Huda and Mona Kattan talk about their new show Huda Boss and running a business as sisters

Huda Beauty, run by sisters Huda and Mona Kattan, is a brand that rules the beautysphere. The Kattans’ latest venture is a reality show on Facebook Watch called Huda Boss. Available to watch now on Facebook, it’s a fun and sometimes emotional peek into the lives of the sisters and the joys and struggles of creating an empire. In this first season, we witness the inner workings of Huda Beauty, including some setbacks, and the passion and dedication that the businesswomen are known for. Plus, Mona’s lookin’ for love, which always makes for great reality TV!

The down-to-earth yet glam siblings spoke to HG about family, love, and the challenges of building a company from the ground up.

HelloGiggles: How did the show come about?

Huda Kattan: We had gotten approached about five years ago, and we weren’t really sure whether or not we should do a show. We were a little nervous because you’re putting your life out there. A lot of times, people have this Hollywood talk where they’re like, “Oh, this is how Hollywood works.” Sometimes they want to own you; they want to own everything you do, and that was probably one of the hardest things for us. We were not going to work with anybody who was trying to take ownership in our name, our social media. We’re not desperate to do a show, we want to do the right show. Then we found our agent, Meghan Mackenzie, who started riding for us and believing in the show. The negotiation was taking a long time with another network, and Facebook was like, we’re ready to do it and go straight to series right away. Before you knew it, they were in Dubai shooting!

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HG: As sisters, you give each other a lot of real talk when it comes to business and personal advice. In what ways are you different and alike? How do you maintain the balance?

Mona Kattan: We’re very opposite in almost every single way. At the same time, we have very similar goals and values, we believe in the same things and have the same mission in life. So, that’s what keeps us so strong. Huda’s really firey, I’m really calm. Huda’s really crazy — she’s got so much passion, she’s like overly passionate. I’m passionate as well, but I’m calmly passionate. And Huda’s an artist. If you go into her room there are clothes on the floor, pencils, and drawing paper everywhere. I would go crazy because I’m very neat and tidy and I like Excel sheets. We’re opposites that way, but again, we have this mission to build an empire together with the family and with our team. And that’s what keeps our bond very tight. But we fight every day!

HK: We fight about everything. We fight about breakfast! You choose your battles, you know? We really love each other so much, but we really have to work on our relationship all the time.

MK: We need couple’s counseling.

HG: Putting yourself on TV like this is so vulnerable. Huda, I know you struggle with perfectionism and overworking. How do you come down from that, and how do you keep it together?

HK: It’s really challenging because I am being pulled in many different directions. I’m a mom and I’m a wife, and those things are really important to me. As much as I love our company and everything we do, my daughter will always come first. I can do a lot of things — I can go without sleep and eating and doing all those things that humans should do as long as I get my time with my daughter. If I don’t get it, then I feel off-balance. I’m a Libra, I need balance. I need her more than she needs me, I think.

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HG: You interact with your audience a lot, and I’ve seen a lot of really beautiful fan transformations. Is there one that stood out to you?

HK: When blogs were coming up, there was a lot of resentment from editors trying to figure out who these bloggers were. This one journalist I was sitting with said, “I resent you.” I could tell it wasn’t coming from an area of…maybe she resented me in my career, but I felt there was something built up.

I sat with her and I wanted to hear her story. She was a single mother of two children and I was connecting with her. We were in Taiwan and I took her to this store. I wanted to buy her makeup and she was like, “I can’t, it’s expensive,” and I was like, “No, I’m buying it for you.” I bought some blush and lip gloss and started putting it on her. What was beautiful was I saw her feel differently. She changed the way she felt. We were going up the escalator and she took her hair down and you could just see how she smiled.

I think a lot of times, especially in the journalism field, they’re under so much pressure. You have so many things to do and I saw her be free in that moment and it was really heartwarming. Every time I talk about it I have to hold back tears because it was a really beautiful moment to see her do something for herself. She had given so much to her kids. [ed. note: Huda is actually crying on the phone at this point.] This is the first interview where I’ve cried!

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MK: For me, it was this one time where I met a girl at a salon in L.A., and we were chatting and she was a specialist in brows. She was like, “You guys are the reason I’m here.” She was like, “I actually lived in Texas, but when you guys reposted me on Instagram I got discovered and my following grew so fast. This salon in L.A. contacted me to move out here to do clients in Beverly Hills.” It completely changed my career. It’s just incredible that we can create such a big impact and actually help someone with their job and life. That’s just so memorable to me.

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HG: What’s next for the show?

HK: Well, Mona does get married.

MK: No…I go on two awful dates. They were awful, but you know, I need help!

HK: She does go on a date with Jeremy, but it doesn’t go well.

MK: I just don’t go out enough without my family. That’s one of the biggest challenges I have, is just I’m always with my crazy family and it’s not really the right setting. I should go out with my single girlfriends more.

HG: Are you trying the dating apps?

MK: I am on apps! But I don’t use them enough, I need to use them better. I’m on every app. Except for Raya because they haven’t confirmed my profile! I need profile advice.

HG: We look forward to your wedding on the show!

MK: Maybe next season!

HK: As far as what’s coming up for the show, we cover the struggles of how much goes into creating a beauty brand. Of course, there’s the funny family dynamic, but it really is giving our audience an open look into what goes on in Huda Beauty, and how much work it is. We don’t have the corporate experience, we’re learning it all on our own, and it’s been really, really tough.

Do yourself a favor and binge Huda Boss right now on Facebook Watch.