Huda Kattan Marks a Decade of Huda Beauty with Paris Takeover

Celebrating the 10th anniversary of her cosmetics empire, Huda Kattan, the force behind Huda Beauty, took center stage in a Parisian spectacle near the Eiffel Tower. Transforming a building into a vibrant homage to her brand, Kattan immersed everything in hot pink, creating a lavish environment complete with makeup stations, neon signs, and a gathering of glamorous attendees.

Greeted by adoring fans reminiscent of A-list Hollywood stars, Kattan’s influence within the beauty industry is undeniable. With a cosmetics business valued at over $1 billion, Huda Beauty stands as the largest makeup brand on Instagram, boasting a staggering 50 million followers.

Despite her monumental success, Kattan doesn’t shy away from critiquing both the beauty industry and the social media landscape. Expressing her views, she labels the beauty industry as “sexist,” asserting that it often reduces women to mere appearances. Kattan, known for her glamorous persona, acknowledges the frustration of being judged solely on her looks, emphasizing the need for change in industry perceptions.

Reflecting on her journey as a businesswoman, Kattan reveals the challenges she faced, recounting instances where she felt overlooked in meetings. Despite her husband’s attempts to redirect attention, Kattan encountered instances where eye contact and acknowledgment were directed elsewhere.

Passionate about inclusivity, Kattan emphasizes the beauty industry’s sluggish progress in catering to diverse skin tones. Born to immigrants from Iraq in Tennessee, she prioritizes offering products in deeper shades and a wide range of foundations to match various skin tones. However, she remains critical of the industry’s slow pace, urging for a more comprehensive understanding of diverse skin tones.

Kattan’s rise to success is intricately tied to her social media presence, where she shares makeup tutorials, reviews, and glimpses into her life in Dubai. Despite her initial enthusiasm for social media’s democratizing potential, Kattan now views it as a platform manipulated by algorithms to captivate attention, describing it as a “dopamine-hacking algorithm.”

Acknowledging her role in perpetuating unrealistic expectations, Kattan discusses the societal pressure on women to meet unattainable standards, a challenge she also grapples with. As a beauty icon, she admits feeling like a “prisoner” to her appearance, subject to heightened scrutiny.

While she recognizes the drawbacks of social media, Kattan uses her platform to address issues affecting women and her community. Notably, she has spoken out about political matters, including recent events in Israel and Gaza, showcasing her willingness to leverage her influence for causes she believes in.

Despite the glamorous exterior, Kattan advocates for a more vulnerable space on social media and emphasizes the need for disconnection, especially for the younger generation. Balancing public and private aspects of her life, she remains committed to providing inspiration, particularly to women of color who may find representation in her journey from a Tennessee girl to a global beauty mogul.