Huda Kattan Thinks There's a "Selfie Epidemic"
Huda Kattan started small. While holding down a job in finance that she hated, she launched a beauty blog in 2010, soon after which she quit her finance job. Kattan then started her Instagram account in 2012, followed by a beauty business selling false eyelashes in 2013.
Small got huge very quickly. The Dubai-based Kattan is now unchallenged in the makeup world. She has a breathtaking 15.9 million Instagram followers and has smartly leveraged that social media following to grow her business. She now offers liquid lipsticks and eye shadows in addition to her lashes, which are available through her online shop and Sephora, which has 9.7 million followers on Instagram.
Kattan, 33, opened up about plastic surgery, insecurities, and what's next for Huda Beauty in 2017.
You were born and raised in the United States, and later moved to Dubai as an adult. Is there any difference in the way that beauty is perceived in the Dubai versus the United States?
Beauty in Dubai is on another level. 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.
In Dubai, people respect you if you wear lashes to the grocery store. I've been at the gym at 5 in the morning and seen full glam, which, I think working out with your full makeup is just crazy. But it's more over the top here. Middle Eastern women have very strong features, and makeup tends to accentuate those features really well without looking like too much.
One big beauty trend that we've talked about a lot this year is lip injections. The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show just taped and people were convinced that Kendall Jenner had gotten them for the show. What are your feelings about the trend?
I've had it done. The first time was a long time ago. Right before I got into makeup, I felt like my lips were small. They actually weren't, but I wanted that juicy Angelina Jolie lip. It was the worst thing I ever did. The guy literally ruined my lips. Ever since then, I've had fillers to try to fix everything because my lips came out so uneven. I wish I had never done it and gone the lip liner route instead.
From my perspective, it looks like Kendall's had her lips done. I think she looks great, but it's her business, and if she's had a bit of filler, I don't think there's anything wrong with it. It's hard being in the public eye. People expect you to explain what you've done. People should leave her alone.
The trend is going to grow even more. I'm seeing it so intense now. It's become so ubiquitous it's hit suburbia now. Women just never think their lips are big enough, even when they are really big. The first thing I always hear from women when they sit down with me is, "I need to fill my lips." It's almost crazy how many women say that to me. Before they experiment with Botox or even if they're considering going under the knife, the first thing they're going to go into is lip fillers. It's the gateway plastic surgery procedure.
Have you experienced anyone shaming you for the work you've had done and admitted to?
All the time. No matter what, people look at your photos and make so many assumptions. It's actually really hard to be an Instagram personality or someone who is in photos so much. You feel differently than a normal woman would. You probably feel a little bit more insecure.
When I was 19, 20, I thought I was so hot. [Laughs.] I have more insecurities than I did then [even though] I know I'm more attractive now. The human eye just cannot pick things up the way a camera lens can, so when you're constantly taking photos, you see things differently, and it's really, really difficult. It's a selfie epidemic. It's never going to go away. We have 15-year-olds who look like they're 20 now, and a lot of it comes from the lifestyle that we live in: Instagram, Snapchat, taking photos of yourself constantly.
My arms don't look hairy at all. Once I take a photo, I look extremely hairy. I've posted pictures before of my arms with a bracelet on or something, and people would put a monkey in the comments.
Oh no!
Yeah! I look at my arm and I'm like, Wait a second. If I look really closely and I bring a magnifying glass, I do see a lot of thin hairs and pores. The biggest thing that has led to [these insecurities] is definitely photos, for sure.
That sounds oppressive.
I have a very strong belief that taking too many selfies and looking at yourself too much in the mirror can actually be very damaging for people. Beauty can be very enlightening and uplifting and empowering, but some women take it the wrong way. They become competitive or get down on themselves. I've seen women get too in their head about being attractive.
I took beauty so seriously before, and I do still, but not in a way where I can't have fun with it. I'm passionate to learn more, passionate to know how we can change people's lives by giving them one tip. But when it comes to the look, it should be fun. You should just be like, "Yeah, I'm a cake face - so what?"
What made you go from being serious about your looks to having more fun?
When I was in college, it got to a point where I [thought], Why do I care so much about the way I look? Yes, I want to feel beautiful, but when that feeling becomes oppressive, like you were saying, then it's not beautiful anymore. I went though a period where I forced myself to go out sans makeup. I know this sounds cheesy, but I would say, "I'm going to use my smile and be natural and see how those things work." I would go out, no makeup, and be really happy and warm to people, and I could see that they were attracted to that.
Would you ever go out without makeup on these days?
I do go out without makeup a lot. That place of taking it too seriously, I'm just so over it. Before, I felt like makeup was who I was. Now I know I'm Huda with or without makeup. I've built enough confidence. It comes from being invested in areas of your life other than your appearance. [But] people may be surprised to know that I have insecurities the way I do. I would definitely like to open up more but I haven't yet
What are some of those insecurities?
