On 2 September 2026, Huda Beauty cost less in India than in America on every product checked, and it is owned outright by its founder again after eight years of outside investment. It reaches India through an importer of record and two authorised retailers.
This audit covers ownership, Indian prices, the product claims and how to buy genuine stock.
Huda Beauty is 4% to 13% cheaper in India than on its own US site, on every product checked on 2 September 2026 — roughly a fifth cheaper once GST is stripped out. The founder bought out her only outside investor, announced 3 June 2025, and owns the brand outright. Indian stock is imported by Sephora Cosmetics Private Limited and declares the United Arab Emirates as country of origin.
Snapshot
- Founded
- Blog in 2010; the brand launched with false lashes in 2013, Dubai
- Founder
- Huda Kattan, who started with a $6,000 loan from her sister, by her own account
- Owner today
- Huda Kattan, sole owner since the buyback announced 3 June 2025
- Trade mark holder in India
- Huda Beauty Limited, Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands — named in five judgments
- Indian importer of record
- Sephora Cosmetics Private Limited, Saket, New Delhi 110017
- Country of origin declared
- United Arab Emirates, on both Sephora India listings read
- Indian price band
- ₹1,300 to ₹3,740, checked 2 September 2026
- India against US list
- 4% to 13% cheaper at MRP; 19% to 26% cheaper before GST
How it started
Huda Kattan began writing a beauty blog called Huda Beauty in 2010 in Dubai. The product business started in 2013 with false lashes, financed by what she has described as a $6,000 loan from her sister. They sold out at Sephora Dubai.
In December 2017 the American firm TSG Consumer Partners bought a minority stake. Neither side has ever published what percentage TSG held or what it paid. Three brands followed during that period — the fragrance line Kayali, the skincare line Wishful, and GLOWISH.
On 17 February 2025 Kayali left the group, becoming a standalone company jointly owned by General Atlantic and Mona Kattan, with Mona Kattan as chief executive. Terms were not disclosed. On 3 June 2025 Huda Kattan announced she had bought all of TSG’s shares back, ending an eight-year partnership. Asked what it cost her, she said she had paid “a pretty penny” and nothing more precise. Wishful stayed.
- Founder-owned2013 to 2017 — lashes, then colour cosmetics
- TSG Consumer Partners takes a minority stakeDecember 2017 — size and price never disclosed by either party
- Kayali leaves the group17 February 2025 — to General Atlantic and Mona Kattan, terms undisclosed
- Founder-owned againAnnounced 3 June 2025 — Kattan buys all TSG’s shares, price undisclosed
Three figures were not disclosed: the size of the stake, what TSG paid and what Kattan paid to buy it back. No valuation for the brand has been published in a filing.
One point of clarity: Kayali is no longer a Huda Beauty brand and has not been since February 2025. Wishful still is. They are routinely listed together and should not be.
What they actually make
The range is colour cosmetics: the Easy Bake loose setting powder, the #FauxFilter concealer and colour correctors, Blush Filter liquids and palettes, liquid matte lipsticks and the lashes the company started with.
Huda Beauty publishes its panel sizes, which deserves credit. The Easy Bake powder cites an independent consumer panel of 20 people; the #FauxFilter concealer, 40; the liquid matte lipstick, 30. When a page says “100% agreed”, it means 20 out of 20 people said yes.
On the pages read on 2 September 2026, the product pages cite no test method for the concealer’s “14-hr crease-proof wear” or the lipstick’s eight-hour wear claim; the concealer’s published panel result is for a filtered finish of up to 10 hours.
No Sephora India listing, Nykaa listing or brand page read for this audit names a manufacturer. The importer and the marketer are named; the maker is not. That is normal for imported beauty and it is the opposite of a brand like Campus, which owns the plants its shoes come out of.
What Huda Beauty costs in India
Indian MRPs come from Sephora India, US list prices from hudabeauty.com, both read on 2 September 2026 and converted at ₹95.3800 to the dollar — the Federal Reserve H.10 rate for 28 August 2026.
- US list, Easy Bake loose powder 20 g
- ₹3,720 ($39)
- Indian MRP
- ₹3,250
- Gap
- 12.6% cheaper in India
- Checked on
- 2 September 2026
| Product | India MRP | Against US list |
|---|---|---|
| Easy Bake loose powder, 20 g | ₹3,250 | 12.6% cheaper |
| Mini #FauxFilter colour corrector, 2 ml | ₹1,300 | 9.1% cheaper |
| Blush Filter palette, 7.5 g | ₹3,740 | 8.8% cheaper |
| #FauxFilter concealer, 9 ml | ₹2,750 | 7.0% cheaper |
| Blush Filter liquid blush, 4.5 ml | ₹2,250 | 5.6% cheaper |
| Liquid Matte lipstick, 4.2 ml | ₹2,100 | 4.3% cheaper |
India from Sephora India, US list from hudabeauty.com, both 2 September 2026, at ₹95.3800 per US dollar.
