Huda Kattan: The Beauty Mogul Transforming Dubai’s Influence on Global Beauty

Huda Kattan is the genius behind Huda Beauty and a global phenomenon of beauty that shows how the world can take and manage cosmetics in another way. This multiple-million-dollar brand has been turned into a huge product with millions of followers online because of an outstanding makeup line. From a small-town girl from elsewhere in Dubai, she has become one of the top influencers out there.

Huda Kattan’s rise to fame is without a parallel. She was born to Iraqi immigrants in Oklahoma, but the life of a finance graduate took a dramatic turn when she joined Huda Beauty as its founder, building what would become one of the biggest makeup companies within years. Here’s her captivating story. Kattan has garnered over 50 million followers on Instagram and an empire that spans the globe; she will tell you that with determination, all your dreams can come through. Huda Kattan was born on October 2, 1983, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. She spent her childhood in a small house with three siblings, and her family kept on changing addresses until they settled in Tennessee. Even though Kattan graduated from the University of Michigan-Dearborn in finance, her first love remains to be beauty; in 2006, she accompanied her father to Dubai after he was promoted to teach as a teacher.

Kattan was passionate about makeup and soon found her way to Los Angeles, where she went to learn makeup artistry and afterwards would work for some of Hollywood’s big names including Eva Longoria and Nicole Richie. Returning to Dubai, she’d become a makeup artist for Revlon, but it was in 2010 that her life dramatically changed. She started her beauty blog with the encouragement of her sister, and dubbed it “Huda Beauty.” There she shares makeup tutorials and certain tricks and tips. When word spread about the blog, Kattan’s brand brought the offer to the public eye when she launched her first product in 2013: a line of false eyelashes that caused sensational waves after Kim Kardashian wore them. This marked the beginning of the meteoric rise of Huda Beauty as one of the powerhouses in the cosmetics world.

From false eyelashes to a full-fledged beauty brand, Huda Beauty today encompasses an entire gamut of makeup products-from eyeshadow palettes to foundations and lipsticks and highlighters and the rest. All these have been the result of Kattan’s eye for detail and solid knowledge in the beauty trends that she experts in. Huda Beauty is today run from Dubai, where it has not only caused change in the makeup markets but rather influenced trends regarding beauty globally. It is millions of Hollywood celebrities and beauty fanatics alike who are attracted to her brand’s innovative formulas and daring packaging, with Huda Beauty having captured everyone’s heart.

Social media portals have been one of the ingredients in Kattan’s recipe for success. Having an insider who connects with millions on Instagram, YouTube, and other social media portals, she has built a self-contained fan group waiting with bated breath for her latest product launches and beauty tips. Authenticity and reliability have attracted her massive followership away from other beauty influencers. In 2017, Kattan emerged as the top instagrammer on the “Instagram Rich List,” commanding $18,000 per sponsored post, and was named Forbes’ “Most Powerful Beauty Influencers.” Her influence is undeniable-inside days after she touts it, the product sells out; her personal endorsements are rumoured to make or break the beauty industry.

Kattan is a committed philanthropist. She has used the brand she co-founded, Huda Beauty, as a mouthpiece to advocate for causes ranging from social justice to body-positivity. In 2020, her company donated $500,000 to the NAACP Legal Defence and Educational Fund to promote racial justice work in the United States. She also started the #trashtag movement to bring in transparency from beauty companies by tagging photos edited to unrealistic beauty standards. Kattan has also lent her voice to some worthy humanitarian causes, such as raising money for Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors without Borders), food drives and her support for the 100 Million Meals initiative. That work embodies a belief in the power of her own platform for good.

The Huda Kattan saga exhibits passion, extremely arduous work, and creativity, which can take one to unimaginable heights. And Huda Kattan is only just beginning. As her innovative move continues to disrupt the world, so will the world watch her next step.