Pretty Well Beauty's Jazmin Alvarez on Creating a Space for Clean Beauty Entrepreneurs
Lori Cannava Pretty Well Beauty’s Jazmin Alvarez on Her Clean Beauty Journey
For as long as she can remember, beauty has always been a part of Jazmin Alvarez's life. The Pretty Well Beauty founder grew up in salons with her hairstylist mother, who helped foster her love of beauty from a young age, while also trying to guide her in a more natural direction.
"[My mom] always said, 'natural was best, less is more.' I thought that she didn't know what she was talking about, but of course, she was right, it just took me a long time to figure that out," Alvarez shares with People Chica.
Years later, her mother's wisdom still rang true when she found herself working in the fashion industry with access to some of the best skin care products on the market, yet battling against stubborn acne.
"I reached a point where I wanted to start from scratch and get rid of everything, and that's what led me towards clean beauty," she admits.
Lori Cannava Pretty Well Beauty’s Jazmin Alvarez on Her Clean Beauty Journey
Inspired by her own journey of discovering clean products, Alvarez created an online platform to serve as a retail hub for new, exciting brands that meet her strict criteria.
"I looked at what a lot of the other retailers who sell clean beauty standards are and the kind of things that they allow versus what they don't allow, but I wanted to go a couple of notches ahead of that," she explains.
"Consumers are becoming more savvy and more educated, now more than ever. Pretty Well Beauty is a place where you can find some of the cleanest brands on the planet, and most of them you probably haven't heard of before, so you get to discover something new," Alvarez notes.
Recently, Alvarez launched her first brick-and-mortar store in New York City, where you can find a selection of hair care, skin care, makeup, and more, including the following Latina-founded brands we're highlighting below.
Lori Cannava Pretty Well Beauty’s Jazmin Alvarez on Her Clean Beauty Journey
Tierra & Lava
Inspired by Mayan healing practices, Lucy Ashman combined Central American wisdom with her background as a botanical alchemist to create skin care products that are wholly ethical, from the ingredients within to ensuring everyone involved makes a living wage.
Tierra & Lava, products start at $18, prettywellbeauty.com
Axiology
Meet Balmies, the first plastic-free, multi-use crayon created by Ericka Rodriguez to tackle the makeup industry's waste problem. Just a few swipes of the product will add color to your face with no need for plastic packaging.
Axiology, products start at $15, prettywellbeauty.com
Anima Mundi
While based in Brooklyn, Adriana Ayales' brand is inspired by her native Costa Rica. Her herbal remedies fuse the healing power of the rainforest, Ayurveda, Chinese-Daoist Medicine, and European-style alchemy.
Anima Mundi, products start at $14, prettywellbeauty.com
