FENG SHUI NEWS

There are 21 countries in Latin America, but even more cultures within it that each embrace their own unique beauty rituals. While genetics determine the texture of one’s hair, the shape of their eyes or the tone of their skin, community values really shape the ways that beauty and culture collide in our everyday lives.

A 2016 study by Univision found that Latinas learn about beauty from their moms at a young age, with 66% saying they were told maintaining their appearance is important. That belief may be shared across Latin America, but specific practices vary from country to country.

We spoke to nine people with roots throughout Latin America about the cultural beauty tips they’ve learned from their mamis, papis and extended communities. Here’s what they say keeps their people looking good.

Monica Veloz (Dominican-American), digital influencer

“People in my culture take their appearance very seriously,” Monica Veloz told HuffPost. ”When I go to the Dominican Republic, my entire family, their hair is DONE!”

Growing up in New York City, Veloz visited Dominican salons weekly, admiring the stylists’ commitment to beauty and thinking, “I want to look like this when I get older. I want to look fine every day.”

It has long been customary for Afro-Latinas like Veloz to relax their hair straight, so it took until her mid-20s to be comfortable with her natural texture. She didn’t know anything about makeup until high school. But everything she knows Veloz learned from her mother and aunt, who got her ready for her middle school prom.

“My aunt put mascara on my bottom lashes, my mom gave me blush, and I felt so transformed!”

To this day, Veloz is a makeup minimalist, which she says is common among Dominicanas, but hair remains a big priority.

Carolyn Aronson (Puerto Rican), founder and CEO of It’s a 10 Haircare

Carolyn Aronson’s adopted parents made a conscious effort to connect her to Latin culture, and that’s how she realized that her natural flair for beauty was actually part of her heritage. “The Latin culture did everything just a little bit more,” she said.

When she eventually met her Puerto Rican birth family, Aronson also connected with their love of natural ingredients. “People on the island of Puerto Rico are … very in-tune with nature and keep their ingredients on the healthy side,” she said.

Speaking with her birth mom exposed her to natural Puerto Rican beauty practices. “I got to hear my mother talking about how she uses coconut oil under her eyes,” she said. “They really tend to use ‘straight from the earth’ products for beauty.”

Jamé Jackson (Haitian/Dominican-American), founder of The Blonde Misfit

Jamé Jackson’s Haitian family has a minimalist and natural approach to skin care. “My dad figured everything could be solved with aloe vera, black castor oil or apple cider vinegar,” she said. That approach was passed down to Jackson, who applies aloe vera gel over moisturizer and sprays her hair with homemade rosewater.

According to Jackson, the entire island embraces a more simplistic approach to beauty, especially when it comes to aging. “Beauty means so much there without even trying ― I feel like in America, a lot of it is trying. We’re trying to look young. In the islands, no one’s trying to look younger. We’re just embracing the things that we have and the beauty of that.”

They showed her that “beauty starts from within, then you pair it with color.” She noticed how much Haitians love a loud accent, even with an otherwise plain outfit. To this day, Jackson wears a red lip everywhere.

“Everything is vibrant. When I wear neutrals or brown or beiges, I feel basic. This is not who God called me to be!”

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Julissa Prado (Mexican-American), founder and CEO of Rizos Curls

Julissa Prado’s mother taught her that “there’s nothing more Latino than natural living,” a principle she observed in her predominantly Latin Los Angeles neighborhood. When it came to hair, however, not all natural textures were equally embraced.

“It was the norm not only in my family, but pretty much with all Latinos, that if they had texture in their hair they would straighten it,” Prado said. “The perception that curly hair was not done, that it was messy, was very normal growing up.”

As a result, “I hated my curly hair and I would do the most to straighten it,” she said, even letting her cousin use a clothes iron to stretch out her strands. “My curly hair was like a dirty secret that I didn’t want people to know.”

These days, Prado has let go of negative thoughts about her curls, a journey that started in ninth grade, when she learned about European standards of beauty from future Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrice Cullors. She still believes in the power of plants and turns to aloe vera for skin and scalp issues.

