Beauty / news
Estée Lauder Alum Reema Shihadeh Launches Zaiie, a Palestinian-Heritage Makeup Brand
Reema Shihadeh, formerly a global director of makeup marketing at The Estée Lauder Cos., is debuting Zaiie, a direct-to-consumer color cosmetics line built around olive oil from her family's West Bank groves.
The brand takes its name from an Arabic word meaning "like me," and launches Thursday with three products: a $38 Lip Press tinted gloss, a $40 The Marble highlighting blush balm and a $68 Olive Melt makeup remover.
Each formula is infused with olive oil sourced from groves owned and operated by Shihadeh's family in the West Bank, Palestine. Shihadeh grew up in the U.S. and spent summers visiting extended family there.
"Olive oil has always been a part of my life," Shihadeh said, noting the ingredient's established role in skin care, hair care and body care. She said she was particularly interested in what it could bring to the color cosmetics space.
Every Zaiie product carries a signature Olv+ Complex, which blends five ingredients, among them olive oil, olive squalane and ceramide NP, formulated to support skin moisture and barrier strength.
The line is positioned as high-performance makeup that channels hallmarks of Palestinian culture for a global audience, with distribution beginning direct-to-consumer.