DUBAI: Iraqi-American entrepreneur Huda Kattan told us everything we need to know about her UAE-based beauty empire in her recent episode with British supermodel Rosie Huntington-Whiteley for her new Quibi series “About Face.” For the latest updates, follow us on Instagram @arabnews.lifestyle The 33-year-old host introduced Kattan, who is the founder of beauty brand Huda Beauty and skincare line Wishful, saying: “Huda is arguably one of the most famous and iconic YouTube make-up artists in the world … I am going to hear all about what it takes to run a $1.2 billion beauty brand from the Middle East.” The two sat down for a 6-minute interview at Dubai’s Five Palm Jumeirah Hotel. Huntington-Whiteley could not help but express how impressed she was with the city. “This is heaven,” she told Kattan before the interview started. “I mean, look, everybody is sunbathing…. the beach … beautiful architecture.” Huntington-Whiteley then asked the 36-year-old beauty mogul: “What is it like to run this billion-dollar beauty business in the Middle East?” “We’re lucky because we’re in Dubai, and Dubai is super progressive, especially compared to other parts of the Middle East. And they love beauty here, so that is great,” Kattan replied. “But it is challenging as a woman. When we first started, people treated me constantly like it was a hobby, objectifying you, not making you feel like you’re capable of it. That was a hard thing, to be honest,” she said. “It takes a village to start a business. We literally started from a block. YouTube and Instagram have been incredibly, incredibly influential, and nobody knew it was going to be so impactful in beauty,” Kattan added. As they talked, Kattan mentioned that her older sister, Alia, was the one who inspired her “love affair for beauty.” “I used to steal her products and use them until they were empty,” Kattan, who has a 9-year-old daughter, Nour, from her husband Christopher Goncalo, said. The social media star then revealed that, to start her career, she had to initially do makeup for free. “At first, honestly, no one wanted to pay me for makeup,” she said. “One thing led to another, and I ended up becoming the makeup artist for (the American-based cosmetics company) Revlon for the Middle East.” During the interview, Kattan, who grew up in Tennessee, also talked about her childhood. “I feel like my obsession with beauty actually comes from my childhood,” she said. “I looked very different from everyone I was in school with. People would find reasons to say ‘Oh you are super weird’ or sometimes just be very mean. I think being Middle Eastern and also a Westerner, I always felt like an outsider and I thought that at the time I wanted to be appreciated by everyone else,” added the makeup artist. Kattan is among several high-profile guests and beauty entrepreneurs who joined Huntington-Whiteley, including cosmetics mogul Kylie Jenner, Glossier Chief Executive Emily Weiss, South Korean beauty influencer Park Hye-min, celebrity make-up artist Sir John and hairstylist Jen Atkin.