In The Community
Reina Rebelde
Photo by reinarebelde on Instagram
Reina Rebelde, founded by Mexican Regina Merson, is a bold, unapologetically vibrant, Latina-owned makeup brand that celebrates Latino culture. Merson’s mission with Reina Rebelde is to empower women to embrace their multifaceted beauty. Reina Rebelde's products are designed to help women embrace their versatility and share their authentic essence with the world through makeup and self-expression. They offer a wide range of makeup products, including black and color eyeliners, lipsticks, eyeshadow palettes, blush, finishing powder, and everything else you could possibly need to create great looks and feel empowered when you step out of your home.
Rizos Curls
Photo by rizoscurls on Instagram
Rizos Curls was created by Mexican Julissa Prado and it offers a range of haircare products that cater to curly-haired women. Growing up with curly hair, Prado is familiar with the challenges of finding the right products, so she founded this brand to simplify curly hair care. Rizos Curls provides curl education and offers high-quality products for all types of curls, including detangle spray, curl-defining cream, curl-defining muse, shampoos and conditioners, hair oils, and more. One of their most popular products is “The Complete Rizos Curls 4-Step Bundle”, a 4-step system designed to detangle, hydrate, and define curls to avoid bad hair days and have healthy curls.
Bésame Cosmetics
Photo by besamecosmetics on Instagram
Founded by Argentinian Gabriela Hernandez, Bésame Cosmetics pays homage to the golden age of Hollywood glamour with its vintage-inspired makeup collections. Inspired by her grandmother's beauty rituals in Argentina, Hernandez has created luxurious and historically accurate makeup to celebrate timeless beauty and help women feel more empowered. Hernandez was also inspired by the suffragettes and how they wore red lips in defiance of the patriarchy, highlighting the power of makeup. Bésame Cosmetics is known for the beautiful vintage design of its products and its high-quality formulas. They offer a wide range of makeup products, including lipsticks, eyeshadows, highlighters, blushes, compacts, and more. One of their top best sellers is the “Bésame Red Lipstick - 1920”, which is one of the first shades the brand revived and it offers a classic bright red lipstick for unabashed confidence.
Vive Cosmetics
Photo by vivecosmetics on Instagram
Mexican Puerto Rican Joanna Rosario-Rocha and Mexican Leslie Valdivia co-founded Vive Cosmetics to celebrate Latino culture through vibrant, inclusive makeup. Vive Cosmetics was born out of frustration with the beauty industry's lack of representation and its mission is to make beauty accessible and affirming for everyone. The founders recognize Latinas and everyone who has ever felt undervalued, offering products that can help them fully embrace their beauty. They specialize in matte lipsticks, lipsticks, lip gloss, lip care, and brow pencils. One of their best-selling products is the “Amor Eterno” a deep red liquid lipstick that provides full coverage, is highly pigmented, and will stay on no matter what.
Alamar Cosmetics
Photo by alamarcosmetics on Instagram
Alamar Cosmetics was created by Cuban Gabriela Trujillo, drawing inspiration from Cuba’s vibrant colors and textures. The name of the brand is a homage to Trujillo’s hometown in Cuba, Alamar, and her journey from dreaming about making her own makeup products to having a successful makeup business is nothing short of inspiring. Alamar Cosmetics offers all the makeup products you could need to put your face on and some of their best sellers include their DesNUDEAs lip liners, blush trios, and brighten and bronze trios. All the products are cruelty-free, affordable, high-quality, and richly pigmented to make everyone’s beauty pop.
Luna Magic
Photo by lunamagicbeauty on Instagram
Luna Magic was founded by Dominican American sisters Mabel and Shaira Frias, and it’s a celebration of Afro-Latinidad and Latino culture. The brand offers colorful and playful makeup collections inspired by the sisters’ Dominican heritage, and every product reflects the joy of Afro-Latino and Latino culture. One of the main focuses of Luna Magic is to help Afro-Latinas and Latinas embrace their own beauty instead of unrealistic beauty standards defined by celebrities and the media. Luna Magic offers eyeshadow palettes, lipsticks, and much more. One of their best-selling products is the “Soft Perfection Foundation Powder,” which is vegan and offers a soft matte finish for a “no makeup” makeup look.
