Mona Kattan on growing Kayali: 'Every delay has a blessing'

Mona Kattan has been obsessed with fragrance her whole life. So after building Huda Beauty with her sister, Huda, following its launch in 2013, she decided to build her own brand, Kayali, starting in 2018. Now, Huda Beauty, Kayali and Wishful (which makes skin care) form the Kattan sisters' beauty empire.

Kattan's passion for scent is evident when she speaks about perfume. In January, she shared a video on YouTube displaying her "fragrance library," which stores over 3,500 bottles. Kayali, she shares on this episode of the Glossy Beauty podcast, had a big year. It launched its Yum Pistachio Gelato 33 perfume, a limited edition wedding collection timed to Kattan's own nuptials and, most recently, its biggest drop yet, "Oudgasm." The Oudgasm collection focuses on four interpretations of oud, a traditionally Middle Eastern wood note.

Kattan spoke with Glossy about her lifelong obsession with fragrance, her approach to building a brand at the right speed and her process of testing up to 500 new scents at a time.