Art is all about knowing what you want to see in the world and creating it. And if there’s one visual artist and author who knows how to live this out, it’s Reyna Noriega.
Known for her viral artwork that illuminates the beauty and joy of women of color, her new partnership with Schick Intuition Sensitive Care razor for Hispanic Heritage Month beautifully reflects her signature artistic vision, drawing inspiration from the vibrant tapestry of Latinx culture, which runs true throughout its limited-edition design.
Growing up with a father who transitioned from being a professional baseball player to a full-time artist was a path that influenced Reyna to follow her passions fully. “Early on, that ingrained in me that it is possible to have a fruitful career in whatever your passions are,” she tells xoNecole. “That helped to keep me brave enough to take a chance on myself as I got older and gave me the audacity to believe that everything I love, I incorporated into my artwork, whether it's fashion, whether it's travel, beautiful women.”
Her signature style, which blends colors like orange, teal, and pink, creates the perfect backdrops to center the brown and deep bronzed women that are featured in her art pieces. Although the women in her designs tend to be faceless in an effort to allow women to “see themselves in the artwork,” the source of her musing is an intentional display of Afro-Caribbean heritage that pays homage to the rich and soulful Latin culture.
Courtesy of Schick Intuition
“My work is all about uplifting women, making them feel beautiful, and encouraging them to take up space,” she says. “Knowing that I was going to be able to put those figures on the razor and for it to be an unapologetic celebration of femininity and of my culture made it a very easy fit.”
"My work is all about uplifting women, making them feel beautiful, and encouraging them to take up space."
The initial inspiration for the Sensitive Care razor design came from her desire to create abstract representations of the art of shaving. What she envisioned was drawing little figures of a woman gently brushing herself with a flower, symbolizing the idea that women need self-care and nurturing to flourish, much like tending to flowers.
Courtesy of Schick Intuition
“It’s a sign of how gentle the act of shaving can be and how women, like flowers, have to water ourselves, we have to put ourselves in the right environment and give ourselves the love and attention we need in order for us to bloom,” she explains.
As an artist who juggles many projects at a time, Reyna knows a thing or two about creating space for moments of self-care. To combat creative block and maintain a consistent source of inspiration, Reyna shared the importance of watering yourself first and setting aside time for self-care rituals to ensure that self-care remains a priority.
“I’ve learned that I have to water myself so that I have inspiration continuously,” she says. “Not getting too caught up in the day-to-day aspects of work and creating that I forget about myself has been integral. It's those little intentional actions of setting aside some time to make yourself feel good and make yourself feel beautiful to build into my routine so that I'm always feeling good about myself. From there, all the goodness inside of me is projected out into my work and to the people that I'm impacting.”
"I've learned that I have to water myself so that I have inspiration continuously. It's those little intentional actions of setting aside some time to make yourself feel good and make yourself feel beautiful to build into my routine so that I'm always feeling good about myself."
Courtesy of Schick Intuition
As someone who had successfully transitioned from being a high school art teacher to becoming a full-time artist, Reyna has seen a significant shift in her life from betting on herself and taking a leap of faith to pursue her creative endeavors. A step that she says is marked by self-discovery and self-belief. “There's a lot of internal work that I had to do to be able to believe in myself, take up space authentically, and navigate the uncertainties of being like a freelance artist,” she shares.
"There's a lot of internal work that I had to do to be able to believe in myself, take up space authentically, and navigate the uncertainties of being like a freelance artist."
“Quieting the noise of anything that goes against the vision that I had for myself and anything that goes against filling me up with the confidence to keep going, because there are so many routes you can take to be a full-time artist,” she continues. “But where you have to navigate an industry and make a name for yourself, it takes a lot of work and a lot of confidence. And those are those things that you have to really dig deep for in order to form and solidify yourself.”
Courtesy of Schick Intuition
This process involved understanding one's identity, the factors that shaped them, and surrounding oneself with inspiring individuals who had successfully pursued similar paths. It also involved silencing any negativity or doubt that contradicted one's vision and goals.
For aspiring artists, especially those aiming to create meaningful representations, the advice is to embrace and share their unique stories and perspectives. Recognize the value in your cultural background and personal experiences, and start by identifying the unique story you want to convey and the community you wish to connect with.
“We want to hear your story,” she says, “There’s a certain way that we can each say and show things that are very unique to us. They're unique to our culture and our experiences — start there.”
“Figure out what is the unique story you want to tell and the community that you’re talking to. And just keep making art: keep trying things and fall in love with the process, not the destination. The good things will come, so just fall in love with the process.”
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While an evolution is a natural progression that happens as businesses grow, a rebrand is a total change. Lola tells xoNecole, "A total rebrand is necessary when a business’s current reputation/what it’s known for is at odds with the business’s vision or direction.
"For example, if you’ve fundamentally changed what your product is and does, it’s likely that your brand is out of alignment with the business. Or, if you find your company is developing a reputation that doesn’t serve it, it might be time to pump the brakes and figure out what needs to change.
She continues, "Sometimes you’ll see companies (especially startups) announce a name change that comes with updated messaging, visuals, etc. That usually means their vision has changed or expanded, and their previous branding was too narrow/couldn’t encompass everything they planned to do."
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The Brand Doula was born in 2019, and its focus is on putting "the experiences, goals, and needs of women of color founders first," as well as brands with "culture-shifting missions."
According to Lola, culture-shifting is "the act of influencing dominant behavior, beliefs, or experiences in a community or group (ideally, for the better)."
"At The Brand Doula, we work with companies and leaders that set out to challenge the status quo in their industries and communities. They’re here to make an impact that sends ripples across the market," she says.
"We help the problem solvers of the world — the ones who aren't satisfied with 'this is how it's always been' and instead ask 'how could this be better?' Our clients build for impact, reimagining tools, systems, and ways of living to move cultures forward."
The Brand Doula has worked with many brands, including Too Collective, to assist with their collaboration with Selena Gomez's Rare Beauty and Balanced Black Girl for a "refresh," aka rebrand. For businesses looking to rebrand, Lola shares four essential steps.
1. Do an audit of your current brand experience — what’s still relevant and what needs to change? Reflect on why you’re doing the rebrand in the first place and what success would look like after relaunching.
2. Tackle the overall strategy first — before you start redesigning logos and websites, align on a new vision for your brand. How do you want your company to be positioned moving forward? Has your audience changed at all? Will your company have a fresh personality and voice?
3. Bring your audience along the journey — there’s no need to move in secret. Inviting your current audience into the journey can actually help them feel more connected to and invested in your story, enough to stick around as changes are being made.
4. Keep business moving — one of my biggest pet peeves is when companies take down their websites as soon as they have the idea to rebrand, then have a Coming Soon page up for months! You lose a lot of momentum and interest by doing that. If you’re still in business and generating income, continue to operate while you work on your rebrand behind the scenes. You don’t want to cut existing customers off out of the blue, and you also don’t want so much downtime that folks forget your business exists or start looking for other solutions.
While determining whether the rebrand was successful may take a few months, Lola says a clear sign that it is unsuccessful is negative feedback from your target audience. "Customers are typically more vocal about what they don’t like more than what they do like," she says.
But some good signs to look out for are improvements in engagement with your marketing, positive reviews, press and increase in retention, and overall feeling aligned with the new branding.
For more information about Lola and The Brand Doula, visit her website, thebranddoula.com.
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