Dominican sisters behind Luna Magic find success through authenticity: ‘Instead of pretending to be Latin, we are Latin’
Mabel and Shaira Frias founded a makeup brand called Luna Magic Beauty, new indie beauty & lifestyle brand by two Afro-Latina Dominican-American sisters.
Video Transcript
MABEL FRIAS: Instead of someone just pretending to be Latin, we are Latin. This is part of who we are. This is in our competitive advantages, or the insight that we have to this culture.
DANA OLIVER: Hi, beauties. I'm Dana Oliver, and on this episode of "My Beauty, My Way," I'm talking about the business of beauty with two boss Latinas, Mabel and Shaira Frias. Shaira and Mabel are the co-founders and sisters behind Luna Magic, a cosmetics line bursting with bold makeup colors inspired by their multicultural heritage. Now, your Dominican roots from growing up in Washington Heights to being inspired by the culture, the music, the fashion, really is woven into the fabric of Luna Magic. Who are the beauty muses of the brand?
MABEL FRIAS: The women that would grow up in our family, they had really specific beauty rituals. We're also inspired by women who forged paths in music, Ivy Queen, up to today you have, you know, Karol G, you have Jennifer Lopez, who's an icon in our industry.
SHAIRA FRIAS: If I would have to say one name that really, really, like, made me notice the beauty of the transformation makeup gives you was Celia Cruz. She was the constant woman that we used to see on TV and growing up, I'm like, oh my God, someone looks like me.
DANA OLIVER: When you were starting Luna Magic, what do you believe was missing from the beauty industry when it comes to Latina representation?
SHAIRA FRIAS: Growing up, I would say that I didn't have a lot of makeup brands to choose from. I usually had to, like, blend a couple of things here and there, take from this brand and take from that brand in order to make my skin not look ashy.
MABEL FRIAS: With the exception of Fenty Beauty who really, like, kind of like changed the game, there weren't really a lot of brands that were speaking to us with a cultural significance, with the fun, with the flirtiness, with the edginess.
DANA OLIVER: Fellow Latina Cardi B wore your makeup during Beauty Con New York City. That was major. How did that level of visibility make you both feel?
MABEL FRIAS: Well, I think what it did for our brand is honestly, it created a lot of legitimacy, particularly with the beauty community, because, you know, beauty editors started opening the conversations because of that moment.
DANA OLIVER: Can you talk about a few of the products and what emotions and experiences they convey to you as Latina women?
MABEL FRIAS: I'll speak to the eyeshadow palette. I mean, aside from it just being a beautiful product and the pigments, it's just when we thought about the creative color names, we went for things that really addressed the pillars of Latin culture. For example, [SPANISH] is a saying that Walter Mercado who was this Puerto Rican astrologer, he would always stay above anything else, I wish you [SPANISH]. And then [SPANISH], because if we ain't blinging, we ain't living. Like [AUDIO OUT] or being part of who we are. We like to shine bright.
SHAIRA FRIAS: Growing up, soap operas in Spanish. You know, that was a staple in the household. So our lashes are named-- have names of two powerful women in the telenovela world, [SPANISH]. And basically, in all of our products, we like to launch products that have some type of Latin wink.
MABEL FRIAS: My sister had this brilliant idea of [SPANISH]-- means beautiful black girl in Spanish. We do have a segment of our customer base that they're not necessarily Latin, but they grew up around the flavor.
SHAIRA FRIAS: The beautiful black girl t-shirt was also to show love towards our own skin color.
DANA OLIVER: Shaira and Mabel, can you complete this sentence for me? My beauty is--
MABEL FRIAS: My beauty is graceful, meaning my beauty is soft. The inside and the outside, for me, is really important.
SHAIRA FRIAS: My beauty is different, unique. What you see now is not what you're going to see tomorrow. My beauty just keeps on evolving.
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