Luna Magic is a beauty product brand that sells a line of bright and vivid makeup inspired by Latin American and Caribbean cultures. The small business was started by Mabel and Shaira Frias after they noticed that the culture of Latin America was mostly ignored in the make-up industry. Both sisters were Dominican-American and wanted to use their brand to reconnect with their culture.
The concept behind the product line itself was to introduce bold colors and diversity to the beauty industry. Before starting their business, Shaira was already an entrepreneur, also working as a make-up artist with a degree in the field. On the other hand, Mabel had more experience in digital strategy in the fashion industry. She’d worked with famous makeup companies in the past like Fenty and Macy’s.
The two had named the business after their mother, who’d wanted to start a make-up business herself. Right after starting their business, they’d managed to get the Glossier Grant, which was mainly aimed at supporting black-owned beauty businesses.
Luna Magic itself offered high-end skincare and beauty products that could be used on any skin color. They sell basic makeup items, Latina shirts, perfumes, and face masks. They also offer brushes that are designed for different makeup purposes and a holographic make-up pouch to carry your products in.
Are They Still an Active Company?
Yes, they are active and still in business.
How Did the Shark Tank Pitch Go?
The two sisters came to Shark Tank seeking an investment of $200,000 for a 10% stake in their company. They pitched their brand, which was already quite popular on the market. They shared how they’d gotten started and the revolutionary change that they were hoping to bring to the make-up industry with it. They shared that when they’d gone to a beauty expo in Italy, they realized that most brand owners were men. They wanted to revolutionize the representation in the industry, that too as a black women-owned business.
The Sharks were instantly interested in the product since the company was doing well even before coming to Shark Tank. They’d managed to get their make-up line into almost 1000 stores and were already in the process of getting it into Walmart outlets. They’d also invested smartly into the business. Despite running it themselves without any investors, they weren’t in debt and even had some money to spare in the bank.
Although the Sharks were enthusiastic, there was a little hesitance before they began making an offer. Lori and Alex fell into an argument. And the others weren’t willing to invest since the industry was already very competitive. Luckily, Barbara was seriously interested in the product and thought it had a lot of potential. She offered $250,000 with 30% equity plus promising that she’d help them sort out the retail and distribution personally.
The two entrepreneurs, who’d been working on the business since they were 14, were overjoyed to hear this and took Barbara’s offer immediately. Overall, the Luna Magic Shark Tank Review was positive, and they left with a deal. The brand is doing pretty well on the market and has gained a lot of popularity.
Our Review of Luna Magic
We decided to try out Luna Magic for ourselves to see how it would fare in practice.
The Luna Magic store on Amazon shows a wide variety of products that you can choose from. Their color scheme is vibrant and attractive and instantly conveys their essential brand motto of selling bright-colored makeup. Products like the pigmented and creamy eye shadow palette are sold at affordable prices despite being high-performance. The ingredients are cruelty-free and it has a lightweight formula. Plus, if you buy from them, you’ll be supporting a black-owned business.
The bad news is that alternative products have a wider range of lines that are themed according to different regions. The eye-shadow palette offered by this company has a limited range of colors. Other drug store brands, which might sell a wider range of pigmented eye shadows, with the same concept of having bright and bold colors also cost less than this product. They also don’t utilize vegan or plant-based ingredients, which might make them more popular among environmentally-conscious buyers.
Pros and Cons of Luna Magic
Pros of Luna Magic
- Good and lightweight formula
- Highly pigmented
- Good for all skin tones
- Packaging has a premium feel
- Affordable
- Color scheme is attractive
Cons of Luna Magic
- Ingredients aren’t vegan
- Limited range of colors
- A lot of competition
- Some fallout issue with palette
Who Is Luna Magic for?
Luna Magic is mainly aimed at Latin American people, who are tired of conventional brands that target a fair-skinned customer base. It can also be used by anyone interested in bold and creamy make-up in their personal or professional practice.
Are There Any Alternatives?
Vivid and bold-colored eye shadow palettes are nothing new, especially ones are focused on celebrating the culture of a region.
Rachel Couture 30 Color Eye Shadow Palette is one good alternative to Luna Magic. It’s a vegan product made from natural botanical extracts. The eye shadows are known for having a smooth and easy-to-blend texture.
Another great alternative is the Evanese Beauty Latin Fever palette. It’s highly pigmented, just like Luna Magic, and comes in 35 different shades of cream-based eye shadow. And it’s mainly targeted at Latin American cultural preference for make-up.
Our Final Thoughts
The concept behind Luna Magic and its aim to bring more attention to the Caribbean and Latin American culture is a unique selling point. Plus, the fact that the makeup line is affordable and suited to a wider range of skin tones gives it an advantage over most drugstore brands that only cater to a limited range of skin shades.
However, there’s a lot of competition in the market and a wide variety of alternatives that have the same type of product made of natural or herbal ingredients. The company could expand its product to make it appeal more to a wider customer base.
