< Previous50 Harper’s Bazaar Qatar Spring 2024 Used throughout: Shape Tape Concealer, QR145, Tarte. Precisely My Brow Pencil, QR135; 24-HR Brow Setter, QR135, both Benefi t. 12H Contour Pencil Eyeliner, QR55, Sephora Collection, all available at Sephora Mothership VII Eyeshadow Palette in Divine Rose, QR565, Pat McGrath Labs. High Precision Eyeliner, QR75, Sephora Collection. Lash Sculpt Lengthening and Volumising Mascara, QR170, Anastasia Beverly Hills, all available at Sephora Full look, Nora’s own. Scarf, POA, Kristina Fidelskaya. Cuff , QR18,265, Azza Fahmy AR ABIAN K NIGHT Meet Nora Aljabr, the Sephora Voices campaign star who is championing female empowerment while bringing a lost art back to life… Photography by BUTHAYNAH ALHARTHI Styling by LAURA JANE BROWN Words by DEVINDER BAINS HBQ_034_48-63_Nora_13144503.indd 5029/01/2024 21:2251 Harper’s Bazaar Qatar Spring 2024 Colour Shifter Eye Palette in Infi nite Nude, QR85, Sephora Collection. Full Sleeve Long and Defi ned Tubing Mascara, QR110, KVD Beauty, both available at Sephora Full look, Nora’s own. Cuff , QR18,650, Azza Fahmy HBQ_034_48-63_Nora_13144503.indd 5129/01/2024 09:1352 Harper’s Bazaar Qatar Spring 2024 تﻼﺑﺎﻘﻣ HBQ_034_48-63_Nora_13144503.indd 5229/01/2024 09:1353 Harper’s Bazaar Qatar Spring 2024 This page: Master Metallics Palette, QR195, Makeup By Mario. Mothership IX Huetopian Dream Eyeshadow Palette, QR480, Pat McGrath Labs. Best Skin Ever Concealer, QR95; High Precision Eyeliner, QR75; Size Up Mascara, QR95; Natural Eff ect False Eyelashes, QR60, all Sephora Collection, all available at Sephora Full Look, Nora’s own. From top: Ring, QR5,150; Ring, QR1,230; Bracelet, QR8,150, all Azza Fahmy Opposite page: Master Metallics Palette, QR195, Makeup By Mario. Mothership IX Huetopian Dream Eyeshadow Palette, QR480, Pat McGrath Labs. Best Skin Ever, QR95; High Precision Eyeliner, QR75; Size Up Mascara, QR95; Natural Eff ect False Eyelashes, QR60, all Sephora Collection, all available at Sephora Headpiece, Nora’s own HBQ_034_48-63_Nora_13144503.indd 5329/01/2024 09:1354 Harper’s Bazaar Qatar Spring 2024 HBQ_034_48-63_Nora_13144503.indd 5429/01/2024 09:1455 Harper’s Bazaar Qatar Spring 2024 This page: Colour Shifter Eye Palette in Infi nite Nude, QR85, Sephora Collection. Full Sleeve Long and Defi ned Tubing Mascara, QR110, KVD Beauty, both available at Sephora. Full look, Noura’s own. Ring, QR13,470; Cuff , QR18,650, both Azza Fahmy Opposite page: Master Metallics Palette, QR195, Makeup By Mario. Mothership IX Huetopian Dream Eyeshadow Palette, QR480, Pat McGrath Labs. Best Skin Ever, QR95; High Precision Eyeliner, QR75; Size Up Mascara, QR95; Natural Eff ect False Eyelashes, QR60, all Sephora Collection, all available at Sephora. Headpiece, Nora’s own The INTERVIEW HBQ_034_48-63_Nora_13144503.indd 5529/01/2024 09:1456 Harper’s Bazaar Qatar Spring 2024 HBQ_034_48-63_Nora_13144503.indd 5629/01/2024 09:1457 Harper’s Bazaar Qatar Spring 2024 The INTERVIEW t’s a breathtaking sight of majesty that encompasses beauty and tradition but also strength and power in equal measures. And it’s not something you see every day: a woman in full-length traditional Saudi dress, complete with ornate face covering, mounting a stunning Arabian steed and then galloping at speed, releasing the reigns to shoot with the bow and arrow that she’s just removed from her belt. In fact, it’s a sight that was almost confi ned to history books, fables and memories until Nora Aljabr recently became the Kingdom’s fi rst certifi ed mounted archery trainer. Passionate about the traditions of the sport and how integral horseback archery was to the region, she is now teaching others about the art that dates back to antiquity. “When I fi rst started archery, I realised it had a history that we should revive. It’s something deeper than just a sport,” she explains over Zoom, a few weeks after her cover shoot. “It connected with something inside me and I started doing it not just for the sake of sports but for tradition, history and also religion.” Nora, who