Alternative Brands Lead a Makeup Revolution
The walls of limitation are tumbling down. In the year 2020, “tear down that wall” means the curtain is finally closing on society telling anyone how to look, dress, speak or feel. It’s a great time to spread your colorful wings and show the world your beautiful colors.
You’ve seen her. Maybe she was your bestie who always ignited that surreptitious throb of envy. Perhaps you passed her in the hallway between class, furtively checking her out with a dubious beat of fear and admiration. You wished you looked like her –that strange and subversive glamour. You wanted to ask her how she did her eyeliner, but intimation kept you quiet. Now that you know her, she’s your heroine and your homegirl. She taught you how to wear a cat-eye like a queen and how to get the bad boy and keep him.
Having already collaborated on Bella Dońa, a fashion and accessory line dedicated to LA Street-style, artist/ fashion designer Natalia Durazo and recording artist LaLa Romero knew what was missing from the world of makeup and where they needed to be.
Sweet Street does not merely pay homage to the Chicana aesthetic that emerged and thrives in Southern California. It is a continuance of the legacy to which Durazo, Romero, and hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of women who are the benefactors to the strength, resourcefulness, and creativity of their predecessors.
“For us, it’s really about crediting the neighborhood and the people there — the women who have been doing these things for generations.” LaLa Romero.
“There are so many beauty rituals and nuances that are unique and bond women of color who grew up in the neighborhood,” proclaim the Sweet Street duo. Both Durazo and Romero recall how they learned makeup tips from their mamas, abuelitas, and tias, and encourage young women to scroll through old family albums and rediscover what these remarkable women before them have passed down. “I still use some techniques my mom taught me, like shaping my eyebrows with a double-edged blade,” says Durazo, who also learned some helpful little tricks from her cousins in Mexico, such as utilizing a spoon as a lash curler.
Sweet Street Cosmetics currently has a collection of eyeliners and lip colors in multiple shades, as well as makeup bags available.
Cruelty-free, toxin-free, and free from the constraints of conventional norms, Fluide has forged a path of high-quality gender and boundary-free zone of creativity. Launched in 2019, Fluide was conceived to empower and actualize the expressivity of the non-binary and non-conforming gender landscape.
“I wanted to create Fluide to represent and reflect the diverse identities of today, support their self-expression, and offer an authentic, inclusive brand to an audience hungry for new representations of beauty,” states founder and CEO Laura Kraber.
Ultra-pigmented liquid lipsticks, nourishing lip gloss, and magnificent glitters are the superstars of the collection. Their long-lasting nail polish is also 7-free, meaning it’s free of the seven harmful chemicals typically found in nail polish.
Makeup artist Gloria Noto was not satisfied. Popular professional makeup brands were drowning in chemicals, while an emerging consumer audience desired inclusive products free of gender rigidity. The result is NOTO, a natural, gender-fluid, multi-use line of high-performing organic products that deliver real, customer-reviewed results, and an ethos of giving back to the community. Beauty from the inside out with a commitment to conscious living and meaningful giving.
A skincare brand “for all humans.” NGS™ is a premium range of non-gender specific products that targets the seven most common skincare concerns without the unnecessary complexity and superfluous products of traditional brands. The minimalist approach is both practical, conscientious, and philosophical. A simple daily routine of clean and natural products that eliminates wastefulness while championing individual expression and community cohesion. The result is cult-favorite products that seriously raise the bar of beauty standards and awareness.