In 2018, Cece Meadows launched Prados Beauty: a makeup brand created to bring light and awareness to Indigenous peoples, stories, and beauty. Inspired by Meadows’ Yoeme and Nʉmʉnʉ ancestors, the brand itself is an act of resistance against Indigenous erasure. Meadows combines makeup, philanthropy, and activism to further her goals. As founder of the non-profit Prados Life Foundation, Meadows brings new life and hope to Native American reservations.
Since its launch, Prados Beauty has amassed over 100,000 followers on an Instagram filled with self-love, activism, and inclusivity. In September 2022, Allure released its Best of Beauty Awards and selected Prados Beauty’s Matriarch Palette for eyeshadow. Most recently, Cece Meadows launched the Sagrado Collection, inspired by the Aztecs and the hummingbird, to show what intersectionality and biculturalism look like.
Keep scrolling to read my interview with Cece Meadows, where we discussed sustainability, cancel culture, combining beauty and activism, and so much more!
1) What are your earliest memories of beauty? How have they influenced your career?
My earliest memories of makeup have to be watching my grandmother get ready for ceremonia. She would do a skincare routine with red clay from outside the family home in Mexico. She would use aloe for her blemishes, jojoba oil, and then she would wear light makeup with one lipstick. She used her lipstick for eyeshadow, lips and blush. I loved watching her get ready, I miss it now.
2) In terms of beauty And body image, what’s the best advice you’ve heard?
I am the wildest dreams, hopes, and prayers of my ancestors. I am of their DNA, image and lineage, so I embrace my features, body, and beauty just as it is. Embracing myself is embracing who they were and are.
3) What were THE challenges of starting your own brand? Is there anything you wish you coulD’ve done differently?
The challenge of raising money for BIPOC women-owned businesses is crazy. I wished I would have been more bold in my pitches about the lack of funding and why. I believe if I would have taken this raw and honest approach, even if they said no to me, maybe they would have thought more about the next BIPOC brand/woman they say no to.
4) How has social media contributed to Prados Beauty evolving into the inclusive, uplifting community that it exists as today?
It has been everything. I started off on social media as an influencer from my baby girl’s nursery and have grown our socials to what it is today organically. When I launched the brand I knew the impact it would have on the world, it was just a matter of learning to navigate the algorithm and trying to connect with likeminded people. We reach so many people through social media and connect with stories and similarities alike. It’s like finding your people everyday. I love it.
5) On Instagram, Prados refers to its followers as “world changers.” What are some of the most important ways that beauty and activism intersect?
If you don’t use your business or platform for change you really miss out on the opportunity to change the world. Social media is such a connecting world and when you share stories and real life events, you teach others about things they wouldn’t normally know. Calling our supporters World Changers reminds them that they are doing more than just buying or supporting us, they are helping us create social and economic impacts by being present and connected to us.
6) The new Sagrado collection is so beautiful! Could you touch on the inspiration behind the collection and what it means to you?
I am a mixed Indigenous woman. So being Xicana and Native American, I wanted to create something that brought both of my worlds together. I love the hummingbird, the symbolism it plays in my life and that of my ancestors. I also love our traditional Mexican textiles and patterns, so bringing that to packaging and design was really important for me. From design, packaging, product, names, and marketing, I wanted the world to see beauty from our perspective and from our voices.
7) How important are sustainability and transparency for the future of the beauty industry?
I feel like it’s really important to be sustainable as much as possible. We only make 100% recyclable materials on boxes, packaging, and marketing materials. We want people to be able to recycle our stuff, instead of contributing to the high consumerism trash problems. Being honest with your customers about wanting to limit your carbon footprint is important as well. We only come out with a few launches a year because we want to be conscious of what we are doing to help the planet, but also do good for it as well by making recycling a priority.
8) What inspires you most about the beauty industry today? What are some of the most frustrating challenges?
I love the beauty industry. I love the connections and the people you meet along the way. There is a sister/brother/peoplehood in learning from one another and taking those relationships and turning them into family. I’ve met more people in the beauty industry who want to see you succeed, than those who want to see you fail. I think that is very indicative of those you choose to surround yourself with in this tight knit community.
This community can also be very harsh and hateful. Cancel culture and the freely thrown-around word “toxic” causes a lot of harm in the beauty community. The same thing that we are trying to do by creating beautiful and empowering spaces is the same insecurity that dismantles it. I’ve seen a lot of people beat up and cancel people for making mistakes or simply learning how to be better humans, and in my opinion, that’s wrong. There is no room for growth or opportunity to learn to be better when people are quick to cancel you or hang on to every single word that may come out of your mouth. I wished some people in this community were more merciful and gracious to others.
9) In many ways, Prados Beauty is an act of resistance against Indigenous erasure. How important is it for Indigenous brands to enter the shelves?
Oh, this is very much an act of resistance. Every time you see an Indigenous person in any space, it is resistance. We survived genocide. It is so important because it shows people that we aren’t gone or stories of the past in history books. We are survivors, we are resilient, we are proudly Indigenous, and we are so unapologetically beautiful. Having Prados on the shelf is a stepping stone to creating stories and opportunities for us to be seen as we are today. We are entrepreneurs, doctors, scholars, lawyers, storytellers, filmmakers and so much more. It’s a pathway to bring us all together through a passion we all share, which is defining what beauty is through cosmetics.
“We are survivors, we are resilient, we are proudly Indigenous, and we are so unapologetically beautiful.”
—Cece Meadows
10) Congratulations again on the launch of the new Sagrado collection! What’s next for Prados Beauty?
We will be launching in all 600 JCPenney stores by spring 2023. We are very excited to be partnered with Thirteenlune and JCP. They have been amazing partners to us and we are so grateful. We have a big surprise launching in December and we are so excited to share it with all of our supporters and World Changers. Keep a lookout for our newest launch then!
Conclusion
Interviewing the woman who has inspired so many World Changers was an honor, and I can’t wait to see what Prados Beauty launches next. Beauty, activism, and philanthropy go hand in hand for the inspiring brand — and it’s clear that Indigenous representation is essential and filled with value.
Follow Prados Beauty on Instagram and TikTok to stay up to date and learn more about Indigenous stories, histories, and cultures!
This article is part of a series, #FeministFriday, where Chloe Hummel seeks to highlight standout feminists making a difference in the world right now. Stay tuned!