Lianna Albrizio, Assistant Editor10.16.23
Mexico-born Esmeralda Hernandez was a child when she emigrated to the US with her mother in search of the American Dream. Nearly two decades later, Hernandez is the CEO of Beauty Creations, a cosmetics company priding itself on high-quality, affordable cosmetics.
On track to hit $60 million in sales by year’s end, Beauty Creations recently acquired a new facility in Santa Fe Springs, CA that is equipped with test labs and a state-of-the-art distribution facility. The new space will enable in-house manufacturing and serve as the headquarters for its growing operations.
In addition to its online presence, Beauty Creations opened two retail stores in Southern California (in the Cerritos and Del Amo malls). Next year, more stores will open, the first in Texas.
Happi had the chance to chat with Hernandez about her brand and her personal story.
Happi: Tell me about your upbringing and your first experience with makeup.
Hernandez: I was born in Mexico and I came to this country when I was 9 years old. My mom was a single parent. At the beginning, it was really hard because I didn’t know the language. Where I used to go to school, they didn’t have any bilingual classes or anything like that. Growing up, I used to help my mom at garage sales, and I would buy Barbies on Saturdays and then I would fix them up and sell them the next day. That’s how I started with the business background. Later, I sold perfumes, lotions and hair items. In 2016, at 18, I created my own hair line. We sold hair strengtheners and hair curlers and decided to open a store. I also wanted to start selling cosmetics. Back then, the brands were black and not as pretty. This was an open door for us to create something really cute. And that’s how Beauty Creations started. We started with the whole pink packaging—cute, affordable and good quality.
Happi: Did you have any expectations going in and did you exceed them?
Hernandez: For sure. I think one of the biggest things for me was to create something affordable and good quality. My mom was a single mom. So going into MAC and buying a lipstick was the dream. I had to save [money] so many weeks just to go buy a lipstick. Sometimes we spent $18 on a lipstick. Back in 2015, when I was going to high school it was really hard. It was either a pair of jeans or a lipstick. So when I created Beauty Creations, I wanted to do something affordable and we’ve been really successful with that. The packaging is amazing and the quality is really good. Seven years later, we’re in 40 countries.
Happi: One of Beauty Creations’ best-selling products is the lip plumper. What would you say sets it apart from other competitors like Too Faced or Victoria’s Secret?
Hernandez: I was looking through my TikTok and I saw this video of our lip plumper and it was like “this really, really works.” It’s infused with vitamin C. It’s [packaged as] a syringe and it’s only $7. It tingles a little bit, but it doesn’t bother lips or feel uncomfortable. We have eight different colors. They’re doing so amazing that we have customers asking for nudes, and I know that’s the new trend. Everyone’s looking for those fall colors. It’s very soft and feminine and pleasant.
Happi: You leverage social media platforms like TikTok to help sell the products. How do you reach prospective customers?
Hernandez: Social media has been everything for us. When we started, social media was something that was growing and I feel like we grew with those platforms. TikTok is so fast paced that it’s something the customers are getting really used to. For us, influencers have worked so much. When we started, we didn’t have the budget to create a million-dollar campaign. So social media has been a game-changer at impacting our business.
Happi: Your tagline is “Own your beauty.” What does that mean?
Hernandez: You can literally be or feel any kind of way but you’re still beautiful. You don’t have to have perfect skin. Everybody has their imperfections, but we have to own our beauty.
Happi: You have a skincare collection that is a nine-piece set. Walk me through it. I know it comes with a moisturizing cream, serum and makeup wipes.
Happi: Tell me about the Body Glow Bundle.
Hernandez: We were working on that for over two years, because we didn’t want the formula to be sticky. It’s one of our top-sellers. Our top-seller is our lip plumper and the body oil. It comes with a big brush. The body oil contains vitamin E and jojoba oil. It has a scent, but it’s really light and a shimmer.
Happi: To shift gears to color cosmetics, Beauty Creations carries a Snatchural Bundle.
Hernandez: It’s a collection of three to contour or “snatch” your face. One being all correctors and the other two is light-to-medium and medium-to-dark.
Happi: In your social media videos, does the brand provide pointers on how contouring is done?
Hernandez: We have a filter that shows you where on your face to contour. One of the trends is educating the customer on how to use the items and where to use them. We’re going to kick-off a new series soon with our global makeup artist. She’s going to start doing lives every week and showing previews of new collections and tips and tricks for social media.
Happi: What does Hispanic Heritage Month mean to you?
Hernandez: For me, it’s such a cool thing to see that this country gives us the opportunity to really dream and I feel like as Latinos we’re growing and this is literally our new home.