D’ana Nuñez, known as COVL, has just made history as the first Latina artist to co-create a makeup collection for Ulta’s private label artist series. The limited-edition lineup comprises 10 products, including colorful eyeshadows, lip glosses, funky hair clips, a spa headband set, a candle, and more, all priced under $20.
Although Nuñez has collaborated with major brands like Nike and Instagram, this marks her debut in co-developing a makeup collection. As a multidisciplinary artist, her signature colorful, nostalgic, and vibrant designs span various mediums. You can find her art not only on painted canvases but also in digital designs featured throughout Netflix’s hit show “Never Have I Ever” and on basketball courts in Orchard Beach, The Bronx. Now, her artwork extends to color cosmetics and beauty products available at all of Ulta Beauty’s 1350+ stores nationwide and online.
Credit: Covl x Ulta Beauty Collection.
Hailing from Miami and now based in Brooklyn, Nuñez’s work is deeply influenced by her vibrant Latin culture and upbringing. Throughout the collection, she pays homage to her Puerto Rican heritage, evident in the product names and the blue hues inspired by the Puerto Rican flag’s light blue, representing independence.
“I added that color because I wanted some semblance to the light blue that represents independence on the Puerto Rico flag,” Nuñez tells LATINA. “With art, it’s important to share my history, to champion a liberated future through different bodies of work, and to represent those before me.”
Credit: Covl x Ulta Beauty Collection.
The cream eyeshadow set in the collection nods to Nuñez’s background, resembling partially squeezed paint tubes and featuring three mattes and one pearlescent cream eyeshadow formula. Her favorite items to create were the luxury-inspired “homeboy” candle and the puffy makeup bag. However, designing the eyeshadow palette proved challenging, as she had the freedom to create an 18-shadow palette like never before. The entire process, from Ulta Beauty’s initial email inviting Nuñez to join the artist series to the collection’s launch, took about a year.
“When the email [from Ulta] came in one day in May of 2023, my manager and I thought it was spam,” Nuñez recalls. “[I was in] total disbelief, but I was so ready.”
Now, makeup enthusiasts and art aficionados alike can own a piece of the “COVL universe,” as Nuñez describes her body of work.
“The process was so inspiring and full of exploration because as someone who has to have her hands in every part of the process, it’s important to partner up with brands who encourage you to dream big and allow you to run free with ideas,” she says. “Makeup is an avenue of self-expression through which I can tell my story while helping others unfold theirs.”
The Ulta Beauty Collection x COVL Artist Series is available now at ULTA.
