In The Community
Latina entrepreneurs are making waves in the beauty industry, bringing rich cultural heritage, innovation, and inclusivity to the forefront. According to a 2022 State of Latino Entrepreneurship report, Latino-owned businesses are the "fastest-growing segment of the U.S. small business ecosystem." Over the past decade, the number of Latino-owned businesses has surged by 34%, compared to just 1% for other small businesses. To celebrate the success of Latinas in entrepreneurship, particularly in the beauty industry, here are 10 must-try Latina-owned beauty brands that not only offer amazing products but also celebrate Latino culture:
Reina Rebelde
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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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Latinas Have Always Been Fashion Trendsetters: These 5 Rising Fashion Brands Are Proof
Maybe you’ve come across some of the latest fashion trends that resemble your mom’s closet scrolling through TikTok or at New York Fashion Week and the VMA’s, or even your favorite tia’s yearbook photos or your older cousins' outfits from back in the day. It’s not surprising that many of today’s trends are inspired by different generations of Latinas from different neighborhoods and regions. In reality, some of these fashion looks are actually cultural statements, and for many Latinas, it's an expression of identity and a merging of their multicultural lifestyle.
For most of us, it is a visible validation of self-acceptance and a symbol of rebelling against what is deemed as “trendy” or “acceptable” in the mainstream world.
Intentionally, many Latina-owned brands and designers are curating collections and pieces that not only fit their personal aesthetics but also represent our cultura and the trends they saw their own families and Latina idols wearing growing up. For many of us, it’s more than just a superficial form of expression; it's our legacy and history in a world where some of us are still struggling with identity issues due to colonization, displacement, and erasure.
While the mainstream fashion world may not always give the BIPOC community the proper credit for their contributions to the industry, many emerging designers of color are breaking this status quo and celebrating their own identity regardless if it’s on trend or not. They are doing this while also creating their own opportunities to showcase their art through photoshoots, marketing campaigns, fashion shows, and collaborating with real people from the community to express themselves.
The reality is that Latinas have always been fashion trendsetters and fashion is embedded in our cultura just like our food, music, and customs. Fashion starlets like Rita Moreno, Maria Felix, Bianca Jagger, and Celia Cruz were all trailblazers in an era where most Latinas were not seen as fashion icons. However, these stylish pioneers set the tone for others to follow in their footsteps. Fast forward to the ’90s and 2000’s, fashion icons like Thalia, Paulina Rubio, Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes, Selena, Tatiana Ali, Jennifer Lopez, and Salma Hayek are all responsible for many trends still happening today.
Even though our cultura goes beyond the clothes we wear and what we buy, it's important to validate and express our individuality. Fashion is a form of radical self-acceptance because whether we are on trend or not, we aren’t going anywhere.
Check out these rising fashion brands making their own mark on the fashion world and representing our cultura from head to toe.
Persona Shop
This Latina-owned shop is one of the only shops dedicated to curating Latina fashion trends and brands located in the heart of Los Angeles Mid-City. Most recently, they had a pop-up shop during New York Fashion Week, merging the eclectic fashion scene of the two coasts under one roof. A true celebration of what Los Angeles has to offer.
Pauchains
Pauchains is a NYC-based fashion label founded and designed by Paulina "Pauu" Montie. Its unique designs range from sustainably sourced jeans to one-of-a-kind jackets. Their recently archived collection THE MUÑECA COLLECTION brought a taste of Chicana culture to the NYC fashion world. The label is evolving and has plans to curate more bicoastal collections in the near future.
Ella Loca
Designed and made proudly in New Mexico, this rising fashion brand creates its own tendencies and fashionably takes nostalgic trends to extraordinary heights. The brand has already garnered attention from many influencers and creatives.
Equihua
Equihua, pronounced "e-KEE-wah," has taken up space in the fashion industry, and rightfully so. Their eclectic designs like their iconic cobija coats have not only set in motion a groundbreaking trend but have created a definitive cultural statement. Designer, Brenda Equihua created “Portalwear,” which is more than street fashion, it’s a lifestyle. Equihua has opened the doors and given permission to other rising Latine designers and brands to cultivate their own aesthetics and create their own trends. You know an Equihua design when you see it and it’s gained high-fashion recognition as seen on celebrities such as Bad Bunny, Young Thug, Princess Nokia, Yara Shahidi, and more.
Selva Negra
The Los Angeles-based brand is designed ethically and from sustainably sourced materials while committing to zero waste. Although fashion is a valid form of artistic expression it is also considered one of the most harmful industries to our environment. Brands like Selva Negra, however, are ensuring they are leading by example and creating products that are carefully curated with the health of the environment and Mother Nature in mind, while also representing our colorful cultura. This size-inclusive brand has been seen all over red carpets and events this past summer.
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There's something transformative about adorning yourself with empowering statement tees, especially when they're rooted in our rich cultura. Dive into our curated list of five standout Latina-owned t-shirt brands, and let every wear be a reminder: You are poderosa, hermosa, y talentosa!
JZD
JZD started off as a spark of inspiration and emerged as a beacon of Latina empowerment. Founded by the dynamic duo Jen and Vero, this brand has a rich history that reminds us of the strength and resilience of Latinas. From launching with their iconic Pink Latina Power Tee on Etsy to building a community-driven brand, JZD epitomizes the power of representation and staying rooted in one's culture. It's more than a clothing line; it's a movement, and its founders' story is a testament to passion, resilience, and community.
Viva La Bonita
Born from a school project and molded into a movement, Viva La Bonita is Rachel Gomez's tribute to the indomitable Latina spirit. With tees that read “Allergic to Pendejas” and “Fierce like Frida”, the brand encourages Latinas to wear their pride and strength boldly. Every VLB T-shirt is an embrace of Latine culture, streetwear, and the dreams of fierce mujeres everywhere.
Brown Badass Bonita
Brown Badass Bonita is a celebration of love, self-acceptance, and revolutionary spirit. Created by Kim Guerra, this brand serves as a statement and shield for those who wear it. Beyond fashion, Guerra’s bilingual poems and affirmations echo the call for change, advocating for various marginalized communities. This brand is a living revolution, inspiring and uplifting everyone to wear their wings with pride.
Karla and Co.
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Want to showcase your Latina heritage with a hint of Puerto Rican zest? Karla and Co. is your go-to. Established in 2017, this brand champions cultural pride through its vibrant and affordable designs. Whether you're looking for classic designs or tees with a twist, Karla ensures that every Latina finds her perfect style statement.
For My Homegirls
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For My Homegirls, founded by Angie, is a heartfelt ode to the Latina community in San Diego and beyond. With tees flaunting messages like "Échale ganas, homegirl", this brand is all about love, pride, and daily reminders of our inherent magic. Each piece is designed to inspire, uplift, and celebrate the Latina spirit in its most authentic form.
Supporting these brands means more than just wearing a tee; it's about celebrating stories, resilience, and the boundless spirit of Latina women everywhere. So, why wait? Grab your statement tee now and join the movement!
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