was born, raised and still lives in Dammam, fell into mounted archery almost by accident a few years ago. Her fi rst love had always simply been horse riding. “It started when I was nine-years-old, my parents used to take me to the beach where there were multiple activities such as kites, surfi ng, camel rides but also horses. I used to tell my dad how much I wanted to ride the horses,” she laughs. “Once I tried it, I spent every weekend there, then eventually when I was 12, my mother rewarded my enthusiasm and took me me to a riding school to learn the basics.” At 15, her parents bought her two horses to ride at the family farm. “It was just me versus those horses because there was nobody else interested in my family,” she recalls. “It was a bit hard to deal with them as horses are very sensitive animals. I just used to ride and fall off a lot.” But that wasn’t to put her off . “It developed something inside me; strength, courage and confi dence. I never developed fear from the number of times I fell. I just kept on riding, riding, riding.” Th e family sold the horses when Aljabr moved to the UAE in 2010 to study Finance and Economics at Sharjah University, but she found a stables near her home in Mirdif, Dubai to fi ne-tune her skills and become a competent rider. She now had a fresh desire: “I used to watch endless videos of horseback riders who rode in the desert but I couldn’t fi nd that in the UAE at the time.” She would have to wait until her return to Saudi Arabia to make that dream come true, but fi rst she had other obstacles to face. “I went back in 2015 but it was actually a culture shock because I had got used to living in the UAE for fi ve years, where I used to have my own car. I drove to work as a banker, I drove to the gym to train – I had qualifi ed as a personal trainer, but when I went back to Saudi Arabia, at that time, we still were not allowed to drive. Saudi Arabia was not open like this.” Nora was forced to think outside the box in terms of work and in 2016 set up a gym in the basement of her family home and opened a fi tness centre where she could train local women and tourists alike. But her mind was always on riding and, in 2020, she fi nally found a desert riding place near Dammam. “It was amazing, I really felt that connection, I felt freedom.” Th e excitement and joy is still present in her voice years later. “After my ride, the man there asked me if I’d like to try an archery lesson, and I fell in love with it. He then told me to try horseback archery.” Nora was a natural and a few weeks later she purchased her own horse so she could concentrate on the sport. She also started to engage with the history of mounted archery. “Th ere were only a few people in Saudi Arabia, let’s say fi ve, that used to do this traditional archery specifi cally, not the Olympic archery, and I met one of those rare people,” I Colour Shifter Eye Palette in Infi nite Nude, QR85, Sephora Collection. Full Sleeve Long and Defi ned Tubing Mascara, QR110, KVD Beauty, both available at Sephora Full Look, Nora’s own. Ring, QR5,150; Cuff , QR18,650, both Azza Fahmy “I never developed fear from the number of times I fell off . I just kept on riding, riding, riding” HBQ_034_48-63_Nora_13144503.indd 5729/01/2024 09:2058 Harper’s Bazaar Qatar Spring 2024 58585858 HarHarHarHarperperperper’s ’s ’s ’s BazBazBazBazaaraaraaraar QaQaQaQatartartart SprSprSprprS ingingingingg 2020202424242 This page: Colour Shifter Eye Palette in Infi nite Nude, QR85, Sephora Collection. Full Sleeve Long and Defi ned Tubing Mascara, QR110, KVD Beauty, both available at Sephora Full look, Nora’s own. Ring, QR5,150; Cuff , QR18,650, both Azza Fahmy Opposite page: Colour Shifter Eye Palette in Infi nite Nude, QR85, Sephora Collection. Full Sleeve Long and Defi ned Tubing Mascara, QR110, KVD Beauty, both available at Sephora Full look, Nora’s own HBQ_034_48-63_Nora_13144503.indd 5829/01/2024 09:2059 Harper’s Bazaar Qatar Spring 2024 The INTERVIEW HBQ_034_48-63_Nora_13144503.indd 5929/01/2024 09:21Next >