Huda Beauty
Huda Kattan's cosmetics empire. A $6,000 loan from her sister, a blog, false lashes that sold out at Sephora Dubai in a week, a $1.2 billion valuation, and a buyback that returned the company to 100% founder ownership.
Huda Beauty reached a $1.2 billion valuation in 2017, just four years after Huda Kattan launched her first product with a $6,000 loan from her sister Alya. By 2018, the brand was generating $400 million in annual retail sales across 32 products and 161 colorways, making it the top-selling cosmetic brand across Sephora Middle East and one of the most followed beauty brands on Instagram worldwide.
In June 2025, Kattan completed a buyback of TSG Consumer Partners’ minority stake, returning Huda Beauty to 100% founder ownership for the first time since 2017. She funded the buyback partly by selling her fragrance brand Kayali to her sister Mona Kattan and General Atlantic, a deal that gave both sisters full control of their respective companies. Forbes listed Kattan on its America’s Richest Self-Made Women list in 2023 at $400 million, and current estimates place her net worth at $550 to $560 million.
At a glance:
| Founded | 2013 |
| Founder | Huda Kattan |
| Co-founders | Mona Kattan, Alya Kattan (sisters) |
| Co-CEO | Christopher Goncalo (Kattan’s husband, promoted from COO in 2025) |
| Ownership | 100% founder-owned since June 2025 |
| Revenue | $400M retail (2018); ~$200M net (2023); $300M+ YTD by August 2024 |
| Valuation (2017) | $1.2 billion (TSG Consumer Partners deal) |
| Headquarters | Production City, Dubai, UAE |
| Retailers | Sephora (exclusive in North America), Harrods, Selfridges, Boots, Cult Beauty, Nykaa |
| Employees | ~250+ |
The Story
Huda Kattan was born in Oklahoma City to Iraqi immigrant parents, grew up in Tennessee and Massachusetts, and earned a finance degree from the University of Michigan-Dearborn in 2008. She worked in finance after graduation, lost her job during the Great Recession, failed at recruiting, and then decided to follow a lifelong interest in makeup by enrolling at Joe Blasco Makeup School in Los Angeles, one of the top programs for TV and film makeup in the country.
She returned to Dubai, where her family had moved in 2006 after her father accepted a teaching position, and built a career as a makeup artist with celebrity clients including Eva Longoria and Nicole Richie and several Middle Eastern royal families. In April 2010, encouraged by her sister Alya, she started a beauty blog on WordPress called Huda Beauty, posting tutorials and tips. By 2013, it was one of the most popular beauty blogs in the Middle East, and she had built a massive Instagram following at a time when most beauty brands had not yet figured out the platform.
The first product came in 2013: false eyelashes, funded by a $6,000 loan from Alya that Kattan has said she had to beg for. Sephora Dubai projected it would sell 7,000 units over the course of a year. They sold out in one week. Kim Kardashian wore the lashes publicly, providing a publicity wave that no advertising budget could have replicated. Revenue hit $1.5 million in the first year and $10 million the next.
Kattan built the company as a family operation from the start. Mona Kattan served as President and eventually founded Kayali as a fragrance line within the company. Alya managed social media. Christopher Goncalo, Kattan’s husband whom she met in high school, served as COO and was promoted to Co-CEO in 2025. The combination of Kattan’s creative instincts, her massive personal audience, and the family’s operational discipline turned a lash brand into a full cosmetics empire that reached a $1.2 billion valuation within four years.
The Strategy
Blog audience first, products second
Kattan spent three years building an audience through her blog and Instagram before she ever sold a product. By the time the false lashes launched at Sephora Dubai, she had millions of followers ready to buy on day one. This is the same pattern behind Glossier, where Emily Weiss built Into the Gloss before launching products, but Kattan did it from Dubai with no media industry connections and no venture capital.
One product at a time, each one bigger than the last
Huda Beauty started with false lashes in 2013, then expanded to lip liners in May 2016 (55,000 units in three weeks), liquid matte lipsticks in 2016 (“tens of millions of units”), the Rose Gold Eyeshadow Palette in 2016, and the 3D Highlighter Palette in 2017, which sold one unit every six seconds on launch day. The New Nude Palette in November 2018 sold one million units at $65 each, generating roughly $65 million in revenue and accounting for over 15% of the brand’s total retail sales that year. Kattan launched that palette against Sephora’s advice, since retailers typically discourage November and December launches, and it became one of the biggest palette launches in the retailer’s history.