Dezi Skin
Photo by deziskin on Instagram
Founded by Mexican Desi Perkins, a former freelance makeup artist turned beauty influencer, Dezi Skin offers high-quality skincare solutions for all skin types. Dezi Skin has a proprietary blend of natural Mexican extracts, including Mexican plum fruit and dragon fruit, that makes their products nourishing and rejuvenating. Their best-selling product is the “Agua Fresca,” a refreshing gel-crème moisturizer packed with niacinamide, hyaluronic acid, and fruit antioxidants, which provides long-lasting hydration and makes the skin look radiant. Of course, they also offer other skincare products, including serums, body lotions, moisturizers, face mists, cleansing gels, cleansing balms, and more.
Shaina B. Miami
Photo by shainabmiami on Instagram
Shaina B. Miami was founded by Mexican-Puerto Rican Shaina Bassan and it’s a one-stop shop for everything makeup. As a young girl, Bassan fell in love with makeup because she discovered how it boosted her confidence. As she got older, she noticed that she had to buy from multiple brands to suit all her needs, so it became her dream to create a makeup brand that would offer everything in one place. That’s exactly what Shaina B. Miami is and it’s inspired by Miami’s multicultural vibrancy. Some of the best-selling products include the “Lip Gloss in Heatwave,” which is glossy and hydrating but not sticky, and the “Carnaval Pressed Pigment Palette,” which offers vibrant eyeshadow colors for bold, highly pigmented looks.
Glamlite
Photo by glamlite on Instagram
Founded by Dominican Gisselle Hernandez, Glamlite is inspired by her childhood experiences and her love of food. As someone who experienced bullying and fat-shaming growing up, Hernandez wanted to create a cosmetics line that makes everyone feel represented and accepted. Glamlite is known for its themed eyeshadow palettes, which are fun and offer a great variety of shades to create many different looks. Fun fact: the brand went viral in 2018 for its “Pizza Palette,” which was the first food-inspired product they launched.
Valdé Beauty
Photo by valdebeauty on Instagram
Last but certainly not least, Valdé Beauty offers luxurious, refillable lipsticks and lip balms with stunning packaging. It was created by Peruvian American Margarita Arriagada, who was inspired by her mother and the fact that even with dementia, she remembered her love of lipstick, and applying it always made her happy. Valdé Beauty is known not only for its high-quality lipsticks but also for its Valdé Armor cases. They’re collectible and each design is beautifully unique. Valdé Beauty's formulas contain adaptive pigments, jojoba and sunflower complex, shea butter, and castor seed oil, so they offer personalized colors and promote soft, smooth lips.
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VAMIGAS, a Latina-owned, botanicals-focused beauty brand is doing their part to transform the way we care for our skin, naturally. Founded by Ann Murray-Dunning and Christina Kelmon, VAMIGAS uses naturally-derived ingredients in their skincare products inspired by Latin American beauty regimes for Latinx skin texture.
Luz Media caught up with both Ann and Christina to discuss their growing business, the ups and downs of ownership, and the future of their brand. Read on to find out more about these mujeres poderosas and their plans for the future.
This interview has been lightly edited for clarity and flow.
LM: Where does the VAMIGAS name come from? And what inspired you to start your business?
VAMIGAS: Vamigas is a Latina-led, vegan, ethically sourced, cruelty-free skincare brand created from Latin American botanicals from Chile, Peru, Mexico and more, that’s helping bring clean beauty to Latinas, who have been left out of the clean space until now.
Vamigas is a play on the words amigas, and the initials of our daughters, V and M. Lately it’s also starting to mean, Vamos Amigas!
What inspired us was finding out during my [Ann’s] pregnancy and during Christina’s first year as a mom, that there are no clean beauty brands at mass that specifically target Latinas.
