I grew up in Tennessee, where no one was really hairy, and with sisters who were so beautiful—my little sister was a pageant girl. But me, I was this weird-looking hairy child. I had more than just a unibrow; I feel like I had a mustache, a goatee. I think that’s what first led me to beauty and this idea of wanting to find ways to feel better about myself. By the time I was nine, I was already super into it, especially DIYs inspired by my mom, who has always believed that remedies from the earth can be more powerful than beauty products. The first one I ever did, a yogurt mask with honey, is still my go-to today.

I ended up moving to Dubai and going into finance after college because of family pressure. I was trying to love it, but I just didn’t. When the recession hit Dubai in the late 2000s, I remember going to the mall to buy lipstick. No matter how broke I ever got—and I was very broke at the time—lipstick always lifted me up; it’s so powerful! That’s when I decided to move to Los Angeles and study makeup.
After I graduated, I started a blog, and eventually my sister Mona, who is such a visionary, said I should do a product. I felt really insecure about starting products, but I’d been hacking together my own lashes by cutting and curling and gluing other ones together. And Mona was like, “Why don’t you take these lashes that you keep crafting and manufacture them?” I knew exactly what I wanted, down to the packaging, which I did with a graphic designer from a selfie I took of my own eyes. It was really a struggle in the beginning, and I could barely keep up. A lot of time when we needed extra product or packaging, I would do makeup artistry jobs so I could afford to buy supplies.

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.

I’ve had some pinch-me moments since then. There was a line outside of Sephora at the Dubai mall when we launched our lip liner last year, and everything sold out in one day! It was so surreal and crazy, and of course I was crying. And then we launched the liners in Sephora in the U.S., and they went on to become one of its best-selling products ever! Everyone was shocked because it was a lip liner—something no one believed in—but I knew in my gut that they were going to make a comeback; people didn’t realize the potential. Those were moments when I was so grateful to be able to do what I do. Product development is emotional for me! It’s really important as a brand that we feel that our products are going to be life-changing for everyone who buys them. We won’t ever launch something we don’t feel strongly about.

People often ask me who I look up to, and, truthfully, I friggin’ love Steve Jobs because he never compromised. 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.

Kattan’s best Instagram makeup hacks:

When camouflaging a zit with concealer isn’t quite doing the trick, Kattan suggests trying to bedazzle your breakout.

The boob blender! No need to invest in a silicone makeup sponge when you have a spare silicone bra insert in your closet. Snip and lend away, says Kattan.

How to keep your contour lines extra neat? Kattan’s oft-copied Scotch-tape trick will prevent mistakes.

According to Kattan, a thin layer of milk of magnesia on your T-zone before applying makeup will blot excess shine.

Her strange-but-true acne remedy? The peel of a ripe banana, thanks to its anti-inflammatory properties. Gently rub the fleshy side of the peel against your skin to calm a breakout.

—as told to Fiorella Valdesolo

Huda Kattan is a beauty entrepreneur based in Dubai. Follow her @hudabeauty.

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