Haute Hijab CEO Melanie Elturk Shares Her NYC Daily Routine With Bazaar
From dancing In front of the mirror in the morning to afternoon runs, the CEO of the modest fashion brand walks us through her New York minutes
Melanie Elturk shares with Bazaar exactly how she spends her days as the CEO of Haute Hijab here.
6:00AM I’m a morning person who needs at least eight hours of sleep! I get up around 6:00am and the first thing I do is my morning prayer. I live in an apartment in Manhattan with my husband, we have door-to-ceiling windows and I am absolutely dependent on light, otherwise my mood is affected, so one of the first things I do is open the shades to let all the light in.
After prayer, I take a long shower, sometimes up to 45 minutes, I wash my face with Fresh Soy Cleanser and sometimes use the Umbrian Clay Exfoliator and one of their masks. I use Fekkai shampoo and conditioner; I love the strengthening blue bottles and I use fragrant shower gels to give me a little boost in the morning. After that I have a 15-minute stretch. I’ll usually listen to a podcast or some music while I get ready.
If I’m in beast mode I’ll listen to Kanye and have a dance in front of the mirror. I spend about 10-20 minutes doing my make-up; I use Bare Minerals SPF concealer or Kat Von D’s concealer using a Beauty Blender, and set it with Huda Beauty Baking Powder in Pound Cake. I fill in my eyebrows every day without fail with a regular drugstore eyebrow pencil and then add eyeliner or mascara – I use Pat McGrath FetishEyes. For blush, I love Charlotte Tilbury, and then choose from one of over 60 lipsticks!
At the moment I’m loving my MAC lipstick in Faux. I can’t live without facials and do a mix of deep cleansing masks, chemical peels, microdermabrasion and extractions — I go to Union Square Dermatology in New York City.
7:30AM I like to leave my apartment by 7:30am, so I only take a few minutes to get ready and just go off my energy that day in terms of choosing an outfit.
I would describe my style as classic with a twist. I love a polished, preppy look, sometimes I prefer a more glam look, other times, super-street. My style icon is Victoria Beckham and my favourite labels right now are Massimo Dutti, Vince, Alice + Olivia, Maje, Bouguessa, Sezane and Club Monaco. I’m also into anything that feels like ’90s Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger.
I’m in love with vintage Chanel pieces: I have these amazing vintage Chanel suspenders, a vintage Chanel chain-link leather belt and a classic Chanel crystal-encrusted brooch. I can’t live without a statement watch and currently loving David Yurman. I always wear some sort of simple necklace – at the moment I’m wearing my grandma’s gold and diamond ring on a gold chain.
When it comes to hijabs I love anything from our Heritage Collection at Haute Hijab – I’m torn between The Modern and The Ornate Gold as a favourite. I try to start my day with some fruit and lots of water. If I’m really hungry I’ll eat eggs or a bagel. I try to avoid dairy, it makes my face really oily.
9:00AM Before the pandemic I would get to my office in the Financial District of NYC around 9:00am. I would use the 25-minute journey in the cab to catch up on emails, team Slack messages or reply back to comments and DMs on Instagram.
First thing I do at the office is grab a huge container of water that I drink throughout the day. Then I say hi to the entire team – before quarantine we had 24 people in the office. My desk is always neat, even if there’s a lot on it. I need hand lotion, lip product (with all the eating and drinking, I need to reapply) and lots of pictures of my family and friends.
When I need quiet, I head into a meeting room to really focus; when I need to get lots done I blast music through my headphones from the likes of Jay-Z, Big Sean, Kendrick, J.Cole, Tyga, Beyoncé and Nicki Minaj. I usually have a ton of meetings during the day and in between, I’m working on Instagramming, shooting outside with my video producer or pitching to investors.
1:00PM I typically eat lunch at 1:00pm and save half of it for dinner which I have at around 5pm. My favourite dish is Pad See Ew, so I will often go to the Thai place around the corner.
I also snack on chips, fruit and veggies during the day. We all work very hard but I don’t take myself too seriously and I think that transfers on to the team. We like to have a lot of fun with each other, and I encourage it. I have a lot of trust in my team and give them autonomy to grow and learn. Now we’re working from home, I might take a break for a run. I try to go three-to-five times a week. I go running right outside my apartment on the pier overlooking the Hudson river; it’s beautiful.
Before quarantine I would travel three or four times a month, I do a lot of speaking gigs and Haute Hijab community events all across the US. I also travel to Dubai at least twice a year to keep up with operations and select new prints for our weekly hijab drops.
8:30PM I leave work and I typically get home pretty late, so I usually just wind down and then go to bed.
I don’t watch a tonne of TV or movies, but I’ll watch The Office, Parks and Recreation, How I Met Your Mother and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia on repeat.
If I’m going out, it’s usually for dinner with friends. I will typically wear a wider-leg trouser with a tucked-in top and tucked-in hijab. I do love a striking tuxedo look, too. I also like entertaining at home, I’m Lebanese, so naturally I’m a great cook! I make lots of Lebanese food but I’m also addicted to pasta.
I love shopping on the weekends, and will wander up and down 5th Avenue in NYC or in SoHo and buy everything: shoes, belts, pants, tops, jackets, coats, you name it. I love clothes, I have a problem!
9:30PM I try to go to bed by 9:30pm. My bedside table is piled with books including Purification of the Heart by Hamza Yusuf, What You Do is Who You Are by Ben Horowitz and Daring to Lead by Brené Brown and I always have a eucalyptus pillow spray on there, too. I wash my face, use a mask if I’m not too tired, then pray my night prayer, and hit the bed.
The very last thing I do is make sure my cell phone is on silent!
From Harper’s Bazaar Arabia’s December 2020 issue