Authenticity takes its true form in Yusur Al-Khalidi, the captivating cover star of Cosmo ME’s winter issue. Reflecting on her substantial online following, Yusur revealed that her social anxiety made the influencing world a tough place to navigate. But she remained unwavering in her efforts to remain authentic, and tells us how being bold in the face of online scrutiny can actually be the ultimate key to success.
Top: Diesel
T-shirt: Yusur’s own
Earrings & Necklace: Tiffany & Co.
Makeup: Rimmel
Yusur Al-Khalidi on being an influencer whilst combating social anxiety
As an influencer, you’re immediately very vulnerable. Scrutiny and challenges seem to come with the territory. In our exclusive interview, Yusur Al-Khalidi revealed candidly, “social media can sometimes be a toxic place”. As her growing platform placed her in the crosshairs of online trolls, Yusur quickly learned that she had to learn to face her challenges head-on.
“I was actually talking to my mum recently about how comments on social media can be horrible. One day I had quite a big attack from trolls on my YouTube channel, and I was so close to quitting. I told my family I couldn’t handle it, and I was going to shut down all my social media channels. Thankfully, they talked me out of it and gave me the confidence to keep going”.
Yusur’s vulnerability was complicated by perpetual social anxiety, as she states, “I’ve had really bad social anxiety since I was a child, and it became worse when I first started social media”. She reveals, “When it comes to events, I usually prefer to go with my sister because there have been times when my legs would physically shake due to my social anxiety.”
As her career progressed, Yusur turned her anxiety into a stepping stone, facing it head-on and realizing the importance of boosting her confidence solo. Recalling her early days and the extra dose of nerves that social media brought, she now has a go-to mantra: “I am the one, the strongest girl, so beautiful. You can do it.”
Through self-affirmations and self-belief, Yusur hopes to inspire others to look beyond social anxiety, stating, “People will judge you anyway, so just be yourself, have fun, push yourself, and be confident. Just be who you are and that’s it. I really want people to be able to relate to me– the same way I relate to other people”.
Yusur Al-Khalidi on staying authentic on social media
Yusur revealed she found confidence in staying true to herself, even when faced with trolls, anxiety and the inevitable superficial elements of the influencing world. She says, “I used to face a lot of pressure from people to change things about myself–my hair, my teeth…– the body shaming was truly hurtful”.
Shirt: Stylist’s own
Left: Earrings by PDPAOLA
Right from top: Earrings, PDPAOLA; Earrings, Tiffany & Co.
Makeup: Rimmel
In the effort to reject the toxicity that sometimes came with her world, Yusur learned to trust in herself and walk away from the noise; “It can be very difficult to stay true to who you are when you’re desperate to fit in, and you run the risk of turning into a fake version of yourself. True confidence means being bold and trusting yourself no matter what. I have a huge support network thanks to my family, and I’m lucky that even my followers always tell me to keep doing what I do and to not change. A lot of influencers change after fame and become anything but themselves—so that’s why it’s a big challenge at times—but I always want to be the same person that I am in real life”.
Leaning into her love for anime and Asian beauty, Yusur’s platform grew because her authenticity was transparent and admirable. It is the cornerstone for success, as she suggests, “Nowadays, it’s really hard to find influencers who are into cosplay or fashion or beauty and are truly interested in it. So many people only do it for views or attention”.
Yusur’s show-stopping Cosmo ME cover makeup looks were created using Rimmel products, to reflect the colour and boldness of her Anime passion.
Read Yusur Al-Khalidi’s full Cosmo cover story here.