Hailey Bieber has been accused of cultural appropriation over her “brownie glazed lip” tutorial, with fans noting the makeup look was first used by women of colour in the 1990s.
In a video posted to her TikTok last month, the 25-year-old model shared the lip trend that she was “feeling for [the] fall”. The makeup tutorial began with Bieber applying a brown lip liner on her top and bottom lip line, before rubbing it in with her finger. She completed the look by applying some clear lip gloss all over her lips.
Bieber went on to share a follow-up video to showcase her outfit and makeup, as she described her lip look as the “brownie glazed lips”.
However, while Bieber never said that she invented the makeup trend, fans took to Twitter to call her out for cultural appropriation and note that the lip look was first favoured by women in the Latino and Black community, over 20 years ago.
“I’m crying because she took a lip combo that Black and Latina women have been wearing since the 90s and named it ‘brownie glazed lips’ to make it sound cute lol like if you gonna try to make something trend then least you could do is give credit from where you got the inspo,” one person wrote on Twitter.
Another person added: “‘The Hailey Bieber brownie glazed lips trend,’” YOU MEAN THE SAME LIP COMBO THAT EVERY BROWN GIRL OF ALL VARIETIES OF BROWN HAVE BEEN DOING SINCE BEFORE THE BIRTH OF CHRIST.”
“Hailey Bieber claims she “created” a new lip look called Brownie Glazed lips, which is brown liner and gloss,” a third person wrote. “[Black] and [Brown] women are calling out the cultural appropriation because we’ve been rocking this look for decades!”
Others alleged that the positive responses to the tutorial show racial discrimination, as Bieber has received praise for a makeup trend that women of colour were once criticised for.
“The fact that Hailey Bieber just wore brown lip liner and clear gloss and the white girls are going crazy over it,” one Twitter user wrote. “Honey, Latinas & Black women been hip but y’all called us ghetto for it.”
On TikTok, people continued to criticise the Rhode Beauty founder for the makeup look. In one video posted by TikToker Bria Jones last week, she reminded her viewers where the lipstick trend originated from and why the success that Bieber could receive from it is an issue.
“Hailey’s going to make her millions from that cute a** demo,” she said. “But, let’s not forget it was the Latino women in poorer Mexican communities that [made that] s*** cool decades ago.”
“Women of colour aren’t mad that people do these trends,” she continued. “It’s when you slap a f***ing Betty Crocker name on it and make millions from it, when women of colour get called ghetto for it. That’s the part that hurts.”
Jones also highlighted how women in the Black community used brown lip liner and lip gloss back in the 80s, when makeup brands were not inclusive.
This was not the first time a celebrity has been called out for cultural appropriation. In May 2021, Bieber’s close friend Kendall Jenner was accused of appropriating Mexican culture with her outfit and campaign photoshoot for the launch of her brand, 818 Tequila. The photos featured the reality star posing in an agave field in Mexico, while she wore jeans, braids, and an oversized shirt with a cowboy hat.
Throughout her career, Bieber has continued to advertise her “glazed” and glowy look, with Rhode selling a hydrating serum that is described as her “signature step to [her] dewy, glazed skin”. The model has also been credited with starting the glazed donut trend, a term used to describe her chrome-painted nails.
The Independent has contacted a representative for Bieber for comment.
