Huda beauty stepped down as CEO but does that mean quality will too?

Ten years ago beauty blogger and makeup artist Huda Kattan started her makeup company Huda beauty. Kattan created some serious notable palettes like Desert dusk, Rosegold remastered, 3d highlighter palette, faux filter foundation and countless other products. Some of the products, if not all, would sell out rather quickly. But like the almost every other CEO of 2020, Ms. Kattan is stepping down and has appointed Natalie Christo as the new one. She makes it clear that her former position bogged down creativity and pulled her away from product development. Her now title as founder will allow her to create more content, teach more knowledge and make cooler products.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAVxCCoNNLM

Apparently as of 2018 the brand became too big and Christo was in the pockets to take over. Huda goes on to mention that she never wanted to be CEO and only was because she had to direct the ship. My only worry is that what if it's another Too faced situation.

In 2016 Too Faced founder Jerrod Blandio sold to Estee Lauder for 1.45 Billion dollars. Like Huda, he is now founder and Chief creative officer of Too Faced which means he's responsible for product development as well. The switch in running the company has created a change in the quality of the brand. The Too Faced eyeshadow palettes would sell out or were more of a craze but right now it's something to to ignore.

Too Faced was once responsible for truly noteworthy eyeshadow product like the chocolate bar, semi-sweet chocolate and the chocolate gold palette that would immediately sell out. The most recent release of these palettes was in 2017 and after the Estee lauder take over but I believe made before the switch. Since then there's been a decline and I happen to suspect that it was to to the switch in who's in charge.

One can blame the it on the competition but for a brand like this to let newbies win is pretty telling.

Similarly, when the Anastasia Soare stepped down Norvina took over and released the horrible subculture palette. The eyeshadows weren't blending and were so splotchy when applied. When questioned at the time regarding this, Norvina (Claudia Soare) took to her to instagram and posted what's below.

All the while receiving images and videos of powdery product that was far too loose to hold in the palette. It seemed as if Norvina could careless about the public outrage and encouraged more of a return than sending out an apology. This all came after the massive success of Modern Renaissance and was kind of shocking to have poor quality and kickback from the beloved brand.

In reality, the failed product was due to a switch in their ingredients but was blamed on the talent of their consumers. Since then there's been a massive amount of drama between influencers and Norvina because she blamed the fans instead of her design. Today, I believe the brand is somewhat picking up where it left off but will still have this cloud over it. Same with Too Faced, the brand did pick up a little bit. thanks to their collaboration with Jackie Aina and relaunch of the born this way foundations.

The inclusion of Jackie Aina with the relaunch of the Born this way line did redirect Too Faced messaging. I believe that it opened the brand to a wider audience but I don't think it solved the eyeshadow issue. It did make you want to buy their foundation and concealers but forget about everything else.

My fear is that with the switch in Ceos of HUDA beauty will focus on mass production and less on makeup creativity. Kattan did inform us on her video that she will be more hands on with it's development but so has the others. They did inform us that we would be in great hands and that quality will still be at the utmost concern. They later failed us on it and made up for it three years later with a massive switch in promotions. It's like they had no choice but to refocus after screwing up our "go-tos." I believe HUDA beauty will end up having a major redirection of things and that already makes me nervous because it's one of the refreshing brands. Huda constantly releasing new ways to look at beauty and I fear that it may lose that.

What are your thoughts on this shift? Am I totally buggin or will history repeat itself?

works cited

Dall'asen, Nicola. “She Explained That the Powdery Texture Was Because of the Way the Shadows Were Pressed, and That the Brand's Customer Service Would Replace Any Unsatisfactory Palettes.” Revelist.com, 31 July 2017, www.revelist.com/beauty-news-/anastasia-subculture-review/8642/she-explained-that-the-powdery-texture-was-because-of-the-way-the-shadows-were-pressed-and-that-the-brands-customer-service-would-replace-any-unsatisfactory-palettes/10.

“The Estée Lauder Companies to Acquire Too Faced.” – The Estée Lauder Companies Inc., www.elcompanies.com/en/news-and-media/newsroom/press-releases/2016/11-14-2016-220028237.

“Rose Gold Palette Eyeshadow Palette REMASTERED: HUDA BEAUTY.” Shop | HUDA BEAUTY, hudabeauty.com/us/en_US/shop/rose-gold-palette-remastered-HB00064.html?gclid=CjwKCAjwlID8BRAFEiwAnUoK1U4GQVXWxJ4KVUvVYhjn6Df3TIpJqRWuQyN4PfFAyckKnF6nkHieQBoCYTkQAvD_BwE.

Jhaveri, Sanaiya Gabrielle. “Huda Kattan Is No Longer CEO Of Huda Beauty. Here's Why...” Harper's BAZAAR Arabia, Harper's BAZAAR Arabia, 29 Sept. 2020, www.harpersbazaararabia.com/featured-news/breaking-news-huda-kattan-is-no-longer-ceo-of-her-company.

Davis, Dominic-Madori. “Jerrod Blandino's Millennial Makeup Empire Is Going Strong with Gen Z, Too. He Says Entrepreneurs Need to Remember 4 Things, Most of All Be Unique.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 21 Sept. 2020, www.businessinsider.com/cofounder-of-too-faced-gives-career-advice-for-aspiring-entrepreneurs-2020-9.