As of 2024, Huda Kattan’s net worth is estimated to be between $560 – $570 million USD.
Huda Heidi Kattan, a renowned makeup artist, beauty blogger, and businesswoman, was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma on October 2, 1983. She has gained immense success with her cosmetics brand, Huda Beauty.
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Recognized as a prominent figure, Forbes magazine named her one of the Ten Most Powerful Influencers in the World of Beauty, while Time magazine included her in their 2017 list of The 25 Most Influential People on the Internet.
Moreover, in 2020, Kattan was honored on Fortune’s 40 Under 40 compilation, highlighting her exceptional achievements at a young age. You know what else? She claims to have never spent any money on advertising. Now that’s impressive!
Kattan relocated to Dubai in 2006 alongside her father, who took up a teaching position there. She eventually made her way to Los Angeles, where she pursued her studies in makeup artistry. Notably, she catered to prominent figures like Eva Longoria and Nicole Richie.
In April 2010, following her sister’s suggestion, Kattan launched a beauty-focused blog on WordPress called “Huda Beauty,” where she shared her expertise through makeup tutorials and tips.
Kattan established a beauty brand named Huda Beauty in 2013, mirroring her blog’s name. The initial offering from the brand was a collection of fake eyelashes, which were made available at Sephora.
These false eyelashes gained immense popularity and were famously sported by Kim Kardashian. As a result of its early success, the Huda Beauty brand expanded its range to include various cosmetics and has even ventured into the skincare sector.
Within a span of just under three years, Huda Beauty rapidly emerged as one of the swiftest-growing beauty enterprises worldwide, expanding its reach through partnerships with prominent global retailers like Sephora, Harrods, and Selfridges.
Quotes by the Beauty Businesswoman on what inspires her, being a “misfit,” what helps her succeed in life and business, and more:
“Any time I think about my office, I think about creativity.”
“Before, I felt a little bit nervous to be someone who never compromises, but now I’m in a place where I don’t want to compromise. So sometimes I’m really annoying and hard to deal with, but I want to make sure that I feel really good about everything we do.”
“Being a Middle Eastern girl in America with a name no one could pronounce was not easy, so I turned to makeup and cosmetics as a way to deal with my insecurities, thus creating my long-term relationship with beauty.”
“Being happy, being healthy, is the most important thing.”
“Being a woman behind a massively growing business is not an easy task, and the journey to find the right investors and to secure true partners has proven that.”
“Every day I do what I call my ‘morning manifestations’ where we say ten things we’re grateful for—everything from our family, our team and company and our health. It’s actually been proven that the practice of gratitude every day can make you happier and improve your self-esteem.”
“For the longest time, I just felt like I had to be really, really harsh to be taken seriously as a CEO.”
“Fun gets people going; fun gets people excited.”
“Going to school and formal education wasn’t all that impactful to me, but it was the people that I met at school that really made such a difference.”
“Having a blog gives you exposure to a lot of brands and amazing people.”
“Hold true to your value. Stay really, really focused. The more focused you are, the more powerful you will be in the long run. It’s easy to get sidetracked on the journey; have laser-like focus.”
“I can spend a minimum of $4,000 a month on makeup.”
“I definitely understand a lot of what I want and what I don’t want. I’m very clear on that, and I think that’s been very beneficial.”
“I don’t think about the setbacks too much. I don’t care about the problems; my immediate thought is always, ‘What’s the solution?’ There are always going to be problems along the way, but you can’t let them consume you. We’ve had tons of problems along the way — we have them all the time. But in the long run you come to think, well, maybe these things were actually good for you, and you just didn’t see it like that at the time.”
“I find inspiration in people everywhere. But for me it’s important that you have people to look up to who aren’t in your industry. I’ve always loved Steve Jobs; he was an innovator. I also love Oprah, Beyoncé and Rihanna — they broke the stereotype.”
“I grew up in Tennessee. I loved to wear full glam. I used to want to wear flash lashes every single day. I remember wearing them once and someone was like, ‘Are you wearing false lashes?’ I felt embarrassed. In the U.S., it’s perceived as though you’re trying too hard.”
“I like things on my desk that are pretty and make a statement. It’s important that whatever is on my desk inspires me because that’s where I spend a lot of my time working and creating things.”
“I like to think limitlessly, and you can’t be limitless if you’re constantly looking at best practices.”
“I love to surround myself with strong, opinionated personalities. I like to hear people’s opinion in the team, but I definitely have the final say. Sometimes I drive people crazy when I say things and they say, ‘Oh we changed our mind and did it this way,’ and I’ll be like, ‘But I made that decision for a reason.’ When I feel like I know exactly what I want, then my mind is made up.”
