Alamar Cosmetics founder Gabriela Trujillo on creating a brand that celebrates her Cuban roots

Gabriela wanted to create a beauty brand that personified her connection to the people of Cuba.

Video Transcript

NURYS CASTILLO: What is up, mi gente? I'm Nurys, and this is Accidental Beauty Blogger At Home Edition.

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I am super excited because, today, I'm joined by Gabriela Trujillo, founder of Alamar Cosmetics. She's here to talk about her amazing brand, and also show us the simple, bronzy makeup look to rock.

Hi, Gabriela. I really want to get started with Alamar Cosmetics. I want to know, how did the idea come to life? Like, how did you start?

GABRIELA TRUJILLO: I dropped out of college to pursue makeup artistry. I invested all of my savings into starting a brand, and I named it Alamar after where I was born in Cuba. The actual word means stay close to the sea, like, Alamar, stay close to the sea, and I love that. I was like, to me, I'm like, oh, that seems like stay close to your culture. Stay close to your roots. Like, stay close to what makes you unique. Like, it really resonated with me. I'm like, this is the name.

So we have a really, really amazing product. Our bronzing trios, our complexion trios. The powders have hyaluronic acid in them. It's a humectant ingredient, so it, like, forces your skin to retain moisture. So that you don't look dry. You don't look patchy. We're gonna start with the middle shade. Mine is called pale wear. I think yours is called soltera?

NURYS CASTILLO: Soltera.

GABRIELA TRUJILLO: [SPEAKING SPANISH]

And then I like to, kind of, go, like, where my ear starts, like, at the top of my ear. And I put my brush down, and I start to wiggle it around. So that it deposits the color. And then you'll see that, like, a warm shadow will, kind of, start to come out, and that's when you see, like, oh, your cheekbone's starting to pop.

What I like to do with this brush is I go into the highlighter shade. I'm gonna write in what I didn't bronze, so, like, under my eyes. Where you want this area to be nice and bright and smooth.

I'm telling you, like, since there's so much hyaluronic acid in the powders it never looks powdery. Like, it'll look smooth.

NURYS CASTILLO: I even see a little shine in there.

GABRIELA TRUJILLO: Yeah, yeah, yeah, they have a little bit of a reflective shine. By the time I decided to make a makeup brand out there, there was millions of makeup brands. I was really inspired by black-owned brands, and I saw, like, the reaction of their communities.

The women were so excited. They were, like, wow, these are, you know, colors that match me. Names that have to do with, you know-- so I was like, damn, I want to offer that to the Latina community. So that they can have things where they're like, oh my god, my grandma says that, or-- You know, things like that, where it just makes you feel so connected and excited to reach for it.

So this one is called our Reina del Caribe volume two palette. This one's all inspired by Cuban nightlife. We're gonna make it very bronzy and beachy, so we're gonna go with my go-to shade. And it is Tumbao, right here.

And you see a little water droplet next to the name. That means you should use it wet. In the back, we have a little key. And the ones that have the moon, you should use dry.

I'm gonna go in with Tumbao, and I like to just look down into the mirror. And I just start placing it on my lid. And then you'd-- I like to blow it out, like this. Like, on my outer corner since we're only gonna use the shade.

Go back into my bronzer brush that I use, and I go into Tumbao. I know it sounds risky but trust me. Then I apply this, like, in a circular motion from my eye to my cheeks. Because I want that bronze.

That's the J-Lo secret.

NURYS CASTILLO: She's-- She's my everything.

GABRIELA TRUJILLO: Oh my God. That's my makeup-- makeup inspiration. If you have a brush that's kind of flat, this is one of ours. It's the Ojitos One brush. Go straight with the angle, like, the hard angle into the shade Damas and a little bit into the black. And I want to stamp this over my lashes as kind of, like, a fake eyeliner.

And then go into the shade Damas again and take that flat brush, and put it right against your lower lash line.

NURYS CASTILLO: I do love a lower lash eyeshadow.

GABRIELA TRUJILLO: Me too. I love it.

NURYS CASTILLO: Lips, we're ready for lips.

GABRIELA TRUJILLO: This is our newest one. It's called Birthday Suit. It's, like, we launched it for our two-year anniversary. So I like to start at my cupid's bow, which is the center part of your lip right here. Go a little bit over so-- Yeah.

I like to go up from the center and a little bit over.

NURYS CASTILLO: Who needs lip injections when you have an amazing lip liner?

GABRIELA TRUJILLO: That is facts. You are rocking with Mami Spice Gloss.

NURYS CASTILLO: I sure am.

GABRIELA TRUJILLO: And then the one I'm gonna use is called Birthday Suit. One side is, like, a silicone. I don't know if you could tell, but it's, like, a silicone side. That has, like, where all the product is.

And then the other side is, like, a sponge to help you spread it. So I'm going to put it down first with the silicone side. So, like, deposit the color, and then, with the sponge side, just lift it up.

And these are long-wear glosses. Our slogan is, here for a good time and a long time. Because, like, they thick, and they stick.

NURYS CASTILLO: Sometimes people can get all three. Which one would you pick as your ultimate must-have?

GABRIELA TRUJILLO: The bronzer palette is my ultimate-- the bronzer palette is my ultimate must-have because we have it in three color ways. If you're fair-light, medium-tan, dark-rich, they're amazing-- amazing bronzers. And you could really change the shape of your face with the dimension and the highlighting.

NURYS CASTILLO: Please let everybody know where they can find you and Alamar Cosmetics.

GABRIELA TRUJILLO: So you can find me, personally, on my Instagram. It's GABBYTMUA. And then, the Alamar account, we are ALAMARCOSMETICS everywhere on TikTok, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

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