Why Huda Kattan is a Beauty to Reckon With

Huda Kattan is one of the most successful and progressive beauty brands and personalities in the UAE. From what we can see, she's created her beauty empire through a combination of hard work, clever marketing and using herself as a platform to gain and maintain fans with the key ingredient, passion.

"Everything starts with an idea," she told City Times, "with us, we always start with an idea and passion. As long as you are excited about something and passionate about something - a lot of
times people will see why you are passionate about something and it will resonate with them."

With 15.3 million followers on Instagram we have to believe her. People are listening, watching and
interested to know more than just about countering, the latest trend in eye shadows or lip colour. They
want to know more about Huda. So do we. City Times spoke to the beauty mogul about her family, business and social media to know more about the face behind Dubai's most famous beauty brand.
The Dubai Beauty Scene
The beauty scene in Dubai has been growing at an incredibly fast rate. If you asked me this five years ago, I would have said that they are a little more old fashioned - like the traditional make up. Sometimes for instance, lightening your skin too much, wearing so much make up and letting makeup overpower you, that was the old Dubai. Now, Dubai has a very social media friendly environment, so beauty is heavily inspired by social media.
Challenges
The biggest challenges, are always, for an entrepreneur in a young company going into an unknown territory. Our brand is growing so fast, we are sometimes faced with issues we don't understand. For instance, we started out last year with a distributor, now we need a whole logistics team and we have
over 300 stores in the US that stock our products. We moved from a very small company to now a medium sized company, and so fast.
Social Media Ipportance
I love social media. I have always been into social media from the very beginning - when Facebook first came out. For our brand, social media has always been very important as we are social media lovers. I feel it's easy for us to translate as we are part of that generation where people spread information and share opinions via social media. It is faster, a little bit more fun and is something that is very important to our brand. The reason I started the blog is because I love to share advice and secrets.
Online: Public versus Private
It becomes very difficult as Huda Beauty is me and the brand. We do share a lot of information, we are very open so we definitely face challenges. People know so much about us, and when we go out, we feel like everyone knows the whole story (about us). Personally, I feel I was made for this and I love it! I don't know if it is something that everyone can handle; sometimes I am out with friends and they find it uncomfortable, but I feel I was genuinely made for this!
Beauty Tips
Sleep is very important. It's one of the most important things I do! My eyes look a little more attractive and my skin looks better. It is anti-ageing, it's good for your health, and also makes you look great. Being healthy is very important, and you should exercise. Another good thing is to take beauty vitamins. There are six on my desk right now - Collagen, Biotin, Vitamin E, Turmeric and Omega 3. I take these daily, several times a day and I definitely notice it enchances your appearance. You skin
looks so much better!
Huda's Style
I definitely feel I am trendy. I also have a bit of this businesswoman chic to me. I love trends, I love high fashion. Because of my love for art and creativity, I love runway clothing and what is fresh off the runway. Trends become an art and that's part of beauty.
Advice for Young Entrepreneurs
I think the most important thing when you start your own business is that it is not easy. Be prepared for people not to see your idea straight away. I was told by a brand, 'Thank you very much but we are not interested in your products,' and ignored by Harrods in the beginning, and also Selfridges. Also by
Sephora Middle East who told me there were people coming up that were going to be better than me. Don't let someone tell you no, it's really important to keep trying and stay persistent and positive.
Huda Fun Facts:

Favorite meal of the day?
Breakfast.
Sweet or savory?
Sweet.

Macaroons or cup cakes?
Macaroons.

Burger or Pizza?
Both at the same time!

Favourite book?
The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss! Which I read with my daughter.

Favourite movie?
Brave (kid's film!)

I don't feel relaxed
until.
I take a bath.

I can't live without.
Lip balm!

One thing that calms
me down is.
Doing my brows!

I can't start the day
without.
My green tea or coffee in the morning - it makes me feel good!

• Dubai