At Milk Makeup, we believe it’s not just how you create your look; it’s what you do in it that matters. That’s what our motto Live Your Look is all about. It means forgetting the rules. Having the freedom to show up as you every day, whether that’s with graphic liner or a glossed lip. Being seen and celebrated for living your truth. And there's no better way for us to show what that looks like than passing the mic to our Milk Fam.
In this series, we're opening it up to our community to share their inspirations, self-expression, beauty routines, and so much more. Get to know the faces behind our campaigns who are as inspiring off camera as they are on. This week, we're getting to know Malak, a model who’s unpacking harmful beauty standards and ready to help start life on Mars.
Meet Malak, who joined the Milk Fam in our RISE and Bionic beauty shoots. Born and raised in Morocco, she moved to New York to attend med school, with a vision of the future that shifts from cosmetic chemist to a scientist helping start life on Mars (one day, way in the future).
“I want to be open to change and doing other things I might like in the future,” she says.
Being open to change also informs her relationship with beauty. Growing up, she shunned the features she now works to love “more and more” each day, from her crown of curls to the nose and forehead she inherited from her ancestors. “I feel like for most of my life, I tried to be something I’m not and change myself,” she says. “It was so hard to live in my own skin.” Gradually, she realized she felt her best when refusing to live as anything but her most authentic self. And now, she’s landing campaigns that celebrate the self she’s learned to love.
As an atypical Sagittarius (in her own words), Malak gravitates more toward the mysterious energy of Scorpios. “Like who’s that girl?” she jokes on-set. Still, she let us in on her makeup routine, favorite Milk products, and advice for anyone trying to un-internalize harmful beauty standards. Get to know her below.
How would you describe your personal style?
I grew up in Morocco and moved to New York six years ago. When I was in Morocco, I’d go thrift shopping every Saturday in this big market. I’d find unique pieces that made me stand out. The other kids in school were like, “Where’d you get that shirt from?” No one else would have it.
It led me to go thrift shopping more and find unique pieces—so I would say my style is a little vintage, a little modern. Now that I live in New York, I still go thrift shopping to try and find cool pieces to add to my outfits. And I’m always asking my mom to send me stuff—all of my family still lives in Morocco. I miss them so much, especially my mom and my sister. My mom calls me like five times a day. I love it.
What’s your daily relationship with beauty?
I didn’t love how I look for a long time. We always have something that we don’t like about ourselves, but for me, it was so many things. When I moved here, I realized that it was from all the things that I would see in commercials and in magazines, all internalized. I didn’t like my skin, my nose, my forehead. And then I Googled my ancestors, and they looked just like me. And I realized, why would I reduce myself like that? I don’t have to look like that girl in the magazine. I need to love myself more.
I started modeling and that gave me confidence. Hopefully, I can model some confidence for other girls who aren’t confident in themselves. I’m still working on it. It’s a never ending process. But I’m trying to love myself more and more.
Do you have any advice for others who want to un-internalize harmful beauty standards?It’s a lot to unpack! My little sister moved here recently, and she has so many problems with how she looks. I just look at her and wish she knew how beautiful she is. Hopefully, she’ll go through whatever I’m going through. A lot of people don’t realize that beauty right now is totally different from what we’ve been shown to be the beauty standard. In Morocco, we have different beauty standards than in America. And if you think about it, it comes from when France colonized us and then when Spain colonized us. We think of their beauty standards as ours, which isn’t true. So I’m working on that. I didn’t like my curly hair before. Imagine, my curly hair! The whole time I was in Morocco, I would straighten it, and straighten it because people would make fun of it. But I love my wild hair now. It’s really good to be confident. I love that. It’s a blessing. Is there a beauty product you swear by?Electric Glossy Lip Plumper. I love it so much. My lips are full, but sometimes they look a little flat with certain products. This is exactly what I needed. Sunscreen would be my desert island beauty product. Before sunscreen, I had so much discoloration on my face and I never knew why until I started wearing SPF every single day. Even if it’s winter and not sunny, I don’t care. I’m going to wear my sunscreen. I also have so many eyeshadow palettes. I like taking eyeshadows and doing colorful eyeliner with them. It just makes everything pop. |
Can you talk about what you’re wearing for our RISE and Bionic shoots?I love the Bionic Bronzer! It blends so nicely into my skin. First of all, I had to ask what the difference between contour and bronzer was. Now that I know what bronzer is, I’m going to put that Bionic Bronzer everywhere on my body, wherever the sun hits. It just makes me look natural and a little glowy. I like that Bionic Glow isn’t overwhelming and doesn’t make me look sweaty. There’s a fine line between glowy and sweaty and Bionic Glow literally highlights that. It almost blends into my skin, but when I hit you with an angle, you see it. RISE Mascara isn’t too thick, and it doesn’t weigh my lashes down. I have long lashes, but they’re kind of straight. So with any mascara that’s even a little heavy, they start to go down. RISE keeps them up. And snatched. Like a push-up bra, in a natural way! People are like, “What do you have on your eyes? Your eyes are beautiful.” And it’s like, “Hmm, I’m wearing Milk RISE Mascara.” What do you do when you’re not modeling?I moved here to go to medical school. Right now, I’m doing a lot of labs like microbiology and cell biology. I love working in the lab, observing the microorganisms, what they do, how they grow, how I can inhibit their growth. I want to do many things and just experiment. I was thinking that maybe I’ll end up working with makeup brands as a cosmetic chemist. I worked in a hospital when the pandemic started as a nurse assistant, and it was really hard. It was so hard for my mental health seeing people die. I would be taking care of this lady and come back the next day, and she’s not there anymore. There were people my mom’s age, which really scared me. Maybe I’m not made for a hospital or a harsh environment. I’m still going to be a scientist or a doctor, but somewhere else. I want to be open to change and doing other things I might like in the future. |
 Shop Malak's Favorites |
If you could have a one-way ticket anywhere in the world, where would you go?
This is going to be way in the future, but a lot of people are talking about starting life on Mars. If there’s a one-way ticket, I would love that. I’m premed so hopefully by the time life starts there, I’ll be a doctor and help somehow. I would love to go there. I want to go to Mars and help start life.
What song or album is currently on repeat for you?
SZA. Ctrl. I relate to her so much. It’s like a form of therapy. When I listen to “Good Days” by SZA, it literally makes my day better. Like, thank you, SZA.
What does an ideal day look like for you?
I’d wake up early in the morning because somehow I can’t wake up in the morning. Every single day, I set my alarm for 6:00 A.M. and I never wake up on time, except when I have work. I would wake up early, go to the gym, and cook. An ideal day would be cooking all day. I barely get to cook, and I really love cooking.
What would you cook all day?
I would cook so many things! Depending on the season, I’d make a fresh salad, with kale and carrots. So many vegetables. I would make some Moroccan zaalouk with roasted eggplants. You take off the skin and chop them with tomatoes and onions and so many spices. That’s the best little meal.
How do you #LiveYourLook?
I live my look by listening to myself: what I want and what I need in that particular moment. What am I feeling today? That’s something we don’t ask ourselves. We just go and do our jobs and whatever is asked of us. We don’t ask ourselves what we want to do. Even if it’s something small: I want a matcha drink. I’m going to get that. If my body wants fresh fruit, I’m going to get it. If my body wants to dance, I’m going to stop everything and dance.
Follow Malak on Instagram @malakidrissi.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity. Additional reporting by Robert Quick and Brooke Hannel.
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