Best In Belleza: Game-Changing Products Developed by Latino Beauty Gurus
Hispanic Heritage Month may officially be over, but at Sicka Than Average, we celebrate our Latino roots every day. As an homage to all the Latino hairstylists, perfumers, makeup artists, manicurists, fashion designers, skincare gurus, and celebrities who have successfully forayed into the beauty space and made their mark therein, we’ve amassed some of our favorite beauty products from these ground-breaking brands. Check out a few of our favorites!
Tata Harper Revitalizing Body Oil, $95. Available at TataHarperSkincare.com
Colombiana Tata Harper has created one of the most well-respected and acclaimed green beauty brands to ever hit the market, relying on 100% natural ingredients that deliver visible results and completely eradicating synthetic and potentially harmful ingredients from her product formulations. In fact, Tata Harper grows many of the herbs, fruits, oats, and flowers that wind up in her products at her family’s 1200-acre farm. Each product, then, often starts with the plants grown and harvested at Tata’s farm. These plants and herbs then make their way to the brand’s in-house laboratory in Vermont, where their vitamins and minerals are harnessed via cutting-edge extraction techniques. From beginning to end, then, Harper oversees the development and manufacturing of her products, ensuring they meet her strict quality standards. Literally no product in the Tata Harper range has ever disappointed me! One of my favorites, however, is the Tata Harper Revitalizing Body Oil which, when applied to damp skin, is readily absorbed and leaves the skin smooth, soft, replenished and radiant. This extravagant oil features sunflower seed oil, grape seed oil, olive oil, borage leaf extract, alfalfa extract, Elderberry fruit extract, and calendula extract, and it gently nourishes even the driest patches of skin on your body — down to those winter-ravaged elbows and knees.
Oribe Supershine Moisturizing Cream, $49 for 5 oz. Available at Bluemercury.com
Born in Cuba during Fidel Castro’s regime and raised in Charlotte, North Carolina (where his family emigrated when he was just six years old), hairstylist to the stars Oribe Canales has now risen to Cher- and Madonna-like heights, a one-name celebrity among beauty insiders. He’s styled the tresses of stars like Jennifer Lopez, Penelope Cruz, Lady Gaga, and Naomi Campbell, and his team has created runway-ready looks for Nicole Miller, Adam Lippes, The Blonds, Jenny Packham, Band of Outsiders, and more for season after season of New York Fashion Week. But the Miami-based hair guru doesn’t focus solely on a boldface-named clientele: in 2009, Oribe launched his eponymous line of hair products, hoping to offer the general public the tools with which to achieve the sexy, voluminous, glamorous hair looks for which he’s known. Among the standouts in the luxury haircare line, the Oribe Supershine Moisturizing Cream hydrates strands while preventing frizz and sealing split ends for greater manageability and smoothness. The leave-in conditioner features the proprietary Oribe Signature Complex, which consists of a blend of watermelon, lychee, and Edelweiss flower extracts that, together, protect the hair from oxidative stress and environmental aggressors that lead to keratin degradation. It also includes a frizz-fighting soy protein biopolymer, wheat amino acids that help hair retain moisture, moringa seed extract to enhance shine, and keratin to protect the hair shaft and seal the cuticle layer. Not only does this leave-in yield phenomenal results, but it smells exquisite!
Tempting by Sofia Vergara Eau de Parfum Spray, $32 for 1.0 fl. oz. and $55 for 3.4 fl. oz. Available at Perfumania stores and Perfumania.com
Colombian actress Sofia Vergara has topped Forbes‘ list of highest-paid TV actresses for five years in a row, a testament to her talent, likability, and entrepreneurial skills. As the feisty, fun-loving, hysterically loud, assertive, and kind-hearted Gloria Pritchett on Modern Family, Vergara has made us laugh while exiling her hubby’s butler dog statue (we second the motion!), ordering Jay a box of baby cheeses (and winding up with a box of baby Jesus statues instead because of a mix-up stemming from her accent!), and setting off the neighbor’s car alarm while shouting Jay’s name. On the red carpet, meanwhile, she’s constantly dazzled, showing off her fashion sensibilities in figure-hugging, cleavage-flaunting gowns that manage to exude sensuality without ever seeming tawdry or inelegant. A constant best-dressed pick, Vergara epitomizes the modern bombshell: a self-confident woman who is proud of her curves and loves to show them off, but whose attributes are matched by a larger-than-life personality and a mischievous sense of humor.
Sofia Vergara’s second fragrance, Tempting by Sofia Vergara, is in many ways the embodiment of the celebrity’s persona: it’s seductive but playful, exuberant but glamorous, and both inviting and intriguing. As a nod to Vergara’s enviable figure, the perfume bottle features an hourglass shape reminiscent of Gaultier’s Classique bottles but without the mounds meant to represent breasts in the latter. Also, the clear bottle is faceted throughout, a detail inspired by the emerald stones found in Colombia.
