A Richer Palette for Beauty

It used to be that cosmetics companies catered solely to the peaches-and-cream crowd--the rosy-cheeked girls with complexions like Dutch bisque. Coral blush, American-beauty red lipsticks, pink as far as the eye-linered eye could see.

Those days are over. Any makeup company that wants to stay in business knows porcelain skin isn’t the beauty standard. Never was. But now the wake-up call has been sounded: Black, brown and olive skin tones need their own makeup formulations.

Nobody understands that better than women of color, who for decades have gone wanting for foundations and powders to call their own, eye shadow and lipstick colors to match a rich spectrum of burnished skin tones. Black isn’t only beautiful, it’s now a powerful economic incentive. Ditto for Latino and American Indian, and East Indian and Asian.

Enter Ella Cosmetics, a company poised to cater to the Latina. Ella’s line includes lipstick, foundation, pan sticks, eyeliner, lip liner, mascara, eye shadow and nail polish--in a vivid palette of colors--and is intended to complement Latina skin tones.

Owner Elizabeth Bartolo, of Cuban descent, only recently launched her line on the Internet (https://www.ellacosmetics.com) but already is enjoying the buzz of an international community hungry for such cosmetics. Ella (pronounced AY-yah; Spanish for “she”), Bartolo says, is speaking directly to Latinas.

“When a Hispanic woman walks into Bobbi Brown or MAC, [she has] to wade through all this other stuff that’s made for the Anglo American woman--the pinks, the oranges, the pastels,” says Bartolo of Pembroke Pines, Fla. “With Ella, you don’t have to wade through all the ‘white’ stuff. We know who you are. We know your skin. We speak your language.”

Bartolo acknowledges that big companies such as Cover Girl and Revlon have created shades for black and Latina skin tones. But those colors are lost in the overall (and huge) product lines that want to be all things to all people.

“It would seem to me that it would be more beneficial to have a specific Latina line instead of a segment within the entire line,” Bartolo says.

So she got busy. A professional makeup artist with the Florida Grand Opera, Bartolo realized there was a need in her community for cosmetics for tropical skin. Latina skin--with its yellow undertone, penchant for discoloration, and potential for oil buildup and acne damage--was being ignored by major cosmetics companies, she says.

Besides skin refiners and toners, Ella’s skin collection also features an oil-control mattifier as well as foundations and powders to even out skin tone or conceal spots. Ella’s lipsticks come in bright and dark shades with juicy (and fun) names such as Macarena, Caliente, Jalapeno, Guapa, Adobe, Chica, Mambi and Chismosa. Eye shadows go by Siesta, Cinco de Mayo, Mi Tierra and Noche Buena, to name a few. Even the pan sticks carry in-the-know names such as Trigo, Yuca, Flan, Dulce and Maduro.

Bartolo says Latinas no longer have to want to look like white girls; embracing and celebrating cultural identity is in. The Latina look is hot and sexy. And Latino buying power has never been stronger. The purchasing power of U.S. Latinos is expected to reach $348 billion this year, up 65% from 1990, when it totaled $211 billion. Studies also show that Hispanic women in the United States spend 43% more on fragrance products and 27% more on personal-care products than non-Hispanics.

“When immigrants came to this country, they were dyeing their hair blond and trying to assimilate into the white culture,” Bartolo says. “And now it’s the opposite. Latin women want to show their flavor. Ella captures that by allowing the Hispanic woman to look Hispanic.”

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The 25-year-old Bartolo says her relatives act as quality control for Ella’s Latina spirit.

“They will tell you straight up what they like and what they don’t like,” Bartolo says, laughing. “My mother will tell me, ‘No, this is too gringa! Don’t do that!’ It’s a huge support team. The honesty is wonderful. It keeps us grounded.”

Ella’s Web site promotes that honesty too, with a community atmosphere where Latinas can learn about makeup and share ideas. The site, in Spanish and English, plans to provide a forum for user questions, and offer Q&As; and live chats.

Best of all, Ella’s prices are competitive: $8 for lip crayons; $11 for lipsticks and eye shadow; $19 for pan-stick foundation; and $21 for powder foundation.

Is Bartolo destined to be the Latino Estee Lauder? She’s already sounding confident.

“We’re going to stand up and we’re going to be noticed,” she said. “We’re going to play in the same market as Bobbi Brown or MAC or Shiseido.”