Gabriela Trujillo is the CEO and founder of Alamar Cosmetics, a 2-year-old brand that is already making waves in the beauty industry. For our column UNTOLD, she is sharing how the company celebrates both aspects of her culture, her American upbringing and her Latinx heritage. This story was told to Jessica Harrington and edited for length and clarity.
I was born in Cuba and my family immigrated to the United States when I was about three years old. So, I grew up with a very Cuban-Hispanic influence in a predominantly Cuban neighborhood in Miami. I got into makeup through my mom. She became an aesthetician when she got here, and I think that's what sparked my interest in beauty. After I graduated high school, I attempted to go to college but it wasn't for me, so my mom gave me permission to stop and pursue makeup full-time. I went to cosmetology school, and then that's what started my career as a makeup artist.
It was always my dream to work for myself and to have something that was my own, but I just didn't see how that would be possible. Then I thought, I can actually create a product and I can create a brand and create a story. Through work, I got to know other indie brands that were emerging, and that really inspired me because I was like, Wow, these are women just like me. A lot of them were women of color. So, I invested all of my savings into creating my very first makeup palette and that's how it all started.
It's been an amazing two years — very fun, but also very scary because I've just been learning everything as I go. I started the company by myself and with the help of my fiancé, but it's been nothing but growth for us. We've been growing every step of the way, so I'm happy about that.
Image Source: Alamar Cosmetics
I think the connection we have with our audience definitely makes us unique. We are very, very involved and connected with our community and we really use our audience as a focus group for what we create. I'm like, "Hey guys, I'm working on this highlighter. Do you think I should make it this undertone or this?" so by the time the product comes out, they're already excited and invested.
I think that Latinx people, like my mom, and my grandma, and my tias, they're all very what we call "presumida" — they really love to look good and are conscious of their appearance. They love makeup. They love hair. My grandma's well in her 80s and she always has blush and lipstick on — it never fails. So, I'm very inspired by the way they do their makeup. And then I also pull a lot of inspiration from the landscapes and colors that are prominent in my culture. I named a lot of my shades in my palettes after dances or drinks. I have a shade called Mojito; I have a shade called Rumbera. They're all things that come from the inspiration of my culture.
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Image Source: Alamar Cosmetics
For my latest launch, the Spanglish Collection, the color story that I chose is very Miami. Those pastel Miami Vice colors are a lot of pinks and blues, but I wanted to put a twist on that and I decided to go with purples and oranges. I wanted to celebrate both of my cultures: my American culture and my Latinx culture, and how they complement each other so well, but they're completely different.
There was this program that most of our parents used to learn English called Ingles Sin Barrera and they had these really cheesy commercials, and we just absolutely loved it. So, I really wanted to bring in that early-2000s, late '90s vibe when there was a lot of immigration over here. My family came around that time — it was like a big Latin boom in the United States, and we wanted to celebrate that.
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Image Source: Alamar Cosmetics
For me, doing my makeup and my hair is a form of self-care, because I'm stopping to take care of myself, to dedicate time to pour back into myself. I just love doing my makeup and my hair because it elevates my mood; it gets me excited. I get to put on music while I do it and get in my zone, and I think that's what self-care really is. It's just drowning out the noise and just giving love back into yourself so that you can feel your best, so you can feel taken care of, and that way you can just be better to the people around you.
