In Mexico, people have long had an affectionate name for lashes that are naturally long, thin, straight, and almost downward-growing: pestañas de vaca. Meaning cow lashes.
That phrase is now the name of a mascara sold across the United States. SARELLY, the Mexican-born beauty brand founded by Anna Sarelly and Rémi Martini, built its hero product around this culturally rooted concept. Cow Lashes Waterproof Mascara is already the No. 1 mascara at Sephora Mexico and the No. 1 makeup product overall at Ulta Beauty Mexico. On September 10, it arrived nationwide, marking SARELLY’s largest U.S. retail expansion to date.
And the beauty is the brand could have translated the phrase into something a wider, less specific audience would recognize instantly. But their choice to honor la cultura def paid off.
A Brilliant Concept
Anna Sarelly and Rémi Martini told FIERCE that pestañas de vaca is part of the cultural language embedded in Mexican beauty, an affectionate way to describe lashes that are naturally long, thin, straight, separated, and almost downward-growing, similar to a cow’s. As SARELLY developed a mascara designed specifically for that lash type, the phrase became the obvious reference point, familiar enough to communicate both the challenge and the product’s purpose instantly. Rather than translating it into conventional beauty-industry language, the founders named the product Cow Lashes Waterproof Mascara, now available in Black and Chocolate, built to lift, curl, and hold lashes whether they grow straight or downward.
What began as a phrase passed down through generations in Mexican households is now SARELLY’s best-selling product, and the one leading its expansion.
Anna Sarelly and Rémi Martini Built SARELLY From a Gap They Both Saw
Anna Sarelly and Rémi Martini founded SARELLY in Mexico City in 2022, building it on a cultural observation. They saw a new generation of Mexican and Latino consumers talk, laugh, and experience beauty in ways most beauty brands weren’t speaking to. Anna, one of Mexico’s leading beauty creators, brought her creative universe and her relationship with her community. Rémi, a beauty-industry veteran with more than a decade at L’Oréal, Coty and LVMH, brought the business experience to build something durable around it.
Before developing a single product, the founders told FIERCE that SARELLY sat down and actually listened. Community co-creation became part of the brand’s DNA from the start, and the company has since collected more than 100,000 responses through consumer surveys and conversations, a dialogue that continues to shape everything from product development to content.
Underneath that sat the unglamorous work—formulas, manufacturing, packaging, margins, logistics, talent, fundraising, distribution. Then, SARELLY launched its beauty line in Mexico in 2023, and the strategy has stayed the same since: build with the community, rather than simply sell to it.
Why SARELLY Put the Word “Buchón” on a Lip Product
“Buchón” is one of those words that come with a heavy cultural baggage. It’s tied to narco aesthetics, and to certain expressions of Mexican femininity. For its part, SARELLY decided to deconstruct the connotations and give it a new life.
Anna Sarelly and Rémi Martini told FIERCE the intention was never to celebrate narco culture. The name engages with an aesthetic code that already exists prominently in Mexican beauty and pop culture: a bold lip, defined liner, glamour, confidence, attitude. The founders said SARELLY’s belief has always been that Mexican culture shouldn’t be watered down to fit traditional beauty-industry expectations, and that any culturally charged reference was going to create varied reactions, a possibility they considered before moving forward. The goal, they said, was never provocation for its own sake, but a brand that feels recognizable, honest, and emotionally connected to the people it’s actually for.
SARELLY describes the product itself, Buchón Lip Liner & Lip Crayon, as a statement lip pairing inspired by unapologetic Mexican glamour. It ships alongside three other hero products, including Cow Lashes, a Telenovela Lip Duo inspired by the drama of telenovelas, and Lavadero Waterproof Makeup Remover, a formula built to remove waterproof makeup in seconds.
The Bet Behind the Founders’ Decisions
Running an independent beauty company meant making calls without the comfort of certainty larger organizations rely on, the founders told FIERCE. That meant balancing data with instinct, moving quickly when an opportunity appeared, and often deciding with incomplete information and no real precedent to lean on. Investing in SARELLY-owned stores, expanding into entertainment through Drama en la Chamba, and pursuing nationwide U.S. retail distribution for a Mexican-born beauty brand all looked unconventional at first. Each one became a defining part of the company’s growth instead.
That, to Anna Sarelly and Rémi Martini, is the actual belief underneath SARELLY: a brand can be built with operational rigor and strategic discipline while still taking creative risks, moving with culture, and trusting the community that helped shape it in the first place.
SARELLY’s Target Launch Is Part of a Bigger Latina Beauty Movement
For SARELLY, cultural fluency has many approaches. Its original short-form telenovela, Drama en la Chamba, has generated more than 40 million organic views, turning serialized storytelling into an engine for fandom and, eventually, commerce. That same strategy, mixing beauty, culture, and entertainment into one continuous world instead of three separate categories, runs alongside what SARELLY says actually drove its retail performance at home: cultural relevance and community, the same formula behind its leadership position at Sephora and Ulta Beauty Mexico.
The nationwide rollout follows a recently announced $3 million bridge round, raised specifically to accelerate SARELLY’s U.S. expansion and support the launch. SARELLY will back its placement with the brand’s largest U.S. campaign to date, spanning entertainment, creators, social content, out-of-home advertising, events, and in-store storytelling.