Every product checked is cheaper here, and the gap widens once you account for tax. Indian MRPs include 18% GST; American shelf prices exclude sales tax. Strip the GST out and the three heroes come in 19% to 26% below US list. The brand reaches India through an importer of record and two authorised retailers.
Inside the range, smaller sizes cost more per unit. The full-size colour corrector works out at ₹300 a millilitre. The 2 ml mini of the identical formula is ₹650 a millilitre — 117% more per millilitre for the same product in a smaller tube. Across the line, the spread runs from ₹162.50 a gram for the 20 g powder to ₹2,100 a gram for the 1 g lip stain, a thirteen-fold range inside one brand.
One oddity for anyone comparing sizes: Sephora India lists a 10 ml mini of the loose powder at ₹1,900, declaring in millilitres what the full size declares in grams. Those two units are not directly comparable, so this audit does not compare them.
Who Huda Beauty is actually for
This is a counter for someone who wants heavy, photographic coverage and will pay ₹2,750 for a concealer to get it. The shade counts are real — 29 in the concealer, 13 lipstick shades, 9 in the powder — and the Indian pricing compares well with the US list price.
On 2 September 2026, every Huda Beauty product checked cost 4% to 13% less in India than on its US site.
Reputation and controversies
Five judgments of the Delhi District Court, commercial side, between 27 July 2024 and 30 May 2025 granted the brand permanent injunctions; three of them were partly decreed. Each concerns a consignment of goods bearing the Huda Beauty mark held by customs and found by the court to be counterfeit.
| Port and consignment date | Pieces held | Decided outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Nhava Sheva, February 2019 | 2,45,360 | Partly decreed 27 July 2024; permanent injunction, damages ₹2 lakh, destruction directed |
| Nhava Sheva, February 2021 | 72,000 | Decreed 30 May 2025; permanent injunction, costs, destruction to be considered |
| Kolkata Port, November 2020 | 28,368 | Decreed 9 August 2024; permanent injunction, destruction directed, costs |
| Nhava Sheva, January 2019 | 23,828 | Partly decreed 27 July 2024; permanent injunction, damages ₹2 lakh, costs |
| Nhava Sheva, February 2019 (second consignment) | 19,718 | Partly decreed 27 July 2024; permanent injunction, damages ₹1 lakh, costs |
Delhi District Court judgments, 27 July 2024 to 30 May 2025, as reported on Indian Kanoon and read 2 September 2026.
Damages of ₹1 lakh to ₹2 lakh were awarded in three of the cases, as the table records, and every consignment arrived by sea.
The plaintiff is the same in all five: Huda Beauty Limited, incorporated in the British Virgin Islands at Road Town, Tortola. The Dubai-based brand holds its Indian trade mark through that company, as the judgments recite. Company names on paperwork routinely differ from the name on the shop front, which our Bata audit takes apart in detail.
On animal testing, the company’s own support page says that while its products are “not officially certified as ‘cruelty free'”, it does not conduct or commission animal testing. That page carries no date. PETA’s directory does not list Huda Beauty and records only that the company has not signed PETA’s assurance — which is not the same as PETA finding that it tests. Since June 2025 there is no parent company here at all, so the uncertified statement is the owner’s own.
Buying Huda Beauty in India
For this brand the authorised price is a useful reference. Both authorised retailers checked on 2 September 2026 priced the 20 g Easy Bake powder identically at ₹3,250, with no discounting on any of the twelve Sephora India listings read.
Only Sephora India and Nykaa were checked for this audit. Anywhere else, measure the price against the ₹3,250 both authorised retailers charge for the 20 g powder before you part with money.
Look up the product name on the brand’s own site
One 2021 consignment held at Nhava Sheva was declared as “Huda Beauty Dry Wet Amphibious” and “Huda Beauty Eyelash Curlesh” — names the brand does not sell. If a product name is not on hudabeauty.com, be wary of it.
Compare against the authorised MRP
₹3,250 for the 20 g powder, ₹2,750 for the 9 ml concealer, ₹2,100 for the liquid matte lipstick, on 2 September 2026. A price well under those deserves a closer look at the seller, as it does in footwear — see our Metro Shoes audit.
Read the importer line on the box
Genuine Indian stock declares Sephora Cosmetics Private Limited, Saket, New Delhi 110017 as importer and United Arab Emirates as country of origin. That is the retailer’s declaration, so treat it as a match to check rather than proof on its own.
Buy the full size, not the mini
The 2 ml colour corrector costs ₹650 a millilitre against ₹300 for the 9 ml. You are paying more than double per millilitre for the identical formula in a smaller tube.