Buffy Hernandez (Belizean-American), freelance makeup artist

When Buffy Hernandez was growing up in Los Angeles, everybody sprayed down their hair with Aquanet. But the women back in Belize had a more natural approach to beauty.

Her aunts’ skin “was always soft ’cause they were always moisturizing. One used apple cider vinegar to tighten and remove dark spots and blemishes and breakouts. And coconut oil,” she said.

Hernandez also remembers how most of the women had a simple routine of a little lipstick or gloss, a spritz of Elizabeth Arden and cold cream. Hernandez’s own mother, however, taught her how to use red lipstick and it remains a staple in her makeup kit to this day.

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Joseph Carillo (Mexican-American), celebrity makeup artist/face sculptor

Joseph Carillo got his love of makeup from his mom, who to this day still wears a black smoky eye everywhere. And his love of fragrance comes from his dad, who was big on cologne. Outside of his parents, though, his Mexican family didn’t embrace a lot of makeup.

“My other three aunts wore tinted moisturizer and mascara. Super simple ladies. I think my mother was always just wanting to be more guapa or pretty. She was that girl,” he said.

Growing up in El Paso, Texas, he was surrounded by Mexican culture and looked for glamour inspiration to TV stars like Aracely Aràmbula ― whose character on the Mexican telenovela ”Soñadoras” rocked red, crimped pigtails with bold lips ― as well as Cuban-American Daisy Fuentes, one of few Latinas represented on American TV in the ’90s. When comparing Arambula’s attention-grabbing look to what he usually saw on American television, Carillo said: “It was just so bold!”

“Using bold color is definitely part of our heritage. I’m not afraid to do a bold lip color,” he said.

Rosi Ross (Venezuelan), founder of Ni-Hao Babe

Venezuela is well known for producing beauty pageant winners. “We look for women who are beautiful inside and out,” said Rosi Ross. “If you check the background of Miss Universe, they are not just beautiful outside.”

Still, there’s a cultural expectation that one must always leave the house well dressed with their hair done, no matter what, Ross said. “You need to look good even if you are going to the 7-Eleven.”

In Ross’ family, beauty was seen as empowering, with their grandmother preaching to always look your best because “the first time people talk to you, they’re going to remember.”

In Venezuela, beauty is also seen as holistic, and even though people like Ross appreciate over-the-counter products with active ingredients like The Ordinary Buffet, they also love natural ingredients such as sugar and honey to hydrate the skin, and cinnamon to brighten the skin.

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Giovanna Campagna (Colombian-American), founder of Joaquina Botanica

Giovanna Campagna’s Colombian mami taught her that one should “take joy and pride in putting aside time for yourself,” including hair, skin and nails. Campagna believes that this attitude is key to lifelong beauty and that “by putting in just little bits of time into nurturing your beauty and your skin, over time it adds up to aging really gracefully and aging well.”

Colombians love natural ingredients like honey, calendula oil and rosewater, Campagna said. While they value consentida, or pampering, Colombians are careful to not overdo it when it comes to aggressive peels, treatments or facials.

“There isn’t that much of a facial culture like we see here in the states,” Campagna said. Older women in Campagna’s family, like her late centenarian great aunt, taught her a “less is more” approach to beauty, relying on gentle nurturing care for the skin, including a gentle cleanser and moisturizer to feel great at every stage of life.

Amanda Walker (Brazilian-American), beauty content creator

“Brazilian people, as a culture, are my definition of beauty,” said Amanda Walker, who inherited her people’s love of natural ingredients like avocado oil and making hair treatments using papaya, banana, coconut oil, eggs, yogurt, avocado and aloe vera.

She also pointed out Brazilians’ affinity for cleanliness. “They take multiple showers, they’re always clean, always smelling good and looking fresh,” and have well-groomed hair, she said.

