The short version: Latina owned beauty brands are turning kitchen-table rituals that abuelas perfected for generations into shelf-ready businesses. Founders like Babba Rivera of Ceremonia and Regina Merson of Reina Rebelde built clean haircare and bold makeup lines rooted in heritage, and both have broken into major retail. Here are six brands and the women behind them.
For decades, the wisdom that powered our beauty routines lived in abuela‘s hands – the oil mixed into lotion, the herbs steeped for shiny hair, the perfect red lip handed down like a family recipe. Today a new generation of founders is putting that knowledge on store shelves, with their names on the label and their culture front and center. This is a celebration of six of them.
Why Latina owned beauty brands are having a moment
The growth is not just a vibe – it is measurable. Latino-owned businesses in the U.S. grew 44 percent between 2018 and 2023, while white-owned businesses declined, according to Stanford’s State of Latino Entrepreneurship report. Beauty has become one of the most visible arenas for that surge, as founders translate cultural rituals into products that finally reflect the people who inspired them.
It helps that the audience was always there. Latinas have long been among the most engaged beauty shoppers in the country – the difference now is that more of the brands competing for that loyalty are run by Latinas themselves.
Ceremonia – Babba Rivera honors Chilean haircare rituals
Babba Rivera grew up in Sweden in what she calls a “very Hispanic household,” with family roots in Chile. She launched Ceremonia in 2020 to celebrate Latin American ingredients like guava and yucca, after years of damaging her hair with harsh straightening products in an era that pushed against natural texture. In 2022, Ceremonia became one of the first Latina-founded clean haircare brands to sell at Sephora, according to Beauty Independent. Rivera went on to raise venture funding to grow the brand.
Reina Rebelde – Regina Merson bottles dual-identity pride
Regina Merson immigrated to the U.S. from Mexico at age 10, and that dual identity shaped everything about Reina Rebelde. The makeup line was born from her passion for color and her pride in being Latina, with bold, provocative shades designed for women who are not interested in blending in. The brand speaks directly to the “rebel queen” – unapologetic, expressive, and rooted in heritage. It is the kind of bold-lip energy that connects to the decades of Latina beauty culture that the “clean girl” aesthetic quietly borrows from.
More founders putting heritage on the shelf
The list does not stop at two. A growing roster of Latina owned beauty brands is widening what mainstream beauty looks like:
- Reina Rebelde and Ceremonia helped open doors at major retailers for the Latina founders coming up behind them.
- Vive Cosmetics – a Latina-founded brand celebrating Latinx culture through vibrant, expressive makeup and inclusive shade ranges.
- Beauty lines tied to icons – brands and collections inspired by figures whose style still defines a generation, echoing the enduring pull of Selena Quintanilla’s beauty legacy.
What ties them together is intention. These are not heritage-flavored marketing campaigns – they are products built by women who lived the rituals first.
From abuela’s kitchen to the beauty aisle
Ask almost any of these founders and the story rhymes. The product started as something a mother or grandmother did – a homemade hair mask, a steamed herbal rinse, a signature lipstick worn to every quinceanera and wedding. That same ceremony around getting ready, the kind families pour into a girl’s quinceanera, is exactly the feeling these brands are bottling. The founders simply gave abuela’s recipe a label, a lab, and a place on the shelf.
Watch: How one founder is redefining Latina beauty
Frequently asked questions
What are some of the best Latina owned beauty brands to support?
Strong starting points include Ceremonia (haircare), Reina Rebelde (makeup), and Vive Cosmetics. Each was founded by a Latina entrepreneur and centers cultural heritage in its products. Some have reached major retailers like Sephora.
Which Latina-owned brand was first at Sephora?
Ceremonia, founded by Babba Rivera, became one of the first Latina-founded haircare brands to sell at Sephora in 2022.
Who founded Reina Rebelde?
Regina Merson founded and leads Reina Rebelde. She immigrated to the U.S. from Mexico as a child, and built the makeup line around bold shades and pride in her Latina identity.
Are Latino-owned businesses actually growing?
Yes. Stanford research found the number of Latino-owned businesses in the U.S. grew 44 percent between 2018 and 2023, while white-owned businesses declined. Beauty is one of the most visible categories driving that growth.
Where can I buy Latina owned beauty brands?
Many are sold directly through the brands’ own websites, and some are stocked at major retailers like Sephora. Shopping the brand’s site directly often supports the founder most.
Sources
- “State of Latino Entrepreneurship” Stanford Graduate School of Business, via Stanford News.
- “Ceremonia becomes first Latina-owned haircare brand at Sephora” Beauty Independent.
Researched and written by Victor Ramirez. Edited and fact-checked by Mia Alejandra Umphrey. Drafting assisted by AI; sources already cited inline are now collected here. See our editorial standards.
Part of our guide to Latino Style History.
