Meet the Woman Hand-Mixing Vegan Nail Polishes Inspired by Her Afro-Boricua Identity
Regina Bultrón Bengoa isn’t vegan, but her nail polishes are — so her entire community has access to a more ethical option
Regina Bultrón Bengoa’s passion for nails is genetic: Her grandmother, Selenia, never left the house with a chipped nail or without a file in her purse. Last year, Bultrón decided to go into business, hand-mixing vegan nail polishes in her home of New York City, and it was a no-brainer to name her business Selenia, after her influential abuela.
Bultrón was inspired to go the entrepreneurial route by the lack of representation of women of color in the beauty industry, where “nude” often means a very specific shade, and there aren’t many options that don’t include sometimes harmful ingredients. In the year since, she’s been building her brand through Etsy and Instagram.
Here, I talked to Bultrón about how she began the business, why she runs a vegan business despite not being vegan, and what constitutes a vegan nail polish.
