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How makeup mogul Huda Kattan is teaching her daughter body positivity

She runs a makeup empire and strives to teach her daughter that what's on the inside is what counts.
Huda Kattan
Makeup artist Huda Kattan isn't afraid to talk about her cellulite and stretch marks.TODAY
/ Source: TODAY

Huda Kattan is one of our 2018 TODAY Style Heroes. Click here to see the full list!

Huda Kattan is no ordinary social media makeup star. The Iraqi-American was named one of Time's most influential people on the internet, sharing makeup tutorials, memes and hacks.

Kattan majored in finance at the University of Michigan, but soon realized she liked brushes more than stocks and bonds. So she became a makeup artist. Today, she runs her own beauty empire, Huda Beauty, with products that regularly sell out at Sephora and counts 23.5 million Instagram followers as fans (and counting).

While beauty is her business, the mother of a 6-year-old daughter, Nour, is dedicated to teaching her child that the interior matters more than the exterior.

“When she pays too much attention to what she looks like, I encourage her with the arts, or with math — things she’s good at,” Kattan told TODAY Style.

"Tough Times Never Last, But Tough People Do!" Robert H. Schuller

A post shared by Huda Kattan (@hudabeauty) on

At home, she strives to strike a balance between gadgets and hugs.

“When you’re a working woman and doing those sometimes very glamorous things, it’s sometimes a tug of war,” she said. As a social media star, she makes it clear to her daughter when it's time to put away the phones.

"I’m not on my phone when I eat. No phones when you’re together. Making a pizza together. I like to use my hands a lot,” she said.

Kattan is open about having had plastic surgery (such as fillers to create a more youthful appearance), but she also talked about loving her natural curves, and points to her stretch marks as an aspect of which she's proud. For Kattan, the goal is to pass along that sense of body confidence to her daughter.

“Just recently my daughter started getting bullied at school. It’s been challenging. This one bully keeps calling all the kids fat. My daughter and her friends would be eating at my house. They’d start picking up their shirt to see if they got fat. It’s very tough. I want to teach her about health versus the way you look. I’m working with her on it. I tell her about being strong and having fun,” she says.

Luckily, Kattan is a good example. “When you put too much emphasis on (your body), you don’t enjoy being fit or being healthy. Being happy, being healthy, is the most important thing.”

No wonder 23.5 million people consider themselves her fans!