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On the hunt for curls and ringlets that pop? Or maybe you want foundation that looks flawless, eye shadow and highlighter that are seamless.
Whatever your hair and beauty needs may be there are a bunch of Latinx-founded and owned brands that are leading the way.
We’ve selected five that are fan and industry favorites, ones that – if you don’t love them already – you soon will. Hispanic Heritage Month is the perfect time to highlight them, but they are beauty must-haves all year round.
Beautyblender
Necessity is the mother of invention and thanks to high-definition TV we’re all benefiting from Rea Ann Silva’s quest to find the best way to efficiently achieve flawless skin with seamlessly applied foundation. The celeb makeup artist – who has worked on the faces of Tracee Ellis Ross and Vivica A. Fox – invented the original Beautyblender sponge in the Noughties. The trailblazing shape of the $20 pink original is no accident. “The egg is the shape of life. It’s the ova,” Silva told Second Life podcast host Hillary Kerr in 2019. “It’s the perfect shape, so I didn’t veer from it.”
Rizos Curls
You know you’re on to a good thing when the curly community is raving about your products. And, three years after launching Rizos Curls, founder Julissa Prado can beam with pride, because her haircare range is a multi-award winner. In May 2020 NaturallyCurly readers named Rizos Curls Refresh & Detangle Spray, the best refresher for Type 3 curls. A year earlier it received the site’s Best of the Best Leaders In Curl Award for Best Emerging Brand for its 4-Step Bundle, which also includes the Hydrating Shampoo, Deep Conditioner and Curl Defining Cream.
After spending years “battling” with her hair, Prado found a formula that worked. As she says on her website, the brand is “created from the heart.”
Araceli Beauty
When Araceli Ledesma – a Mexico-born, U.S.-raised cosmetologist – decided to launch her own makeup line, she had three goals in mind. “Growing up, I dreamed of starting my own brand where the products were wallet-friendly, performed great, and were easy to use,” she says. “Creating Araceli Beauty is my way of sharing two things I love – my culture and love for makeup.” The concept has won her an army of fans, including Amazon customers who have given her Araceli Ojos Perfectos Liquid Eyeliner five stars.
Sigma Beauty
Sigma founders, Simone and Rene Xavier launched their company in 2009 with a single brush and quickly developed a huge following among YouTube influencers. The molecular biologist and civil engineer eventually left their established careers to focus on their award-winning beauty brand.
While Sigma has grown to include brow gels, lip glosses, blushers, and more, their Professional F80 Flat Kabuki Highlighter Makeup Brush continues to be a beauty buff favorite.
Reina Rebelde
Four years after its 2016 launch Reina Rebelde has hit a huge milestone by signing a retail deal with Walmart. That’s a testament to the success of the proudly Latina brand. For its founder, Regina Merson, Reina Rebelde comes from a profoundly personal place. Her love affair with makeup began after she became “enamored” with her mom’s daily routine.
Today her focus is on providing a “collection of amazing products with built-in versatility and provocative shades,” she says. Merson’s clearly on to something. The Brava red shade of Reina Rebelde’s Bold Lip Color Stick is one of her best sellers.