Sometimes, contouring is all you need.

I love makeup. (Obviously.) And I buy a lot of it and have tested so many different products. But I’m also a new mom and running a small business (Jefa vibes), so I’m perpetually on the go. It is impractical for me to bring all my makeup with me everywhere I go, so I rely on a small makeup bag that I can toss in my purse.  The powerhouse in this makeup bag?  Our On Your Face Contour + Color Trio in Coqueta.  I created this multi-use palette to do full contour makeup, get a quick but radiant glow up, or just add a dash of color to your eyes. 

If I have 5 minutes to spare, I love doing full contour makeup - adding our bronzer to the forehead, down the nose and along the jawline.  I always tell people, the goal here is to enhance your natural bone structure and create depth. Make sure to blend really well. Add touches of our blush and champagne highlighter to strategic areas where you want your cheekbones or tip of your nose to look lifted and pop.  Our formula is super velvety and melts into your skin.  When I don’t have time to do full contour makeup, I swirl the three colors in this palette and blend out on the perimeter of my face; add a touch of the highlighter on my eyelids; put a swipe of lip gloss on and get on with my day.   

Best of all, I love this palette, because when I travel light, it is often the only palette I need to bring with me to cover all my bases.

A makeup bag for makeup hoarders.

Yes, I’m a makeup hoarder. An addict really. I always have been. Building this brand is my natural calling, and when I decided to abandon law to do it, exactly zero people were surprised. I also hoard makeup bags, I cannot have enough of them (currently at 52 and counting!) Yes, they keep my different collections of makeup brushes, red lipsticks, lip glosses, and eyeliners organized, but also, they keep my chargers, pencils, baby’s pacifiers, and other small items contained.  I also like to have lipstick options when I travel, and I tend to bring a full set of lipsticks and some extras just in case.  (Despite what I have said, I don’t just wear red lipstick or nude lipstick.)  My makeup deserves a stylish home when I’m on the road, so I never leave home or hotel room without my makeup bag. And, I get tons of compliments on it - people have stopped me in restaurants and airports when I have pulled it out of my work bag or purse.  Our makeup bag  - La Bolsa - is super luxe: red ultra-suede, with our Chica patch on the outside, lined in our signature rosas pattern, and has a sturdy gold zipper.  I designed it to pair perfectly with our makeup brush set - Las Brochas - and all the other items in our collection. When it is closed, it looks deceivingly compact, but it holds 24 (yes, you read that right) lipsticks.   What did I tell you? I’m a makeup hoarder. But an organized one.  I tested tons of different shapes and sizes before coming up with this version of our signature makeup bag, and I love this shape because it sits on your desk and has enough structure to keep all your items contained but accessible. Finally, it can take a beating, so it is one of my favorite investment pieces in our collection, and I promise you will get so much mileage (and so many compliments) out of it.

The secret workhorse of our makeup bag: nude lipsticks.

If you thought finding the perfect shade of red lipstick was hard, try finding the perfect shade of nude lipstick!  I was always obsessed with how basic but simple the right shade of nude lipstick looks on.  Unfortunately, most shades of nude lipstick I used over the years washed me out.  We test our customized nude lipstick shades on women of all ages and skin tones for an entire year before we put any shades into production. I personally will wear any shade of nude we are developing for months and see how it looks in different light and how it pairs with a range of makeup looks.  The end result (so far- we are constantly working on new nude lipstick shades) is four of our most popular shades: Our Bold Lip Color Sticks in La Jefa and Alma Desnuda - two very different but ultra-flattering nude lipsticks.  And, for those that prefer a nude lip gloss look: our easy-to-wear (and tasty!)  Lip Brilliances in Virgencita and Bomba.  All four of these nude options are highly-pigmented and specifically created to accentuate a range of skin tones.  And while some shades of nude lipstick only really work if you do a full face of makeup, paired with a smokey eye makeup look - our nude lipsticks will stand on their own or can pair beautifully with a colorful winged eyeliner or just swipe of mascara.   Nude lipstick should be easy to wear and ours definitely accommodates a range of makeup looks - it is the workhorse in our makeup bag and will be in yours too.

Why I love wearing makeup.

Whether I am masked up or I’m home in my sweats: more than likely I have some makeup on, if not a full swipe of Brava, our signature red lipstick. I’ve always been this way, I used to glamorize my mother as she put on makeup—also red lipstick, I learned from the best—for parties in Mexico. She was as glamorous as any telenovela star, and I wanted to be just like her.  In fact, I used to sneak off with her red lipstick and her lip gloss all the time.  I remember the first time I wore red lipstick out in real life -  it was a truly transformative experience.  It instantly made me feel more self-confident and polished.  It’s like all those industry studies show, there is actually a real thing called “The Lipstick Effect,” which shows that red lipstick, lip gloss, pink lipstick, purple lipstick - doesn’t matter, they all can boost self confidence. I would definitely argue though that much like the Lipstick Effect, there is also a “winged eyeliner effect” and a “contour makeup effect” - which is why I love wearing makeup. 

When in doubt: red lipstick & winged eyeliner.

While I’m not a minimalist when it comes to makeup, if I’m pressed for time, I rely on two staple tricks, the “magic” combo: red lipstick and winged eyeliner.  These two have the most high-impact payoff in any look: they manage to make you look more awake and polished in minutes.  For the red lipstick, I absolutely love our award-winning Bold Lip Color Stick in Brava.  After struggling to find a red lipstick that checked all my boxes, I decided to create my own.  Our red lipstick shade looks beautiful on every skin tone and will add serious Reina Rebelde energy to your day.  We have sold thousands of tubes, and I have yet to meet anyone who did not love this particular shade of red lipstick and the mood boost it creates.  Yes, nude lipstick is stunning and has its place (more on that later) but red lipstick is a one-swipe miracle worker. 

For the winged eyeliner, I created our award-winning Rebel Eye Definer Liquid eyeliner formula. I was personally frustrated by the lack of pigment in so many of the products I used to wear. I wanted intense, long wearing color for my winged eyeliner.  Our formula is extremely opaque, highly pigmented and water resistant.  If you like a classic winged eyeliner (or cat eye makeup) our Zapatista shade in the blackest black around and will be your go-to.  But,  I’m also a big fan of trying different pops of color, especially with something like a winged eyeliner which will accentuate but not dominate your look.  Our Bonita Bandera blue or our Chiflada green shades are my two favorite ways to incorporate something unexpected into my makeup routine.