‘I take so much pride in my heritage”

While working as a makeup artist during New York Fashion Week, Cece Meadows, the founder and CEO of Prados Beauty, realized that there was a lack of representation in the beauty industry.

“When you’re Chicana and Native American, and you’re part of New York Fashion Week, that’s something that’s truly unheard of,” she told Glossy in a 2020 interview.

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Driven to carve a space in the industry for the indigenous community, she came up with Prados, which, according to the brand’s website, is an “inclusive and uplifting beauty brand that inspires people through the lens of Indigenous communities throughout Turtle Island.”

Prados sells everything from makeup brushes to synthetic lashes — all with the purpose of targeting consumers who, more often than not, have not seen themselves reflected in an industry worth upwards of $500 billion. For quite some time, many of these same customers have also seen major brands, such as Rebecca Taylor and Urban Outfitters (as Glossy notes), profit off cultural appropriation without showing any respect to the indigenous community — an issue that the 35-year-old Meadows is currently tackling with Prados as well.

“I take so much pride in my heritage, my connection to the land, my family and my community,” she wrote on her website. “It is their resilience that inspires me and I not only carry them with me but you’ll see them in everything we do here at Prados.”

And Meadows, who grew up in a farm town in Roll, Ariz., isn’t just preaching about giving back to the community— she’s also following through with action. Prados reportedly gives away 50 percent of its profits to Native American communities, along with personal protective equipment and back-to-school clothing.

“There’s no need to acquire anything else,” she explained to Glossy. “That was my thought process when I said that I wanted to give away 50% of the profit.”

That’s not all. Meadows, who is working on a Prados Life Foundation that will continue her mission to serve the indigenous community on a larger scale, has bigger plans in store — all of which are aligned with her cosmetics brand’s purpose.

“We want to start building homes on reservations, purchase solar panels and water systems,” she wrote in Sunday Edit.

If you want to learn more about Prados Beauty or check out its products, click here.

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If you liked this story, check out Kulfi Beauty, which makes inclusive products for South Asian people.

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