She goes by Huda Beauty. Either you follow her on Instagram or you have one of her beauty products. She is one of the most powerful influencers, not only in the Middle East but in the world. With 28.9 million followers on Instagram, she has one of the biggest followings of any makeup artist. Oh, and do not forget, she built a billion dollar cosmetic company within 5 years.
Her real name is Huda Kattan. She was born into an Iraqi family that moved to the USA to start a new life. Born in Oklahoma, she went off to University of Michigan for her undergrad. She ended up getting a degree in business. She got a finance job in Dubai but realized the finance world was not cutting it for her. She went back to the States and went to beauty school. In 2010, she started her own blog called Huda Beauty. It was then and there, Huda knew she was onto something. She borrowed money from her sister, took money out of her savings account, and started her company. Last year, Huda Beauty hit a milestone by receiving investors for the company.
Huda Beauty started off with creating false lashes. The false lashes are known as the company’s baby. The lashes helped the company branch out and create new and different products. From there, Huda Beauty created lips kits, highlighting kits, eyeshadow palettes, foundations, powder, and concealer. According to Huda Kattan, she would like to come out with something new every year. This will help the company stay relevant and attract new customers. Huda even started a sub-branch within Huda Beauty, where they are going to sell perfumes.
She has been named on of the ten most powerful influencer by Forbes Magazine. She one of the 25 Most Influential People on the Internet by Times Magazine. Huda Kattan is constantly innovating and rebranding herself, and her company. She proves the theory that social media can have real affect on a business.
Reference:
Sorvino, Chloe. “How Huda Kattan Built A Billion-Dollar Cosmetics Brand With 26 Million Followers.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 11 July 2018, www.forbes.com/sites/chloesorvino/2018/07/11/huda-kattan-huda-beauty-billion-influencer/#501241ae6120.