Calling all makeup and skin care enthusiasts!
Maybe you need to update your Sephora shopping list, or you’re just looking for some fresh items to fall in love with. What better time than now to peruse the internet for some new favorites?
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In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, we compiled the following list:
1. Tata Harper Skincare
It was in 2005 when Tata Harper, the company’s namesake, decided she’d help her stepfather make some lifestyle changes. He’d been recently diagnosed with cancer, so Harper started learning about common ingredients in many products, including skincare, according to this story in Forbes. From there, Harper decided to take charge and create products that were equal parts natural and luxurious.
Harper was featured in the Forbes story as one of four women “shaking up the beauty industry.” Harper, who grew up in Colombia, according to MarketWatch, said her brand is best known for their Elixir Vitae, a silky formula loaded with 37 high-performance botanicals, including extracts of Barbary fig, date seed and Summer Snowflake Bulb.
2. Honest Beauty
You probably know her best as an actress, but did you realize Jessica Alba, who is of Mexican descent, is an entrepreneur, as well?
Alba co-founded the household-goods startup The Honest Company in 2011. A related beauty line launched in 2015, and then relaunched in 2018. According to their website, the cosmetics brand is perhaps best known for its top-selling mascara. “Our 2-in-1 clean mascara + lash primer provides extreme length, definition, and full-on falsies vibes. We dare you to find a better duo,” the site says.
3. Rare Beauty
Selena Gomez, who has roots in Mexico, founded this company in 2020, according to this site.
“Rare Beauty is breaking down unrealistic standards of perfection. This is makeup made to feel good in, without hiding what makes you unique — because Rare Beauty is not about being someone else, but being who you are,” Rare says online.
The company has shade-inclusive products, and what’s really cool is that money from the beauty sales is going toward the $100 million that Gomez has pledged to raise for mental health services over the next 10 years. Hats off, Selena!
4. Beautyblender
You know that edgeless sponge many people use to apply foundation? That’s a Beautyblender, and founder and CEO Rea Ann Silva -- who is of Mexican, Portuguese, Spanish and Irish descent -- started selling it in 2002, according to this NBC report. In 2019, the company was projected to do $215 million in retail sales alone. The growth has been huge.
The NBC story goes on to say the Original Beautyblender has won 10 Allure Best of Beauty Awards, and a YouTube search of the name pulls in nearly a million hits, and it’s a celebrity favorite. One final passage from the report: (Silva) credits her Hispanic heritage with giving her an eye for color. ‘Being Latina gave me the vision and understanding about the nuances in skin tone, which directly correlated to my hands and my eyes mixing colors that made people feel comfortable in their own skin,’ she said.
5. Melt Cosmetics
Co-founded by Lora Arellano, a Mexican-American makeup artist, this brand is perhaps best known for its richly pigmented lip products, according to TODAY.
“Founded in 2012 when Lora Arellano and Dana Bomar identified that highly pigmented, ultra-matte, bold shades of lipstick were missing from the cosmetics world, Melt Cosmetics set out to fill that void,” Melt’s website says. “The duo took their combined decade of experience in the makeup industry and working in retail, and invested their life savings to create five shades that sold out the minute they launched online in May of 2013.”
Very impressive!
6. Alamar Cosmetics
Founder and CEO Gabriela Trujillo was born in Alamar, Cuba -- and that’s a big part of her brand, as you can see on her site, which reads: “Our name is an homage to her hometown, and her hustle is a testament to what a young girl from a small island can do. We are more than just a makeup company, we are the very essence of beauty -- a celebration of culture, an emblem of pride, an avenue of self-expression. We are creators, dreamers, go-getters, hustlers, mamis and papis alike. We break barriers, status quos and stereotypes. We represent. We are Alamar.”
Alamar seems to be well-loved for its Sun-Soaked, High-Shine Highlighters -- but the company also shows off its products for eyes, lips and complexion, as well.
7. Luna Magic
Latina brand founders Mabel and Shaira Frías -- who say online they’ve been featured on “Shark Tank,” in Oprah Magazine, Allure, Refinery 29, Glossier, People En Español, Popsugar, BuzzFeed, Hip Latina, HOLA! USA and more -- aim to stand out for their luxurious makeup formulas.
Their bestsellers include lashes, lash primer and two eyeshadow palettes, according to their website.
They also sell Latina-themed T-shirts, among other products.
8. Dominique Cosmetics
Founder Christen Dominique is from Texas, and of Mexican-Guyanese descent. You can read more about her background here, but her website says she fell in love with makeup at a young age. At some point, she became social-media famous and translated her talents into a whole company.
Really -- at last check, Dominique about 4.27 million followers on YouTube.
Among the company’s best-sellers are a transition eyeshadow palette, a natural rose silk tone cream blush and a golden dew skin gloss, the website says.
9. Joanna Vargas
Vargas, the company founder, has had quite the journey (which you can read about here). She’s “today’s it-esthetician for today’s it-celebrities, and anyone who wants gorgeous, glowing skin that endures,” her site says.
The Mexican-American skin care expert has spas in New York City and Los Angeles, but you can also shop her products online. She focuses on results-driven, cruelty-free skin care. Vargas’s daily serum gets especially high praise.