As a content creator, Walker inspires women to embrace and care for their natural curls ― a feature she says is often stigmatized in society, especially Latin culture. Her Afro-Indigenous mom taught her about natural and inner beauty, and now Walker influences her mom to lean into natural hair.

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One more alarm clock likely off and one particular more day of work forward. With all the conclusions you are about to make, would not it be terrific if you presently realized what you had been going to don? And, even greater, if you realized it was anything that’d be entirely comfy and flattering?

Of program, lots of careers require a uniform, but there are loads of other workplaces that make it possible for workforce to put on what ever they want (or whichever aligns with the corporate costume code). No matter whether you devote your days in a classroom, a kitchen area, an office environment, a co-performing place or just your neighborhood coffee store, this may well be the excellent time to generate a operate uniform.

Very first, banish all ideas of the bleak uniforms adopted by Steve Positions or Elizabeth Holmes. You don’t require to have on a black Issey Miyake turtleneck each individual day of the 12 months. But you do want to feel about what simple components you like to dress in and sense excellent in. If there’s a blouse you adore and always get compliments on, why not acquire 1 in every shade? If you have lastly identified a pair of pants you do not want to pull off the moment you get property, obtain a couple of pairs and start carrying them each working day. The uniform doesn’t want to be restrictive, but it does will need to fit you correctly.

“I’m normally professional-uniform due to the fact it is like branding oneself to make your everyday living easier,” explained Amanda Sanders, a trend marketing consultant and personal shopper. “Personally, I’m a wrap costume type of girl, and it’s the go-to item that would make me feel pulled jointly and trendy when I need to get out of the doorway when dealing with young ones and chaos. Investing in vintage items that will not go out of type and can be worn for numerous occasions, both in and out of the household, can incorporate versatility to any wardrobe.”

Stylist Rima Vaidila said “developing a capsule wardrobe is a need to-do.”

“Getting a powerful selection of critical, large-excellent pieces as the ‘base’ for your closet is the smartest factor hectic persons can do,” she reported. “Most people today presently do this subconsciously, so you may well as properly lean into it.”

However on the fence? Take into consideration what the gurus say.

Explanation 1: Less decisions indicates much less anxiety

There’s a modern day phenomenon experts simply call selection overload, and it helps make us quite sad. Whilst we think we want loads and lots of alternatives, it turns out that when we get what we say we want — hello, jam-packed closet and overflowing shoe selection — we have a more difficult time creating any conclusion at all, and we’re a lot more probable to truly feel like we’ve manufactured the erroneous one particular. If you are looking for methods to decrease anxiety in your life, doing away with the “what ought to I don?” problem could be a excellent spot to begin.

Reason 2: You can be at ease all the time

You can make a decision to wear only outfits that helps make you experience great and glimpse superior.

“Before the pandemic, most of us considered workwear as its own category — a thing you adjusted out of the instant you get property,” reported Karen Lee, co-founder of Lezé The Label, a line of sustainable workwear created from recycled elements. “We felt we essential to be rigid and awkward to seem professional. Because of the pandemic, individuals realized they can get things completed in sweatpants. Now we’re on the lookout for comfort and versatility in garments that can be worn in and out of the office. So actually, I come to feel that the concept of workwear has transformed, and I’m not mad about it.”

Sanders suggested buying some “super-chic nonetheless deceptively comfy items, these as button-ups or cardigans.”

“There’s no require to jump straight into rigid pencil skirts and thick, sweat-inducing button-downs,” she claimed.

Rationale 3: Minimalism signifies flexibility

Picture a lifetime no cost of all those people outfits you “might” put on sometime. In his e-book “Goodbye, Points: The New Japanese Minimalism,” Fumio Sasaki writes, “We really do not need to have to have a good deal of clothing to are living a clean, snug life. While other folks could like to range their seems, there is a stylishness to carrying the similar outfits that are best for us and working with them as a sort of personal uniform. Although some individuals may possibly choose you if you are often wearing the same design, I think that will ultimately grow to be a factor of the past.”