Check the unit on minis
Sephora India lists the 10 ml loose-powder mini in millilitres while the full size is in grams. Compare like with like before working out a per-unit price.
Common questions
Is Huda Beauty cheaper in India?
Yes. On six products checked on 2 September 2026 the Indian MRP ran 4% to 13% below the US list price at ₹95.3800 to the dollar. Because Indian MRPs include 18% GST and American shelf prices do not, the pre-tax gap on the three heroes is wider still, at 19% to 26%.
Who owns Huda Beauty?
Huda Kattan, outright. TSG Consumer Partners held a minority stake from December 2017, and Kattan announced on 3 June 2025 that she had bought all of it back. Neither the stake nor either price was ever disclosed by anyone.
Is Kayali still part of Huda Beauty?
No. Kayali became a standalone company on 17 February 2025, jointly owned by General Atlantic and Mona Kattan, who runs it. Terms were not disclosed. The skincare line Wishful is still Huda Beauty’s.
Is Huda Beauty cruelty-free?
The company says it does not conduct or commission animal testing, and says in the same sentence that it is not officially certified. PETA does not list it and records only that it has not signed PETA’s assurance. Note that testing cosmetics on animals has been illegal in India since 21 May 2014.
Is the counterfeit problem real?
On the court record, yes. Five Delhi District Court judgments decided between 27 July 2024 and 30 May 2025 covered 389,274 counterfeit pieces held at Nhava Sheva and Kolkata; each granted the brand a permanent injunction, and three were partly decreed.
Where is Huda Beauty made?
Both Sephora India listings read on 2 September 2026 declared the United Arab Emirates as country of origin, with Sephora Cosmetics Private Limited of New Delhi as importer. No listing or brand page read names a manufacturer.
How we research and verify brand audits: our methodology.
References
- Delhi District Court (commercial), Huda Beauty Limited, judgment of 27 July 2024, Nhava Sheva consignment of February 2019 — 2,45,360 pieces held at Nhava Sheva, permanent injunction, damages ₹2 lakh, and the BVI incorporation of the plaintiff (partly decreed)
- Delhi District Court (commercial), Huda Beauty Limited, judgment of 27 July 2024, Nhava Sheva consignment of January 2019 — 23,828 pieces, permanent injunction, damages ₹2 lakh (partly decreed)
- Delhi District Court (commercial), Huda Beauty Limited, judgment of 27 July 2024, second Nhava Sheva consignment of February 2019 — 19,718 pieces, permanent injunction, damages ₹1 lakh (partly decreed)
- Delhi District Court (commercial), Huda Beauty Limited, judgment of 9 August 2024, Kolkata Port consignment — 28,368 pieces held at Kolkata Port, destruction directed
- Delhi District Court (commercial), Huda Beauty Limited, judgment of 30 May 2025, Nhava Sheva consignment of February 2021 — 72,000 pieces, the “Dry Wet Amphibious” and “Eyelash Curlesh” declarations
- WWD, 3 June 2025 — the buyback, the “pretty penny” quote, and the brands launched after the 2017 investment
- Cosmetics Business, 3 June 2025 — all outstanding shares repurchased from TSG, ending an eight-year partnership begun in 2017
- General Atlantic, 17 February 2025 — Kayali becomes a standalone company owned with Mona Kattan, terms undisclosed
- Fast Company, 9 July 2018 — the 2010 blog, the 2013 lash launch, the $6,000 loan in Kattan’s own words
- Sephora India, #FauxFilter concealer listing, 2 September 2026 — MRP ₹2,750, importer Sephora Cosmetics Private Limited, country of origin United Arab Emirates
- Sephora India brand page, 2 September 2026 — every Indian MRP and per-gram figure in this audit
- Huda Beauty, #FauxFilter concealer, accessed 2 September 2026 — the “14-hr crease-proof wear” headline and the 40-person panel result at ten hours
- Huda Beauty, Easy Bake loose powder, accessed 2 September 2026 — $39, 20-person panel
- Huda Beauty support page on animal testing, read 2 September 2026 — the “not officially certified” wording, undated
- PETA Beauty Without Bunnies, Huda Beauty, accessed 2 September 2026 — not listed; PETA’s assurance unsigned
- Federal Reserve H.10 release, 31 August 2026 — ₹95.3800 to the US dollar for 28 August 2026
On price, Huda Beauty is one of the few imported counters that treats India properly. Four to thirteen per cent under US list at MRP, roughly a fifth under before tax, with an importer of record and two authorised retailers pricing the flagship identically at ₹3,250. That is what an official channel buys you, and it is worth saying plainly.
On claims, the brand earns credit for printing panel sizes of 20, 30 and 40 people. For the wear-time figures, check the pack and ask the brand for its test report.
Bought from an authorised shelf at ₹2,750, the concealer is fair value for heavy coverage, and cheaper here than on the brand’s US site on the day we checked.
