Huda Kattan
Starting one of the first beauty blogs in the Middle East in 2010 propelled Huda Heidi Kattan to build a global beauty empire, with the likes of Kim Kardashian wearing her brand’s now very coveted eyelashes. The American-born beauty influencer and entrepreneur, who is originally from Iraq, has about 8 million followers on Instagram. She is also the fittingly beautiful woman behind www.hudabeauty.com, one of the world’s most visited beauty blogs. Dubai-based, Hollywood trained Kattan talks about playing Cupid with your make-up, beauty essentials and the trends to look out for come spring.
What’s the best way to go about choosing make-up for a special date? Should it be romantic or provocative, a bit of both perhaps?
It is really important that you don’t overdo it with your make-up when you go out on a first date. You should wear light make up that makes you look as naturally beautiful as possible. For me, I always like to do a really nice contour, not too heavy, with a powder or foundation. You should always add lashes, because they are so flirty and then add mascara on the top and bottom lashes. Draw a winged line with your eyeliner. Enhance your brows and put on some lip gloss, since guys generally find that attractive.
Usually, make-up artists say it’s better to highlight the eyes or the lips, but not both. Do you agree?
That’s not true anymore. Make up rules have definitely changed. People are interested in using monochromatic colours for the entire face; for example they are matching red lips with red eyes. The general rule is to create balance. If your face is balanced by highlighting all features, then it’s fine. If it’s not and your features are very harsh, ie you create a smokey eye while you have big lips, then the balance will be off. Another tip is balancing very harsh colours with a lighter lip.
How much does what we’re wearing make a difference to the make-up we should choose?
I always think that your make-up, hair and outfit should be coordinated, as this completes the look. There are some make-up looks that generally go with everything, but at the end of the day you’re going to look your best if you plan everything together. It makes a major difference! It is just like when photo shoots are organised and all elements have to be in sync. I think this takes the look from being something that appears to be put together randomly to something that portrays the ultimate image that you’re trying to give. An example is if you have an edgy hair look paired with edgy make-up and an edgy outfit, this would speak volumes about your persona as opposed to a make-up and hair look that is just thrown together along with an edgy outfit.
Some dates can be lengthy. How can we get make-up to last longer?
I think there are a few things that you can do. It is really about making sure that you set everything properly. Using setting spray really helps. That’s something that I literally never leave the house without doing.You can also use a really nice translucent powder as it keeps everything in place. My favourites include Make Up For Ever’s loose powder andUrban Decay’s setting spray. These work really well and help you look great all day.
Preparation is also very important to avoid tired-looking skin. What is the best daily skin care routine to keep looking fresh?
I think a highlighter can always make you look a little healthier. Adding a little bit of a glow, along with applying shimmer on to the top of your cheekbones and a bit of blush will give your face warmth. These are generally small details that can really make you look very healthy. A bronzer, blush and a highlighter are a must for the skin. A lot of times when we have tired skin it also looks kind of pale and a little un- even, so we can even it out with a moisturiser and a nice highlighter, for example Dior’s highlighters are great. Plus you should go for some shimmer and a little bit of blush. One of my favourite blushes, by Morphe, will also help in adding that extra glow.
So what are the most common mistakes women make when it comes to their beauty routine and putting make-up on?
I think it really comes down to lighting. It’s really important to make sure your lighting is right especially, when you’re contouring. You want to make sure that you have a natural light, as it will help you get the best contour. A lot of people can overdo it or under do it. It even happens to me when I don’t have the right lighting, as I might overdo the contour, so it’s really important to make sure you have a natural light coming through that will give you a very true effect to how you will actually look.
Evening bags can be pretty small. Which beauty items would you ensure you could take with you on a date? Why?
Lipliner, because it is my favourite thing! If you look in my bag at any moment in time, the only thing I will ever have inside is lipliner. If I have a really tiny bag this will be one of the only things that I will pack. It’s great because you can over line your lips and you can also fill them in. I love lipliner!
I also like an all-purpose cream, like a cold cream. These are great because you can actually apply them on your lips. You can also use them as a highlighter and on your hands to soften them.
Are beauty concepts in the region very different compared to those in the United States?
Due to social media, we have a new type of community that is more global. As I always say, the world has become very flat because of this medium and people are sharing trends via these platforms.
I feel that when you see the style of make-up artists here recently, it looks similar to the make-up that you would see in LA. At the same time, if you look at the make-up style in LA, it is evolving to be bit more dramatic, while people in this region have opted to soften their make-up look.
I actually feel like we have been creating this ecosystem of beauty. There’s a lot more uniformity than there was before. The only thing that I see here that I don’t see in America is the straight brow, which I love and I think it’s quite nice. That being said, I think people should be unique. I think they should keep whatever they have and own it because it’s beautiful. Middle Eastern beauty is exotic and interesting.
A new season is around the corner. Tell us about some of the hottest trends coming up.
The hottest trends this year are highlighting and strobing as they are super huge and I don’t think that’s going to slow down. I think people are going to start introducing products like oils and elixirs to make the skin look really dewy. I personally feel that healthy looking skin is very important. We’ve seen a lot of cake facing and powdering, but I think that people are really going to focus on luminous skin.
Other trends include matte lips, which are not going anywhere. Glitter is also a big trend for lips, eyes, and hair. I think that the coloured hair trend will also be present in ways that were not there before.
Trends are definitely changing. In the past it was all inspired from the runway, however now it is inspired from Instagram and social media. That is why trends that are seen on social media are stronger, for example glitter and all those beautiful highlights and contouring.
So do you have some favourites picked out?
As mentioned, my favourites include glitter, highlights and big brows. Big brows are huge for 2016! I like all of the trends. We are super huge on trends at Huda Beauty. We try them all and most of the time we like them.
The only one that I’m not a fan of is glitter hair. I don’t mind a little bit of glitter in the hair (similar to a shimmer), but I do not recommend using gel as it’s too much.
HudaBeauty.com has allowed you to positively influence women everywhere, plus you have your own beauty line. What’s next for you?
Our beauty line is definitely something that is going to evolve. It’s something that we are really focusing a lot on. We are creating and having so much fun at the office when it comes to beauty.
Have you always loved the beauty world?
Ever since I was about nine, I have been obsessed with beauty. I liked it before that, but since the age of nine it has been a hardcore obsession. I’ve always loved it since then!