10. Lunar Beauty
Lunar Beauty cuts right to the chase on its website, saying, “Our founder, Manny MUA, is a gay Latino man who LOVES makeup. Even when times were HARD for a gay man in a makeup world, he never gave up, he followed his passion, and we want the same thing for YOU!”
Manny, as you might be able to tell from that quote above, is a beauty influencer who says his brand is “a cosmetics line for men, women, and everyone in between.” His real name is Manny Gutierrez, and he’s of Mexican descent. His company has everything you could ask for in a makeup line: Highlighters, blushes, lipsticks, tools, bundles and more.
Learn more about Lunar.
11. Chillhouse
At first glance, Chillhouse might look like a company that specializes in manicure kits. But it goes beyond just those items.
“Founder Cyndi Ramirez-Fulton, who is of Colombian descent, brought her business to life out of a desire to make self-care more affordable in New York City,” TODAY said. We love that.
Chillhouse is actually a full salon with a flagship store in New York City. The brand also offers candles and skincare oils.
12. Gabriel Cosmetics
Gabriel De Santino founded this brand in 1992. It started as a botanical skincare company drawing on Gabriel’s personal influences and childhood experiences of homeopathic skincare and cosmetics, and then evolved into much more, the company’s site said.
Today, the brand has added several lines, including Gabriel, Zuzu Luxe, and Clean Kids Naturally.
De Santino, who is of Latin descent and was raised off the coast of Mexico, is proud of all the company’s offerings, which include skin care, makeup, nail products and kids items, like bubble bath, shampoo, conditioner, lotion and hair detangler.
13. Sigma Beauty
This company is founded by Dr. Simone Xavier and Rene Xavier Filho, who are Brazil natives, the TODAY article says. This pair prides themselves on being “beauty problem-solvers.”
On the Sigma Beauty website, Simone and Rene speak highly of all their patented brushes, gadgets and designs, saying the brand has been awarded more than 60 patents worldwide, which identify and protect their most innovative products. Sigma wants to be known for “clean, safe (and) high-quality beauty.”
If you’re looking for long-wearing makeup or hypoallergenic brush cleaners, this looks like the place to turn. Best-sellers include a brush set, a gel eyeliner and quite a few featured lipsticks.
14. Cuerpa
Creator Edwin Jimenez Casanova, who hails from the Dominican Republic, says on his site that the brand name stems from the Spanish word “cuerpo,” meaning “body.”
Simply put, the company, which prides itself on its sustainability, makes products for your body.
Wondering what to shop for? We love the looks of the plumping facial oil, the lip polish or lip tints.
15. Elaluz
Brazilian-American influencer Camila Coelho founded this company, and a portion of every purchase goes toward reforesting green spaces in Brazil (we love that!)
Elaluz seems best known for its top-selling beauty oil.
“Light is everything to our founder, Camila Coelho. It’s recognizing your own unique light from within and believing in yourself, your individuality. And it’s the inspiration for the name Elaluz, which means ‘she is light’ in Camila’s native Portuguese,” the company’s site says. Coelho has a cool story, going from the Dior makeup counter to a global creator and CEO, according to this Forbes story.
16. Reina Rebelde
Take it from the brand’s website: “Reina Rebelde was born out of my passion for makeup and extreme pride for my cultural identity as a Latina,” the creator writes. “Growing up in Mexico, my makeup obsession started with the telenovela ‘Rosa Salvaje’ and sitting at my mother’s feet, watching her beauty rituals as she would get ready to go out for the night with her girlfriends. I’ve been addicted to makeup ever since.”
She goes on to say her collection reflects her “complicated identity as a Mexican woman embracing an American life.”
Some award-winning products include two eyeliner options, the Bold Lip product and the brow paint. TODAY says some Reina items are even available at Walmart.
17. Rizos Curls
Julissa Prado, a Mexican-American, wanted to create a perfect curl product after seemingly trying everything as a kid, she says on her site.
She went through stages of fighting her curls, leaning in and embracing them, and then said she pledged to one day create the best formula possible: “I wanted a product made with quality and natural ingredients that could celebrate all curl types, from my Tia’s coily strands to my sister’s loose waves. With Rizos Curls, I finally turned my dream into a reality. (It’s) created from the heart and is my perfect formula for defined, bouncy, shiny, frizz-free, soft, voluminous curls.”
Rizos offers hair care and styling tools. They even do a self-love box, which is pretty adorable.
18. Marine + Vine
Evelyn Ginossi, the founder of Marine + Vine, is a first-generation Chilean-American, TODAY says.
The company seems best known for its Tahitian Oil, although it offers other products like hand cream, body balm and more.
At this writing, the Tahitian Oil was even on backorder, which likely speaks to the product’s popularity.
19. Sustainable Glam
Founded by Fernanda and Javier Rabago, a husband and wife team with more than 20 years experience in the professional hair care industry, Sustainable Glam says on its site that it’s been up and running since April 2020.
The brand’s leave-in conditioner or hair mask are best-sellers, and look awesome.
What are some of your favorite products? Let us know in the comments below.