Sephora-exclusive distribution
Rather than selling everywhere, Huda Beauty relied almost entirely on exclusive distribution through Sephora in North America and expanded to Harrods, Selfridges, and Boots in the UK. The exclusivity preserved the brand’s prestige positioning and created scarcity that aligned with the luxury perception Kattan had built through her content.
The buyback that made her sole owner
In December 2017, TSG Consumer Partners acquired a 16% minority stake in Huda Beauty for approximately $200 million, valuing the company at $1.2 billion. Kattan used the capital for global expansion, but by 2024 she wanted full control back. In February 2025, she sold Kayali to sister Mona and General Atlantic, and used the proceeds to buy out TSG’s stake. By June 2025, Huda Beauty was 100% founder-owned again, making Kattan one of the few billion-dollar beauty founders who have achieved that level of independence. She described the cost as “a pretty penny,” but full ownership means every future dollar of revenue and every strategic decision belongs entirely to her.
The Numbers
| Year | Revenue | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | $1.5M | First year, lashes only |
| 2014-2015 | $10M | Rapid product expansion |
| 2018 | $400M retail (~$200M net) | 32 products, 161 colorways |
| 2023 | ~$200M net | Industry estimates |
| 2024 (YTD August) | $300M+ | Per Happi |
Revenue figures for Huda Beauty reflect the distinction between retail sales (the price consumers pay) and net sales (the revenue the company receives after retailer margins), which for beauty brands sold through third-party retailers is roughly a 2:1 ratio. The $400 million figure from 2018 is retail; the $200 million figure from 2023 is net.
TSG Consumer Partners: Invested approximately $200 million for a 16% stake in December 2017 at a $1.2 billion valuation. Kattan completed the buyback in June 2025.
Kayali sale: Sold to Mona Kattan and General Atlantic in February 2025. Deal terms were not disclosed, but Goldman Sachs advised Huda Beauty and Raymond James advised General Atlantic.
Key product milestones: False lashes sold 7,000 units in one week at Sephora Dubai (2013). Lip liners sold 55,000 units in three weeks (2016). The 3D Highlighter Palette sold one unit every six seconds on launch day (2017). The New Nude Palette sold one million units at $65 each (2018).
Net worth: Forbes listed Kattan at $400 million on its 2023 America’s Richest Self-Made Women list. Current estimates range from $550 to $560 million across Huda Beauty and her other investments.
Controversies
Neon Obsessions lawsuit
The Neon Obsessions Pressed Pigment Palettes (Neon Pink, Neon Orange, Neon Green), launched in May 2019, contained pigments not approved by the FDA for use around the eyes, including Red 6, Yellow 10, Red 22, and Red 28. Despite this, they were packaged identically to Huda Beauty’s eyeshadow palettes and marketed with images of Kattan wearing them as eyeshadow, and the warning labels reading “not intended for the eye area” were hidden behind outer packaging. Huda Beauty settled the class action for $1.93 million plus $1.2 million in legal fees, and the products were pulled from the U.S. market permanently.
Anti-Israel conspiracy theory video
In July 2025, Kattan posted a TikTok video to her 11 million followers accusing Israel of orchestrating World War I, World War II, the 9/11 attacks, and Hamas’s October 7 attack. The Anti-Defamation League and JLens condemned the statements, TikTok removed the video, and Change.org petitions demanding Sephora drop Huda Beauty gathered over 50,000 signatures combined. Sephora removed Kattan from its fall “Experts” campaign but did not fully sever the retail partnership. Kattan called the backlash a “smear campaign” against her for speaking out about Gaza.
What You Can Learn
Build the audience before you build the product. Kattan spent three years blogging and posting tutorials before she sold a single item, and by the time her lashes hit Sephora Dubai, the demand was already there. For any online business, creating content that demonstrates expertise and builds trust is one of the most effective ways to ensure a product launch succeeds from day one.
A $6,000 starting budget is enough. The entire company started with a loan from her sister, which should be reassuring to anyone who thinks they need six figures to start an online business. The false lashes were a single product with a defined audience and a distribution partner who could sell them. The empire came later.