Rationale 4: You can help you save income AND time

Forget rapidly fashion and the way supposedly “cheap” dresses finish up wreaking havoc on your finances. When you adhere with traditional goods you can use again and again, you can conserve you a tidy sum. And when you get rid of the attempt-on, take-off, test-again cycle of purchasing and dressing, you’ll have hundreds a lot more time to aim on what issues most to you: your wonderful new function concept, some cuddles with the young ones or even just a different round on the snooze button.

“You want to take into consideration the principles,” stated stylist Nikki Steele. “Consider acquiring a thoroughly clean pair of straight denim, a straight pair of black, navy or brown trouser pants, a straight knee-length skirt in black or navy, a white button-down blouse, a person blazer or cardigan in black or navy and a person in your preferred brilliant shade, and pairs of loafers, slides and heels.”

But, of class, if your plan of ease and comfort doesn’t jive with these unique items, replace them with regardless of what is most proper for you.

Wardrobe stylist Ann Marshik famous that men and women have been dressing much more casually because the commence of the pandemic, so a good operate uniform may consist of “denim and a shirt or T-shirt with an oversize blazer or shorts. Right after get the job done, you can toss that blazer and be all set for a wander or bike trip.”

“Once you obtain that uniform and continue to keep to it, it actually does make points a lot easier,” she stated.

“My North Star is usually how an product of clothes helps make you sense, due to the fact if you sense superior, you can do good get the job done,” Lee reported.

She instructed inquiring your self a number of questions right before deciding if an item is uniform-worthy: “First, check with if you can go to an all-you-can-consume meal in it? If the remedy is yes, then you can probably sit at your desk all working day with no irritation or constraints.”

Upcoming, she recommended, believe about how purposeful the garment is and how quick it’ll be to retain it in very good issue.

“Can you transfer in it? Sweat in it? Roll about in it?” Lee requested, noting that you ought to take into account the particulars of your day-to-day, like whether your task necessitates you to vacation, give displays or chase immediately after youngsters. “Make confident your garments are high-undertaking to match your way of life. Seem for fabric which is stretchy for adaptability, but also rather structured, so you can appear polished.”

“Finally, take into consideration how effortless it will be to care for the garment,” she claimed. “Whether you are a freelancer, company builder or mother extraordinaire, you are chaotic. Glimpse for garments that are machine-washable and do not need dry-cleaning.”

Some stylists propose limiting by yourself to just a handful of fundamental items for your uniform, but that does not mean your glance has to be tedious.

“Of system a operate uniform is incredibly useful, and you should have go-to’s if you truly feel grumpy one particular morning and do not want to believe,” reported stylist Julia von Boehm. “But the appears should really not be repetitive or monotone, and they need to each and every perform on their very own.”

Steele mentioned enjoyable accessories can support you prevent that dreaded “monotone.”

“Pop on that bracelet or earrings in your most loved shade, and match them with a pair of pleasurable-colored shoes and purse,” she explained. “If you function in a far more conservative industry, put on colorful socks that you can notice when you cross your legs. It will make you smile, even if you’re just sitting down at dwelling on Zoom assembly.”

“I’d advise executing a couple take a look at runs of your uniform thoughts to see what works for you,” Vaidila reported. “Think about your preferred get the job done appear and use a few iterations of that combo for a week or so to check it out. At the time you decide on your uniform combo, it is 1,000% well worth investing in superior-good quality items and next the care labels to assure they very last.”

Finally, don’t stress about placing you up for a summons from the style law enforcement.

“One of my type guidelines I share with my purchasers is: If you like an outfit and how it can make you come to feel, then place it on repeat,” Steele stated. “No 1 will detect, because most persons are also worried about themselves to give it a second imagined. Feel of your very last Zoom connect with or in-human being assembly and test to don’t forget what anybody was putting on. You almost certainly don’t remember, but you do remember if an individual appeared self-confident and had their act together, and which is what a great outfit can assistance you do.”