Cosmetic line focuses on Hispanic skin

By Jen Grossman
Online Forty-Niner
Contributing Writer

The beauty industry is always looking to the future, changing along with the fashion industry. With this change came Zalia, a cosmetic line designed for Latinas, which launched new locations this November in time for the holidays.

These locations include select Foleys and Robinsons-May department stores in Los Angeles, Houston, San Antonio and McAllen, Texas.

"Appreciating — even highlighting — individuality is one of the great things about makeup," Kevyn Aucoin, a world-renowned leader and innovator in the field of beauty said, before he was lost to cancer in 2002.

The issue: Hispanic skin tones are of a wide range from light to dark skin. Even with this variety, Latinas cannot match their makeup to their skin tone because most makeup lines cater to women of white skin with pinker hues.

Makeup with pinker hues make Latinas look unnatural because most of these women tend to have yellow and olive skin tones. Women want their skin to look natural and flawless, similar to Latinas in the media.

"There are a lot of everyday women that look up to high profile Latinas in the media who look beautiful all the time in the makeup they wear. . . Jennifer Lopez does anyway," said Tina Aguila, an ex-makeup artist for Estee Lauder with a degree in fashion and marketing. "But not all of us have our own makeup artist to blend our colors on a Online basis."

Recognizing this problem, Monica Ramirez, the innovator of Zalia, created the cosmetic line in order to help Latinas find makeup colors that complement their skin tones, help them look natural, and are affordable.

According to the Zalia Web site these cosmetics include textured colors that illuminate and accentuate Latina's features. The makeup shades are created with super-enriched formulas.

"There is a trend toward creating products with cultural appeal to increase customer base of lines," said Suzanne Marshall, a fashion merchandizing professor and advisor at Cal State Long Beach.

Ramirez has recognized the need for such a line, being a Latina herself and due to the growth of the Hispanic population in the United States.

According to a story in the Orange County Register, Hispanics account for 12.5 percent of the U.S. population, with an annual purchasing power of $630 billion a year.

Figures from the Register state that 60 percent of Zalia customers are Hispanic and 20 to 30 percent are black.

Providing these hues and colors for all skin tones gives women the chance to be comfortable with their appearance and boost their self-confidence.

"[Makeup] can be the first step in learning things about yourself you may never have discovered otherwise," Aucoin said.

Zalia cosmetics is beneficial to all Latina women, as well as those who wish to acquire careers in entertainment, cosmetology and fashion.

Zalia products include items for the lips, eyes, face and cheeks. The cosmetic line is affordable with prices ranging from $4 to $26.50.