40 Women Behind Middle Eastern Brands

Brand: Huda Beauty (Sub-brands: KAYALI, WISHFUL) Category: Beauty Establishment: 2013 Nationality: Iraqi-American Headquarters: U.A.E.

Huda Kattan founded Huda Beauty as a beauty blog in 2010. She partnered with her sisters Mona and Alya to transform it into a brand in 2013, starting out by selling false eyelashes at cosmetics store Sephora. Elder sister Alya was the initial investor in the business, putting in $6,500 for the first batch of products. Today, Huda Beauty is home to a wide range of make-up products and sub-brands, including Kayali Fragrances, which Mona founded in 2018. Last year, Forbes estimated the annual sales of the brand to be around $250 million. Huda Kattan was ranked #47 on Forbes' list of America's Richest Self-Made Women 2020, with a net worth of $510 million as of October 13, 2020.