Venezuela's cosmetic craze is renowned throughout the Latin American region. A beauty culture exists that — besides boosting sales — has produced six Miss Universe winners, six Miss World winners, six Miss Internationals and one Miss Earth. But despite the extra attention given to personal care in this Andean nation, residents have recently been hard pressed to find the most basic of necessities, such as soap and shampoo. Margarita Chinea Mendez, Brand Manager at Vargas CA, a major Venezuelan personal care producer, which manufactures a wide variety of products, ranging from lip balms and skin creams to soaps and cleansers, points to problems caused by price and currency controls. These were invoked during the government of the late president Hugo Chavez, who died in March, and whose policies have yet to be sharply changed by his successor Nicolas Maduro.
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