Photo courtesy of VAMIGAS
LM: Why is that important?
VAMIGAS: We were looking for clean beauty options because many studies – including a very recent study out last month - found that Latinas, who buy and use more beauty products than non-Latina consumers, have more hormone-disrupting chemicals in our bodies.
We also show higher rates of things like infertility and breast cancer and U.S.-born Latinas are even 3 times more likely to experience preterm birth than non U.S.-born Latinas.
Yet, no one is targeting us with higher-quality ingredients.
Latinos are a growing community in America and our spending power jumped to more than $1.7 trillion in the last few years, according to a report from the University of Georgia. We significantly outspend our peers in beauty by 30%. However, Latinas have remained largely marginalized in skincare and beauty. What’s more, most of the major beauty brands don’t understand how to market to our complexity.
This was more than our inspiration. It felt like a calling.
LM: What makes your products so unique?
VAMIGAS: We are the first to source 8 ingredients from Latin America in one formula and the only brand to source exclusively from Latin America. In fact, we are the only brand to only focus on primarily Mexico AND Chilean ingredients. What’s more, we are an authentic Latina team with the background that’s needed to understand our hermanas who are out there looking for green beauty options, and give them what they are looking for.
Photo courtesy of VAMIGAS
LM: What words of wisdom would you share with Latinas looking to enter the beauty market as entrepreneurs?
VAMIGAS: Build key partnerships with vendors early on, find who is the best in the biz, but also who you work well with, and make sure they’re strong partners and can scale with you. It’s all about the relationships at the beginning - and that can make or break you during your journey.
LM: What about Latinas looking to enter any entrepreneurial venture; do you have any words of advice for them?
VAMIGAS: Don’t fall into the “busy trap”. In the beginning you’ll be doing a lot of things to try and move the needle. Within that year at some point, you’ll need to prioritize those tasks. What’s bringing you 80% of your success? Focus on that and forget about the things that barely give you anything in return, and that just have you running around looking busy.
LM: Have you experienced any challenges from being a Latina entrepreneur? What about positives?
VAMIGAS: Yes, sometimes as Latinas, you get the feeling that folks don’t take you as seriously as they would two young Mark Zuckerberg-esque white guys pitching their startup. Even when it comes to vendors or partners. The most random folks sometimes want you to prove yourself or your business to them even though you would be paying them. It’s a weird power imbalance. We have only partnered with folks where we feel we have that mutual respect and support.
LM: Lastly, tell us where we can find you online!
Vamigas.com | Instagram at @vamigasbotanicals | TikTok at @vamigas
In addition, you will now be able to find VAMIGAS at various JCPenney stores summer 2022 in collaboration with Thirteen June. Check out the cities below to find their products near you and get your skin going with that summer glow.
JCPenney: S 10th Street McAllen, TX
JCPenney: Whittwood Town Center Whittier, CA
JCPenney: Michigan Avenue, Dearborn, MI
JCPenney: Glenstone Avenue Ste 200 Springfield, MO
JCPenney: W Division St Ste 96 St. Cloud, MN
JCPenney: Greenville Blvd SE Ste 200 Greenville, NC
JCPenney: Youngstown Warren Rd, Niles, OH
JCPenney: Main St Trumbull, CT
JCPenney: Town East Mall Mesquite, TX
Vamigas: Grandview Pkwy Davenport, FL
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Candles
The trick to gifting candles is gifting one the receiver relates to. Try gifting that zodiac lover a zodiac sign-themed candle. Got a quirky friend? Try a candle that smells like a celebrity (yes, these things exist). Weird, but very unique. Have a friend who is obsessed with Harry Styles? A candle exists for that too – a Harry Styles-themed candle. So, if your friend loves a good candle burning in their home we’ve got a few on our minds:
Bonita Fierce
These Latino-inspired candles are perfect. With scents that are reminders of their culture, do we even have to say anything more?
