Many of us are familiar with Hailey Bieber, formerly known as Hailey Baldwin. Hailey is the daughter of the actor Stephen Baldwin, who is also well-known in the entertainment industry. Hailey was born on November 22, 1996, a Sagittarius! Later in 2014, she started her modeling career. She has made appearances on the runway for companies such as Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger as well as shooting with Vogue magazine.
Her career does not end in modeling; she has dabbled in acting and being in music videos. Hailey Bieber also created a YouTube account where she posts frequently. Her videos feature special guests, conversation, and skincare advice. Hailey is passionate about skincare so much so she created her own company. Rhode Beauty, a skincare line by Hailey Bieber launched in April 2022. The line is said to be vegan, cruelty-free, and dermatologist-recommended.
As a model and the owner of a skincare company, Hailey is constantly setting trends and copied for her iconic looks. One of Hailey’s most recent makeup looks includes a brown lip liner finished with a gloss on top. She calls this lip look her fall lip combo and refers to it as “brownie glazed lips.” The look is stunning, however, it has received backlash as she is not the first person to wear this particular lip combo. Lining your lips with brown lip liner and applying a gloss over has been seen in Black and Latina culture for centuries. Is it fair that Hailey Bieber is receiving credit for a makeup look that was not created by her?
The aesthetic of a brown lip liner came to fruition during the 1990s. A particular icon for this look was Naomi Campbell, a British model, actress, and singer. Naomi Campbell receives credit for popularizing this look in the 90s. Does it make sense that nearly 30 years later some will credit Hailey Bieber for her “brownie glazed lips” even though other celebrities have worn the look prior? Allure magazine states that:
“this iconic makeup style has roots in communities of color.”
Women of color, particularly Black and Latina women have shared this look due to diasporic style formation. The term diasporic refers to a group that has been dispersed outside their original homeland.
This means that African Americans and Latin Americans in the United States have a shared culture of living closely in different urban areas. Those who lived in low-income urban communities were able to share culture with one another as well as their style. Brown lip liner was a way that the Chicana culture created their own standard of beauty/makeup. Chicana means an American woman or girl of Mexican descent. One example of how styles and looks meshed between communities was through Hip-Hop. This style of music was created in the 1970s in South Bronx New York by African Americans and Latin Americans. This phenomenon of music relates to the connection between these two groups and how they exchange styles and cultures.
Because this style was popular among the Hip-Hop community and minority groups, women of color wearing this look were viewed as trashy or ghetto. The use of dark lip liner was to obtain a pigmented look that blended with the skin tone of the applicant. Later, white women and all different types of women started to recreate this look. Suddenly, brown lip liner and gloss were no longer frowned upon but were seen as sophisticated and glamorous. It can be seen how it is problematic that Hailey Bieber, a white woman, is being praised on social media for a look that is unique to different cultures that Hailey is not a part of. Some say her inspiration may be from her Brazilian mother, however, the color of the liner was typically seen on those with darker skin.
As an influencer, Hailey Bieber is constantly observed and judged by the public. With the amount of influence she has on others, she should be aware of the impact of her actions. I do not believe Hailey Bieber should be credited for this lip combo because she was not the one who invented it, nor was she the first the popularize it. At the same time, I do not believe that Hailey Bieber had malicious intentions when naming this look at brownie-glazed lips. This situation points attention to the fashion industry and other subjects such as the “clean girl aesthetic.” It is important to be aware of how different cultures are incorporated into trends and even rebranded once a white celebrity is seen wearing these looks.