SAN ANTONIO — Two San Antonio sisters are honoring their blended roots with their local business.
Toni and Mei-Lon Jimenez started their own line of beauty products, Chica Beauty, right here in the Alamo City. The beauty brand honors their Mexican heritage along with their Chinese roots. Their Latina grandmother married their Chinese grandfather and their mother passed down Chinese traditions to them.
Mei-Lon's name also reflects their Chinese heritage.
"My mom actually wanted to name me Mei-Lon Lee Jimenez and my dad was like…ok there's this balance, she is part Chinese! I'm proud of my name! I was named after my great aunt and it means beautiful orchid or flower,"Mei-Lon said.
Their grandmother, Martha, was the inspiration for a particular shade of red in their beauty line.
"She was just a classy elegant lady and one thing about her was she always wore a signature red lipstick," Toni said. "When I was younger, she was actually the one to go with me to get my hair highlighted…she took my sister to get her brows waxed."
The sisters say their grandmother was a part of the process of building their business from the beginning.
"So when we had planned to launch it, she was supposed to be here," Toni said.
But Martha never got the chance to wear the lipstick in her signature shade of red. She passed away last year.
"That's the hardest part about it. She didn't get to try on the final lipstick," Toni said.
The sisters say the beauty line carries everything about their blended roots and family history.
"Its not just makeup it's a beautiful part of who we are as a family, Mei-Lon said.