The Genius of Huda Kattan

Beauty entrepreneur Huda Kattan discusses her new Em(power)ed range and mental health with Sukriti Shahi

- Sukriti Shahi

I’ve never said this in an interview before, but I was the black sheep of my family,” Huda Kattan opens up to ELLE India. “I grew up in the states, and I was one of the few brown girls in the entire school. Nobody saw me, and I felt unworthy,” she says with refreshingly frank honesty. The beauty maven goes on to explain how the idea of that imperfection led her to freedom.

“I made peace with it because I realised I didn’t feel any pressure to be perfect. It allows me to be more human and feel empowered,” Kattan adds. And it is perhaps this very philosophy that led her to lay the foundation of her recently launched beauty range, Em(power)ed. On that note, here’s Kattan in a freewheeling chat with ELLE India about business, beauty and being unstoppable...

ELLE: WHAT DOES EMPOWERMENT MEAN TO YOU, AND HOW DO YOU TRANSLATE THAT INTO A MAKE-UP LINE?

HUDA KATTAN (HK): I was going through the journey of self-acceptance when I realised that eliminating self-doubt made me feel empowered. Empowerment isn’t always about success; it’s the joy you experience by being who you are. It was an incredible feeling. And that inspired me to creat Em(power)ed.

ELLE: HOW DID YOU PLAN AND FREEZE ON SHADES, PIGMENTS AND TEXTURES FOR IT?