“I need to love what I do, because I’m going to give 110 percent. I’m going to be working from six in the morning until 10:00 P.M., so I need to make sure I like it.”
“I realized that my purpose really is to inspire people.”
“I think a lot of people overthink things.”
“I think my story relates. When I started out, all I had was my passion and grit.”
“I want to shake things up; I want people to talk about it. It’s really important that our brand flips the industry upside.”
“If I do something I’m not passionate about, how am I going to impact the world? And if I am not changing the world in some way then what the hell am I doing?”
“If you’re idolizing a person you’re never going to pass them up. If you’re trying to create something that’s never been done before, then you need to create an image of yourself that’s never been done before.”
“It feels really powerful to be able to embrace being a woman in the Middle East who’s not afraid to go into a boardroom and tell a room of men how it is.”
“It’s really important to determine who you want to be. Who’s your demographic? What’s your goal? What’s your mission? Completely embrace that; that’s very, very important.”
“I’ve been put in multiple boxes as a blogger and as an influencer, and not really perceived as a businesswoman; and that’s something that I’ve really had to grow into.”
“I’ve had some pinch-me moments.”
“I’ve worn pretty much every hat in the beauty industry, from blogger to makeup artist to YouTube influencer to Instagram influencer to journalist.”
“Kids used to tell me I was weird all the time. When I got older, I wanted to embrace my name and I put it on everything. And I also wanted to embrace being weird.”
“Makeup and beauty is essentially art so I really can’t say that I dislike any trend. I love seeing innovation and creativity. It feeds my soul! I’ve always been obsessed with beauty, but never realized I could actually make a career out of it.”
“My biggest support was the women in my life: my mom and sisters.”
“My husband and I love the saying, ‘Success is not owned; it’s rented, and rent is due every single day.’ I really and truly believe that.”
“Our brand started as a blog. It was really challenging at the beginning because when you start a brand all you have is a belief and passion and passion for something, you don’t actually know if that ‘something’ will materialize into anything.”
“People assume if you need a specific product for something, it’s already out there, instead of creating something yourself from the ground up. If you have a great idea and don’t try and create something from it, then I really believe you’re doing the world a disservice. If it fails, what’s the worst that can happen? You might have wasted a little time but you’re going to learn a lot.”
“Remember, words are powerful and can have a profound effect, which is why it’s so important to be your own cheerleader, and let your words lift you up!”
“Self-love is so simple, yet so impactful. Without trying to sound too preachy, go and take a look in the mirror and remind yourself: you’re powerful, you’re strong and you’re beautiful.”
“Sometimes, you really need to trust your gut. I always go with my gut, and I use that feeling as much as possible; you just have to trust your instincts and the way you feel. I truly believe it’s your subconscious speaking to you. It’s helped me make some of the best decisions of my life.”
“Take risks. Have some fun.”
“That was honestly one of the biggest learnings for us: to stay true to the value we believe our company offers, and to not allow people to undercut us just because we’re women.”
“The minute you decide to do what you love to do, you have made a life plan for yourself and a career choice.”
“The thing that helped me most when I started my own business was my experience as the president and PR director of student associations in college. Because of that I knew how to create and run an organization and how to really make things—even hard things—happen.”
“Think of yourself as a brand.”
“This is how I feel about cosmetic procedures and plastic surgery: If people want to do it for themselves, it’s fine. If people want to do it for the outside world, that’s when it’s not necessarily a healthy thing.”
“The eyes are so telling. That’s how you engage with people and bond with them. I love direct, strong eye contact.”
“To scale your business, you need to delegate responsibilities to others and establish a strong company culture.”
“We are more than one part of ourselves.”
“We didn’t grow up super wealthy. I came from humble beginnings.”
“We know now data is so powerful, and you can learn so much about yourself and creating product with data.”
“We think big and we dream big.”
“When I first started the business, I felt a lot of frustration. Being a woman in this region was challenging. People were treating us like our brand was just hobby. One of my favorite pieces of advice I’ve been given is just to be patient. There’s an Arabic phrase that means ‘With every delay there is a blessing’—words to live by!”
“When I started my business, people thought it was just a hobby and I wanted people to take me seriously.”
“When you think you’ve made it, you need to keep pushing because the person next to you or your competitor is also getting better, and you need to be able to stay ahead.”
“Whenever you are pushing boundaries, there will be push-back from people. Embrace what you stand for, and accept that there will be criticism.”
“Why can’t I be a boss? Why can’t I be a killer mom and still be pretty?”
“You need to constantly outdo yourself and constantly improve yourself.”