of this is its Global Shades Initiative.
For so long, I could never wear a foundation or concealer shade that matched my skin tone, which can directly affect your self-esteem. We tune into consumer insights and feedback and are constantly influenced as a team not only by each other but by what our audience and customers want, use and love.
What would surprise people about your role?
It’s not all glam and just writing about beauty products! There’s also admin and a lot of strategy stuff, but I always love learning so I don’t mind this at all, and welcome it. Also, you can’t be ‘too cool’ to take a shameless selfie in this role.
Coming from fashion where it was so ingrained in us to be behind the camera and it was considered cringe to take constant selfies or film a ‘get ready with me’, I really had to train myself to get out of that mindset or worry about what other people think.
What skills have served you well in your industry?
Pivoting to digital and eCommerce has helped me understand commercial value and storytelling in a different way. Constantly staying creative and curious always served me well no matter what job I’ve had in the industry. Also, someone I worked with previously who is actually much younger than me gave me this sage advice and it’s so true: be adaptable.
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I’m a Cancerian – we hate change. However, the industry landscape is always changing so be as open and adaptable as you can. It’s not always going to be what you want, what is fair or what you expect, but you can find ways to adapt and make everything work!
What advice would you give to someone who wants to be in a role like yours one day?
It’s a lot of hard work, dedication and setbacks, but you’ll get there if you’re meant to and if not, the universe will always course correct you to where you are meant to be (even if other people get there faster than you). Try to find people who you resonate with or look up to, and reach out to them, again don’t be disheartened if they don’t respond, people are just super busy. Eventually, someone will.
What about a practical tip?
Offer to write and create for brands you love; you never know where it will lead! On a final (very important) note: we need more POC in our industry, so if you are reading this and you’re a POC, please don’t ever give up. Ever. There have been many times I’ve almost thrown in the towel or given up in the past for feeling ‘othered’ or like I wasn’t good enough or didn’t fit a certain mould.
But there will be amazing people and allies along the way who will lift you up and want to see you succeed, I promise. I hope you read this and know that while things are slowly changing, we need a lot more POC stories, faces and creatives in this industry especially in beauty and fashion. So please, please come in.
Read the rest of the How I Got Here series here.
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