When I last spoke with Regina Merson, the one-time bankruptcy lawyer who loves a bold lip, she was working around the clock to get her makeup line Reina Rebelde off the ground. She told us—and I can’t remember if this was on our BraBurner podcast (RIP) or when we got tequila tipsy after the mics went dead—that running a start-up was so hectic, some days she only had time to eat a bag of Flaming Hot Cheetos.
But Merson is proof that hard work pays off, especially when you have a product that fills an empty niche, which in Reina Rebelde’s case is makeup geared toward Latinas (my fave lipstick is an electric red called “Brava,” which translates as “bitch be angry.”). Last week, Target announced that it was picking up eight new brands, totaling 150 new products, available in select stores. The internet went wild. Not only are the eight brands made for darker skin tones (inclusivity!) but they’re also indie lines run by women (hey ladies!).
Obviously, getting a deal with Target is huge for a small startup run out of someone’s house, so I shot Merson an email asking exactly how excited she was to be able to buy her makeup in the same place she gets her snacks. She wrote back: “Almost as excited as I am about the fact that I can also pick up medication a few aisles down to heal the ulcer from the Flaming Hot Cheetos addiction and hand wipes to clean my perpetually orange finger tips. Target is truly going to be my one-stop shopping destination going forward.”
Merson also says the relationship with Target hits a personal level, since, as a child in Guadalajara, Mexico, her family would take annual trips across the border to stock up on necessities at the retailer. And she reports that her business has now grown out of her house—though she sometimes prefers to office at home to be near her 15-year-old Golden Retriever. All good news, to which I will say, felicidades, Regina. Viva la rebel queen.
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