By Ariel Nagi

You don't even have to go to the costume shop for these.

Read More at CosmoForLatinas.com!

CFL Editors: Why We Love Being Latino

In this video blog I'll show all the hot new beauty products I'm loving right now.

By Charleen Gonzalez For Shine Latina

This month I found fabulous products for Latinas, including a flat iron tailored for thick and unruly hair, Eva Longoria's new seductive fragrance, high-quality brushes that are affordable, Halloween-inspired nail polishes, a color-packed eyeshadow palette and super moisturizing lipsticks. Don't miss the video below!

A flat iron made for Latinas
I don't know about you, but my hair reacts to humidity as soon as I walk out the door. In order to combat the elements and put my unruly thick hair into submission, I found Sultra's new The Diva Pressing Iron. This flat iron is designed for frizzy and thick hair, the kind many of us Latinas have to battle against. The plates on this iron are curved and really press down your hair for sleek and straight results that last even in the most humid of climates. The iron has two temperature settings- one for natural hair, ano

Abuela Rigo lived a life full of adventures and hardships. She loved and fought for what she believed in and for those she loved the most. Her stories growing up very rich (and then very poor) in Puerto Rico are the stuff of legends, and I'll try to share them- and her- with you. Welcome to The Abuela Chronicles.

The family had finally moved to their new home in the outskirts of the town of Caguas. The sprawling estate of over 50 acres was precisely what Mamá wanted: sturdy, roomy and just the place they needed to settle into now that Pepe, her husband, didn't need to travel as much to oversee tobacco plantations. Caguas was also the town where both Mamá and Papá were from, so there were plenty of familiar faces to welcome them and their children. To eight year old Rigo, this was the most amazing place she'd ever been to, complete with a brand new puppet theater, a store that sold every kind of luxury item (from canned fruit to Victrolas) and even a park where kids played p

If you're a Latina who's lived in a city mostly isolated from all things Hispanic, culture shock can come when you realize just how un-Latin you've become.

Rethinking what makes me Latina

I've had the opportunity to live in three very distinct parts of the country. I've enjoyed the sweet twang of the antebellum South; the down-earthiness of the Midwest fruited plains; and the jaw-dropping natural beauty of the Pacific Northwest. But other than a couple of friends or a restaurant here and there, I'd never lived in a uniquely Latino community until I moved to Miami.

Miami, with its constant flow of Latin American immigration, is a city infused with the sounds and smells of the culture I grew up in. It was no longer the idea of Latin culture; I now lived deep within. Between the salsa music coming out of cars in traffic jams, to the tantalizing coffee smells emanating from whole-on-the-wall Cuban cafes, I felt like a kid in the proverbial candy store. But to my amazement, I felt awkward and a bit out of place

By Liliana Moyano for Shine Latina

Flan de leche y ron

Living in Miami you have the luxury of feeling closer to Latin America than in any other part of the country. With the blend of cultures, it is very easy to find a Cuban, Puerto Rican, Venezuelan, Colombian or any other type of Latin restaurant, and chances are they will all serve scrumptious food. I love a good Cuban cafeteria, because they simply make the best flan on earth. Flan de leche (milk flan) is a type of custard that is very soft and creamy but not overpowered with sugar. It resembles the flavor of a crème brulee, but it has a thicker consistency with a softly melted caramel over the top rather than a crunchy exterior.

My sister and I found a recipe for this dessert I dare say is just as good as what you'll find in any Cuban restaurant. This version, though, is even more authentic with the addition of rum which blends beautifully with the caramel and milks. It may take some time, but all good things come to those who wait. And