Oh my gosh. You know, I know my angles. I know the angles that don't work. Sometimes, I'll be on set, and the hairstylist might push my hair behind my ear and I'm like, "Don't do that! My ears are too big!" I think Beyoncé, being the goddess that she is, probably has some of those insecurities. You have to find a way to overcome them, forget about them, and - I wouldn't say you have to embrace your insecurities. You can embrace the fact that you have insecurities.
But if you know what your "flaw" is, we've reached this point where you can fix any perceived flaws.
It's too much though, to be honest. Let me use my smile lines as an example. I have really deep smile lines. I smile so much that most days, my cheeks are killing me. It's great for your life. I love people who smile. But then you have really deep wrinkles around your mouth. I put filler there, but at a certain point, you can't put any more filler. I'm still going to have the shape of a smile line all the time. So I've learned to put highlighter there.
I know a lot of celebrities who try to go too far to be picture-perfect and they literally can't smile. All they have is a sexy posed face all the time. If they smile or laugh, they don't look right.
I recently had some Botox done by an amazing doctor in New York - best Botox I've ever had in my life. I had deep wrinkles around my eyes - too deep for my age, honestly, because I smile too much. Luckily, on my forehead, I didn't need to do anything. But around my eyes, I needed help. She put a tiny bit of Botox. I still have three tiny wrinkles. That's all I wanted. You need to go to the point where you need a little bit more, and then stop. If you look too perfect, you're going to look plastic. You want to look like a beautiful human being.
Do you think there's a sameness to beauty on Instagram, where every influencer looks a certain way?
If you go to Tumblr, there's a certain type of beauty there. If you to to Pinterest, there's a certain type of beauty there. There's a style on every single platform. On Instagram, a lot of the girls there - I mean, the Kardashians were some of the first celebrities to publicize everything. But we've had celebrities contour for decades. The Kardashians went a bit stronger with it and it was appealing for photos. It captured people's attention because all of a sudden, we see somebody posting pictures of what goes on in the process.
Do you credit the Kardashians with any of your success?
That's a funny question. They've been inspiring to people who have seen them use social media as a platform for marketing. I totally respect them. But to give credit to somebody, I think it's a little audacious, really, because you're the person who works hard, you're the one who creates strategy.
Your husband joined the business side of the company recently. How did that happen?
He had his own real estate company and then the market crashed in Dubai when our beauty business started picking up. We were using a third party to do logistics and they were taking such a big percentage that we weren't making any money. When he decided to join us, we were able to strategize. We grew immediately.
Before, I would have to do someone's makeup for $15,000 in order to buy product for my company. I would pretty much only do the princesses of the UAE because they were willing to pay that pricetag. I would do back-to-back makeup jobs, take all that money, and spend it on marketing, in-store animations, packaging. Eighteen months ago, we were packaging the lashes ourselves. My mom and dad would get involved, and we would sit down and start packaging lashes like crazy. I would literally take the lashes myself to the distributor. I don't think people realize how small it was. But we're a completely private company. My family and I own 100 percent and we don't have any outside investors.
What's the next big thing for 2017?
Next year is going to be major for us. We have a lot of products planned for the second quarter. I'm really getting into it. Being a blogger and then a makeup artist, I have a different perspective on things on the product development side.
I want to go back to blogging as well. There's something missing because I haven't been blogging as much. I like talking about products in a very organic way so I want to get back to that.
What happens if Instagram disappears tomorrow?
It can totally happen. I don't imagine that it would. I have a lot of faith in Facebook as a company. If Instagram did go away, we believe that no matter what happens, you can rebuild. Instagram is the biggest factor for our success and I would never underestimate the power of it for us. One thing we've been trying to do is look at the other platforms, which we have been neglecting.
Do you have any New Year's resolutions?
I do. It's kind of strange. I have a shopping problem. I'm trying to get that in order. I've been sleep-shopping. I'm on the computer at night, barely awake, and then I shop. Things come to my house the next day, and I'm like, "Oh my god, when did I get this?" I'm trying not to do that anymore.
What are the things you sleep-shop for?
I live on Net-a-Porter and My Theresa. It's terrible. Shoes are a really big problem. And coats. I don't know why I buy so many coats. I live in Dubai.
Do you ever return the stuff you buy?
Yes. I try not to, but when you're sleep-shopping, you buy the most outrageous things. You buy the craziest jackets and the most uncomfortable shoes. I want to fix it.
What's the most you've spent while sleep-shopping?
I'm a big sleep shopper, I'll say that. It's a lot. It's embarrassing.
Huda Kattan is part of Cosmopolitan.com’s list of 2016's most fascinating people on the internet. See the rest of the list:
3. Simone Biles
5. Joanne the Scammer: Branden Miller
8. Ryan Lochte and his fiancée, Kayla Rae Reid
9. #MrStealYourGrandma: Irvin Randle
10. Russian Leo: Roman Burtsev
11. Dicks Out for Harambe: Brandon Wardell and Brandon Zaboklicki
12. Chewbacca Mom: Candace Payne
13. The Damn Daniel Boys: Daniel Lara and Josh Holz
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