Huda Beauty will pay nearly US$2m to settle a two-year lawsuit by consumers that the Dubai-based make-up brand used illegal ingredients in its Neon Obsessions palettes.
The brand, founded by influencer Huda Kattan, was accused of using pigments banned for use around the eye area by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The US lawsuit claimed that Huda Beauty concealed the prohibited ingredients to consumers by hiding warning labels, including 'not intended for the eye area’, behind outer packaging.
Despite not being suitable for the eye area, Neon Obsessions was packaged in the same format as the brand's other eyeshadow palettes and used campaign imagery of Kattan wearing the product as eyeshadow.
The ingredients in question were Red 6 (Ci 15850), Yellow 10 (Ci 47005), Red 22 (Ci 45380) and Red 28 (Ci 45410) due to potential eye irritating and staining properties.
The lawsuit, initially settled in October 2021, will see Huda Beauty pay $1.93m to resolve the claims and $1.2m in legal fees for the plaintiffs.
Neon Obsessions was launched in 2019
Consumers who purchased the product can refund three products at the original retail price of $29 each.
Neon Obsessions is no longer available to purchase in the US and Huda Beauty has agreed to not reintroduce the line to the country, or launch a substantially similar product.
The brightly coloured collection is listed as 'out of stock' in UK retailers, such as Culty Beauty and Selfridges.
Sephora no longer stocks the products in Europe.