Career Diaries: Huda Kattan, Founder and CEO of Huda Beauty, on Her New Release and Why She’s Obsessed With YouTube Tutorials

You're relaunching Huda's Liquid Matte Lipstick with a lot of updates — what sets the new lippies apart from others like it on the market? What went into picking the additional 8 new shades?

When it first launched, it was the most comfortable liquid lipstick out there and nothing kind of compared to it. We didn't feel that we wanted to change the formula right away but we were taking into consideration everyone's opinions, thoughts and reviews. But we didn't get to put everything into action right away and so it was time. What makes it kind of different is that it’s community created. I don't really feel like other brands are necessarily creating it from the community first. I think that they take their community’s insights and feelings into consideration, but we're actually looking to the comments for direction. It's almost like the community is in the labs with us. 

When it came to picking the additional eight shades, we took some of the older shades that people loved so much but there were problems with them and started there. It came down to the community again, expressing little inconsistency in the formula, like “this shade turns a little orange and I like the original color pay-off.” So we made adjustments based on whatever they were saying and then we filled the gaps.

Which one of your products gets the most use in your personal makeup arsenal?

It's something that hasn’t launched yet. [Laughs] I think I'm allowed to say it, but there’s the Wishful Skincare for sure that I use every single day. If I was going to pick one item from the line it would be the Honey Whip Peptide Moisturizer because that one I use twice a day without fail. 

What's your favorite part of your job?

Learning. I learn so much from the team, from my community and from watching tutorials (which I still do a lot).