Vela Negra
If your friend isn’t into the adorable packaging and instead wants a very simple candle that still smells bomb, Vela Negra comes with all-black packaging. Ideal for them, and fits in more sober or minimalistic styles.
Books
Sometimes a thoughtful card and a handpicked book are enough. For those booklover friends you can gift them a book from their favorite author, a limited edition book, or anything that they may enjoy.
For some inspiration, we’ll give you an example. There once was a secret santa exchange for a friend who had just gotten a puppy, and knowing she would be that wild dog mom (no shame), I bought her Dogstrologyby Luna Malcolm. Yes, an astrology book about dogs so you can know their personality, weaknesses, you name it. She loved it. So as you can see, presents don’t have to be pricey; it should just make the other person think, “Wow, they really know me.”
Latinx in Publishing
So for all your book purchasing needs, Latinx in Publishing can help you purchase from independent Latinx-owned bookstores. And you can find books written by Latinas here.
Apparel
Many Latinx-owned businesses sell apparel, whether it’s a boutique, custom-made shirts, or artists’ merch. For any clothing item as a gift, make sure you know their correct size because keep in mind, many of these small retailers don’t offer exchanges. Then think about what they like, are they Bad Bunny fans? Do they wear simple tees with no design? Or do they like wearing something with a bold statement?
Hija De Tu Madre
If your friend likes wearing shirts with a relatable saying, check out Hija De Tu Madre. Any of their apparel will make your friends feel empowered, all while looking good.
Luz Shop
If you didn’t know, your fave Latina publisher also makes apparel that you can gift to all the ladies and allies in your life. Who wouldn’t appreciate a shirt that says they’re allergic to machismo?!
@hijadetumadrela #Rokeras WYA🎸👇?! Collection drops today @ 9am PT. #fyp #latina #latinas #latinx #BenefitOfBrows
Makeup
For the people who have makeup lover friends, listen up. Places other than Ulta and Sephora do exist. These Latina-owned businesses care about how the makeup looks on different shade ranges because they know Latinas come in all shades. Their product presentation also makes for a festive and fun gift. Yes, these are perfect presents to gift your friends, but who said you can’t treat yourself and buy some products for yourself too?
A La Antigüita 💦🧼 #lavaderitoss #lavadero #alaantigüita #mexicana #latina #hispana #mexicancheck #fyp #foryoupage #fypage #makeup #makeuphacks
And for those tools that touch our face almost every day, all makeup lovers should also be enthusiastic about keeping those brushes clean and bacteria-free. So for that, check out:
This mini lavadero is perfect for cleaning those makeup brushes and sponges. The mini zote’s cuteness is to die for.
@gabymarentes5 A La Antigüita 💦🧼 #lavaderitoss #lavadero #alaantigüita #mexicana #latina #hispana #mexicancheck #fyp #foryoupage #fypage #makeup #makeuphacks
Skincare
Skincare products and wellness are always good gifts to give to anyone. There are a few questions you can ask yourself to know what to buy for the other person. If you’re buying skincare, have they mentioned a product they wanted to try? Is there a natural ingredient they love and swear by? Do you want to gift them something that they need or a little extra for that self-care day? Here are a few Latinx-owned ideas:
Nopalera
They’re all about that good cactus. We all know cactus has what seems like a million uses and Nopalera has mastered the cactus for skincare. They have some cute and heavenly products for your skin and body. Their cactus flower exfoliant is a must-try and a must-have.
Today at Cultured South #atl #atlanta
Becalia Botanicals
They sell bath soaks, bath bombs, and body butter with unique scents like horchata, cocoa, coco leche, and hibiscus. Perfect gifts for anyone who wants to pamper themselves. It sounds like a dream!
@becaliabotanicals Today at Cultured South #atl #atlanta
What are you waiting for? Get on over to some of these Latinx-owned brands and wait for the smiles they produce when that gift-receiver tears away that heart-felt packaging. Sustainability pro-tip: try using newspaper and grocery store paper bags as wrapping. We haven’t bought gift wrapping paper in years! Happy Holidays!