Buy your company back. Kattan sold a 16% stake for $200 million in growth capital, used it to build global distribution, and then bought it back eight years later to reclaim full ownership. Taking outside investment is not permanent if the founder structures the deal with a path to independence, and the Kayali sale to fund the buyback was one of the more creative financial moves in the beauty industry in recent years.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who owns Huda Beauty?
Huda Kattan owns 100% of Huda Beauty as of June 2025, after buying back TSG Consumer Partners’ minority stake. The buyback was funded partly through the sale of the Kayali fragrance brand to her sister Mona Kattan and General Atlantic.
How much is Huda Beauty worth?
The most recent confirmed valuation was $1.2 billion at the time of TSG Consumer Partners’ investment in December 2017. No updated valuation has been publicly disclosed since the June 2025 buyback.
How did Huda Kattan start her business?
Kattan started with a beauty blog in 2010, built a massive Instagram following, then launched false eyelashes in 2013 with a $6,000 loan from her sister Alya. Sephora Dubai sold all 7,000 units within a week.
Is Huda Beauty sold at Sephora?
Huda Beauty is sold exclusively through Sephora in North America and is available at Sephora stores globally, as well as at Harrods, Selfridges, Boots, and Cult Beauty in the UK and Nykaa in India.
What happened with the Neon Obsessions lawsuit?
Huda Beauty settled a class action for $1.93 million after its Neon Obsessions palettes contained pigments not approved by the FDA for use around the eyes, despite being marketed with images of the products worn as eyeshadow. The palettes were pulled from the U.S. market.
What is Huda Kattan’s net worth?
Forbes listed Kattan at $400 million on its 2023 America’s Richest Self-Made Women list. Current estimates place her net worth between $550 and $560 million.
Who founded Huda Beauty?
Huda Kattan founded Huda Beauty in 2013 with her sisters Alya and Mona Kattan. Alya provided the $6,000 loan that funded the first product, false eyelashes, and ran social media in the early years. Mona served as President and later founded the Kayali fragrance line within the company.
When was Huda Beauty founded?
Huda Kattan launched the brand in 2013 with false eyelashes sold through Sephora Dubai. The company name had existed since 2010 as a beauty blog before the first product launch.
How much revenue does Huda Beauty make?
The brand generated approximately $400 million in retail sales in 2018 (roughly $200 million in net revenue to the company) and reached $300 million-plus year-to-date by August 2024 according to industry trade publication Happi. Net revenue and retail sales differ for beauty brands sold through third-party retailers, with retail sales typically running about double the net revenue the brand collects.
Where is Huda Beauty made?
Huda Beauty is headquartered in Production City, Dubai, where the company operates its corporate offices and creative studios. Products are manufactured by contract suppliers, and individual factory locations have not been publicly disclosed.
Sources
- Business of Fashion, “Huda Kattan: The Face That Built a Beauty Empire,” 2019. Revenue figures, ownership breakdown, product milestones, TSG deal details.
- Business of Fashion, “Huda Kattan Buys Back Huda Beauty,” June 2025. Buyback completion, full founder ownership.
- CNBC, “Huda Kattan turned her passion into a billion-dollar business,” June 2021. $6,000 loan origin story, Sephora Dubai sellout.
- General Atlantic, “Huda Beauty Announces Kayali’s Transition Into a Standalone Fragrance Powerhouse,” February 2025. Kayali sale, General Atlantic partnership.
- Happi, “Huda Kattan Buys Back Huda Beauty from TSG Consumer Partners,” 2024. $300M+ YTD revenue by August 2024.
- Forbes/Arab America, “Huda Kattan enters Forbes list of America’s Richest Self-Made Women,” 2023. Net worth, Forbes ranking.
- Cosmetics Business, “Huda Beauty pays nearly $2M to settle Neon Obsessions lawsuit,” July 2022. Neon Obsessions settlement details.
- CNN, “Huda Kattan TikTok video conspiracies,” August 2025. Anti-Israel conspiracy controversy.
- University of Michigan-Dearborn, “Entrepreneur Huda Kattan will address Fall 2021 graduates,” 2021. Education background, commencement address.
- Forward2Me, “Huda Kattan: From Beauty Blogger to Billion-Dollar Business”. Early career timeline, Dubai move, blog origins.