The Surprising Reason This Beauty Vlogger Was Criticized For Wearing a Hijab

Australian beauty vlogger Chloe Morello describes herself as an atheist. On her personal Snapchat, Morello reportedly said, "I'm an atheist . . . I'm not trying to promote any religion here, I'm just trying to promote acceptance." Her religious views, however, don't upset her nearly two million YouTube subscribers. The fact that she recently sported a hijab for the purpose of a makeup tutorial? Well, that's another story.

On June 25, Morello uploaded a makeup tutorial thematically inspired by Eid, the celebration at the end of Ramadan. After demonstrating what she described as a "soft glam look," Morello ended the video by donning the Muslim headscarf. "Just so you can see what the look will look like with a hijab on," she explained of her actions. "I don't want to offend anyone when I do this. Most people like it, I think."

Many commenters did, in fact, like it. One viewer wrote, "As a Muslim, I love this look!" Others, however, felt it was disrespectful and appropriative of her to sport the hijab when she herself is not Muslim. "For you it's easy to wear it like a costume, for the purpose of a tutorial," a commenter remarked, "while actual Muslim women wear it with the risk of being harassed or being attacked due to the fact Islamophobia is still so high in society."

Morello's tutorial raises recurring questions about the difference between a beauty trend and a cultural facet that cannot be claimed as one's own — even if just for a quick makeup tutorial.