In terms of the actual fragrance, it kicks off like a tropical party with notes of fresh pineapple, mandarin blossom, and açai berry tantalizing the senses. These top notes lure you in and then lead the way to a floral heart consisting of Colombian passion flower, purple vanilla orchid, and star jasmine notes. The dry-down, meanwhile, consists of creamy sandalwood, vanilla, and caramelized musk notes. The fruitiness of the floral scent lends it a frolicsome, frisky, naughty quality while the floral notes add the requisite femininity while exuding confidence and poise. This isn’t a dainty or delicate fragrance, nor is it a mysterious and aloof scent: it’s unapologetically feminine, seductive, and kittenish — just like Vergara.
Nuance by Salma Hayek AM/PM Anti-Aging Super Cream, $19.99. Available at CVS stores.
Typically, when celebrities launch skincare brands or fragrances, they’re simply lending their names as part of licensing deals meant to capitalize upon their fame and name recognition. Mexican actress/director Salma Hayek, however, wouldn’t have been satisfied launching a beauty line unless it was a true reflection of her own beauty rituals and she could ensure that she was involved in the formulation of each product. To that end, she created Nuance by Salma Hayek, a line that encompasses skin care, hair care, bath and body, and makeup, and which consists of products formulated using DIY beauty recipes passed down from Hayek’s own grandmother and including many botanical extracts indigenous to Mexico — from blue agave to prickly pear. The Nuance by Salma Hayek AM/PM Anti-Aging Super Cream stands figures among the line’s standout products. Its star ingredient is an extract from the bark of the Tepezcohuite tree, which ancient Mayans used to revitalize and protect the skin. Other ingredients include moisturizing borage seed oil, brightening parsley extract (which is rich in vitamin C), fatty acid-rich mango seed butter, and passion fruit extract (which is rich in caratenoids that reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, vitamin C, and linoleic and oleic acids, which keep skin plump and smooth).
Devonne by Demi Lovato Hydrating Radiance Mist, $29.95 (as part of the Devonne Essentials Plus skincare system). Visit DevonnebyDemi.com
If you follow @ddlovato on Instagram, then you know the “Cool for the Summer” singer posts quite a few #nomakeup selfies, and she’s just as stunning without a lick of makeup as she is when rocking a full face of foundation and a perky red lip. Clearly, Lovato takes great care of her complexion. It’s no surprise, then, that the “Confident” star launched her own skin care line, Devonne by Demi Lovato, which is designed to “bridge the gap between the pimple years and the wrinkle years.” My favorite product in the line is the Hydrating Radiance Mist, a take-anywhere, spray-anytime product that refreshes makeup, soothes and cools the skin, and makes the complexion appear more luminous and reenergized. The mist contains: licorice root extract to fight hyperpigmentation and create a more even skin tone, lavender extract to calm any inflammation or redness, apple extract to moisturize and soften, seaweed extract to protect the skin from free radical damage, exfoliating rice extract to promote cellular turnover, and mushroom extract to unclog pores and keep skin clear and blemish-free. Not only will this mist refresh your complexion, but it will calm your senses thanks to its relaxing lavender scent.
Taya Buriti Nut Intensive Repair Mask, $32. Available at HSN.com
Launched by Venezuelan model, actress, and philanthropist Patricia Velasquez, the all-natural Taya beauty line features products that incorporate ingredients native to the South American rainforest. One of the brand’s hero products is the Buriti Nut Intensive Repair Mask, which leaves strands soft, smooth, and replenished. The delightful mask’s main ingredient is buriti nut oil, which is rich in Omega-3, Omega-6, and Omega-9 fatty acids as well as beta-carotene, which protects strands against harmful UV rays.
Carolina Herrera New York Eau de Parfum Spray, $102. Available at Macys.com
Venezuelan fashion designer Carolina Herrera released this alluring scent in 1988 and, more than 20 years later, it still deserves a place in the list of the best fragrances of all time. Like everything Carolina Herrera, this perfume is feminine and sensual but elegant and luxurious, with notes of orange blossom, Spanish jasmine, ylang-ylang and amber.
Rahua Elixir Daily Hair Drops, $105. Available at Rahua.com
The story behind the luxury haircare line Rahua is one of self-discovery and cultural celebration. In the ’90s, celebrity hair stylist Fabian Lliguin, who was born in Ecuador and has Quechuan roots, set out to develop a haircare brand centered on the revitalizing properties of ungurahua oil — or rahua oil, for short — which is extracted from the fruit of the Seje palm and has long been used by indigenous women along the Amazon region to treat scalp problems, stimulate hair follicles, and increase circulation and capillary strength, thereby promoting hair growth. With a fatty acid concentration of around 80%, rahua oil can also moisturize and soften hair, boost shine, and detangle and keep frizz at bay. This concentrated oil treatment can be applied to damp strands to hydrate and smooth them and to dry strands to boost shine and tame fly-aways. Best of all, it smells delightful thanks to the incorporation of palo santo, a species of South American tree considered holy by Amazonian shamans, and gardenia blossoms.
