Ranking alongside the likes of Donald Trump, Kim Kardashian, Rihanna and J. K. Rowling, Dubai-based beauty blogger Huda Kattan has been listed as one of The 25 Most Influential People on the Internet by TIME.
The Iraqi-American social media star is quite possibly also "the most influential beauty blogger in the world," as the New York Times suggested earlier this year. Although Forbes> ranked her as the third most influential back in April.
Regardless, with some 20 million followers on Instagram, Kattan has become a major celebrity in the Middle East and around the world. In fact, earlier this year, an event Kattan had planned at Dubai Mall had to be canceled after far too many people showed up, causing security concerns.
"Dubai Mall is one of the most visited and safest places in the world, which is why crowd control was very important! There are way too many people waiting at Sephora and we are above capacity limits according to health and safety regulations," >Kattan said at the time, explaining the problem to her many disappointed fans.
Many have compared Huda Kattan to Kim Kardashian in the past, and now, Kattan is actually ranking alongside the Armenian-American celebrity.
Born and raised in the United States to Iraqi parents, Kattan ditched her career in finance to become a makeup artist. She moved to Dubai in 2008 and started blogging in 2010.
As one of the first beauty bloggers in the Middle East, Kattan built her fan base with Youtube videos highlighting the latest trends, and sharing how-tos and product reviews. She is mostly known for her face contouring technique, in which she uses tape to highlight the structure of her face.
In 2013, Kattan and her two sisters introduced a product line called Huda Beauty with a collection of fake lashes that were a huge hit in the Middle East. Since then, Huda Beauty has become a staple in the cosmetics industry, featuring best-selling lip liners, liquid matte lipsticks, and an eye shadow palette that beauty bloggers swear by.
According to the New York Times, Sephora - the French chain of global cosmetics stores - was surprised at how well Hudy Beauty's lip liners sold, as lip liners are not often in high demand. Sephora's senior vice president for merchandising said Kattan's lip liners were "one of the biggest launches in years".