Makeup artist Gabriela Elizalde uses her MAC Selena Collection sparingly because the sold-out make up line won’t be available again until early January. (Photo by Lillian Griego/Cronkite News)
PHOENIX- Customers regularly stop by the Mac store at the Biltmore Fashion Park looking to buy the new Selena cosmetics line a month after the collection sold out, evidence of the growing purchasing power of Latinas in Arizona.
Those same customers are among Selena fans who signed a petition asking MAC to create the Selena collection, inspired by the rising star who was murdered 20 years ago. The makeup went on sale at stores across the country October 6th and sold out in a few hours.
The success is testament to the power of Latinas who in are a major reason for the growth of sales for the beauty and cosmetics industry. Last year, while sales in cosmetics decreased by 1.2 percent overall, they grew 7.4 percent among Hispanics according Nielsen, a company that studies consumers and their buying habits.
In Arizona Latino purchasing power is expected to total $42 Billion according to the Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce study DATOS:The State of of Arizona’s Hispanic Market.
“The power of Selena’s fans is astounding. Their overwhelming passion and excitement inspired the creation of M·A·C Selena and is the reason for its sell-out success and record-breaking traffic to our website,” said James Gager, MAC’s Senior Vice President/Group Creative Director, in a release.
And some of those fans took to social media to show off their collection while others expressed their frustration after waiting in line for hours only to walk away empty handed.
“She is someone that inspired me as a little girl. Basically I was a big fan of her and now that MAC came out with her collection it was a must,” said Gabriela Elizalde, makeup artist in Peoria.
Elizalde, a makeup artist for 11 years used to work for MAC. She thought she’d have no trouble getting the Selena collection but found out on the day it went on sale that it was likely to sell out from a friend got in line at 5:30 in the morning and called to tell her about the crowd. He picked up some makeup for Elizalde who was among the women waiting for the launch of the new line.
“It really means a lot to me because I met her in 1993,”
Elizalde is using the Selena makeup she has sparingly because MAC won’t be able to restock the collection until January.