Lizeth Cuara, a Mexican-American entrepreneur based in Los Angeles, is the force behind Misty Phases, a multimillion-dollar e-commerce brand specializing in postpartum shapewear. Her products draw inspiration from la cuarentena, the traditional 40-day Mexican postpartum period focused on maternal healing and recovery. But Cuara’s path to success was anything but conventional.
From hustle to healing
Raised in Compton, California, by a single mother, Cuara grew up facing financial hardship. She never finished high school, and a decade ago, she was stuck in an entry-level job, struggling to make ends meet. Looking for a way to change her circumstances, she took a leap into e-commerce, experimenting with flipping Amazon return pallets. With US $10,000 in savings, she invested in two $5,000 pallets, then turned to YouTube to teach herself how to list and sell the items on eBay.
Mastering shipping and pricing was her next challenge, but she quickly realized a simple formula: the more she listed, the more she sold. Within a month, she had made back her initial investment. Encouraged by her early success, she quit her job to focus on the business full-time.
While the pallet resale business was profitable, it was unpredictable— some shipments turned a strong profit, while others barely broke even. After eight months, Cuara started looking for a more sustainable and scalable venture. Drawing on her experience, she identified a growing market for products like lotions, teas, waist trainers and sauna belts. Confident in the demand, she hired a marketing agency, leveraged Facebook ads and tapped into influencer promotions. Soon, her products gained traction, landing features on Univision and CBS.
The experience gave her critical insights into pricing, consumer behavior and branding—lessons that laid the foundation for Misty Phases, which she launched in 2022. Named for the “fog” that often follows childbirth, the brand offers a carefully curated collection of postpartum essentials, including girdles, underwear, bras, leggings, shorts, herbal baths, oils and creams. The demand is so high that the brand operates primarily on a pre-order basis, frequently selling out.
A business born from trauma
“Misty Phases was born out of a deeply personal and traumatic experience,” Cuara recalls. “I nearly died giving birth to my daughter due to an incorrectly administered epidural, which led to an incredibly difficult recovery.”
Cuara was sent home with a new baby, stitches and severe pain from the mismanaged epidural— but little to no guidance on how to care for herself. As her health deteriorated, she became so weak that she could barely walk or hold her baby. Desperate for answers, she returned to the hospital, only to be dismissed. The doctor’s advice? That she was simply “stressed” and should avoid carrying her baby.
That moment was a turning point. Cuara realized how little postpartum care was available in the United States, especially for women of color, who face significantly higher risks of complications and maternal mortality in the country. Studies show that college-educated Black women are still more likely to experience severe pregnancy and childbirth complications than white women who never graduated high school.
Determined to change that, Cuara created Misty Phases not just to provide postpartum support but to advocate for maternal health equity. “Misty Phases was really about creating products to support women through postpartum recovery, drawing from our Mexican heritage and the tradition of the cuarentena. I modernized ancestral practices to make them accessible and easy to use, bringing awareness to what our grandmothers and great-grandmothers did after childbirth.”
Years in the making
Unlike many e-commerce entrepreneurs focused on quick-turnaround products, Cuara dedicated four years to researching and developing her postpartum line before launching Misty Phases. She consulted with midwives, gynecologists and doulas to ensure her products honored traditional postpartum practices while meeting modern medical standards.
Her journey wasn’t easy: many suppliers refused to work with Cuara, dismissing her small initial orders and the complex technical specifications required for her designs. But her persistence paid off. She secured both U.S. and international patents, ensuring that Misty Phases stood out in an industry often dominated by generic mass-market products.
In its first year, Misty Phases generated over US $1 million in sales, tripling that figure in its second year. TikTok has played a huge role in the brand’s expansion, not only driving global sales but also fostering a supportive online community where mothers share birth stories and postpartum advice.
But beyond business success, Cuara’s remains committed to uplifting underserved mothers. Through Misty Phases, she donates postpartum kits — including belly binders, nursing bras and postpartum underwear — to homeless and refugee mothers in need. What started as a personal struggle has become a movement, proving that postpartum care isn’t a luxury but a necessity.
Bringing Misty Phases to Mexico
“My goal was to serve Latinas and women of color in the U.S., but to my surprise, I found customers in Mexico as well,” Cuara recalls. Soon, she realized that Mexican mothers were willing to pay over $65 in shipping fees just to access her postpartum products. Seeing the growing demand, she knew it was time to expand. In 2023, she officially launched Misty Phases in Mexico.
Expanding internationally was both humbling and challenging. Cuara quickly learned that doing business in Mexico was nothing like in the United States. Her business bank account was closed three times, and she discovered that her Spanglish wasn’t cutting it in high-level business discussions. Determined to succeed, she hired an interpreter and began working on improving her business Spanish.
Reflecting on the differences of doing business in Mexico and the U.S., Cuara says that conducting business in the U.S. has a casual and transactional approach while in Mexico, it’s relationship and trust-driven. Even if you show up to a business meeting in Mexico, you are expected to spend the first 10 minutes chatting and getting to know your counterparts versus diving right into business like is the norm between Americans.
Mexican customers also engage with Misty Phases in a deeply personal way. Unlike in the U.S., where customers primarily follow brand recommendations, Cuara found that Mexican mothers actively share their own postpartum knowledge— offering tips, stories and feedback that have helped her refine and improve her products. “Doing business in Mexico has taught me to lead with more humanity rather than treat everything as a transaction,” she reflects. Now, she makes sure to start every meeting by genuinely asking how the other person is doing, a small but meaningful shift in her approach.
More than a brand
Today, Misty Phases has a growing presence across the U.S., Mexico and Latin America. In 2024, the company surpassed US $5 million in sales, and projections for the Mexican market alone exceed $1 million for 2025. Beyond the numbers, Cuara’s journey is proof that postpartum care isn’t just a niche— it’s a necessity.
What started as a personal struggle, then a side hustle, has grown into a global movement empowering mothers through tradition, innovation and community. By blending the wisdom of past generations with modern postpartum care, Misty Phases is changing the way women recover after childbirth, one mother at a time.
Rocio is based in Mexico City and is the creator of CDMX iykyk, a newsletter designed to keep expats, digital nomads and the Mexican diaspora in the loop. The monthly dispatches feature top news, cultural highlights, upcoming CDMX events and local recommendations. For your dose of must-know news about Mexico, subscribe here.
