Brown Lip Liner Was Never Just a Trend—Black & Latina Women Made It Iconic (Op-Ed)

Brown lip liner didn’t suddenly arrive on the beauty scene when TikTok discovered it. Black and Latina women had been wearing the look since the ’80s and ’90s. Long before it took off on social media or appeared on red carpets, the aesthetic—typically a deep brown liner contrasted with a lighter lip, often finished with gloss—was already part of Black beauty, West Coast Chicana and pachuca chola culture, and East Coast Latina style. For many, it was also a necessity.

At the time, few brands made lip liners in darker shades for darker skin tones. In recent years, however, TikTok influencers—mostly Gen Z—have framed the look as a new beauty trend, erasing the fact that women of color have worn it for decades. Hailey Bieber’s “brownie glazed lips” backlash made this point clear. Brown lip liner and gloss have long been staples among Black and Latina women, yet the internet presented them as something new. We’ve seen this repeatedly: a beauty look embraced by women of color for decades gets rebranded as a fresh trend for white women to try.

“For a long time, the beauty industry wasn’t offering the right products that women of color needed,” says Global Beauty Expert Stephanie Flor. “So you became your own formulator, color mixer, and makeup artist. I still remember being in high school and not finding the right nude so that I would put foundation on my lips. But I needed that pop of lip liner to give me dimension so I didn’t look like a ghost. I remember I didn’t have a lip liner; I used a brown eye pencil.”

Flor says she learned to create the dark-liner look when she started working as a makeup artist. She was often inspired by Black and Latina celebrities such as Missy Elliott, Lil’ Kim, Naomi Campbell, Mary J. Blige, and Jennifer Lopez, who wore the look.

“I’ve seen this look for decades—brown liner with a lighter nude…It’s not something TikTok invented,” she says. “It has a much longer history within Black and Latina beauty culture, including chola communities, as well as the beauty looks that developed in urban communities of color. TikTok just looked [like] a new name, a new algorithm, and a new audience…Kevyn Aucoin was one of our gurus, and his book honored all beauty. He truly knew how to use a liner to reshape lip structures and accentuate features.”

The same aesthetic can look different depending on who wears it. For years, brown lip liner on women of color was dismissed as “ghetto” or too dramatic. But when white celebrities and models began wearing it, the look suddenly became chic, effortless, and nostalgic. That’s where the disrespect lies: the people once judged for their aesthetic aren’t credited, and often don’t receive the same praise when white people adopt it.

“The brown lip liner itself isn’t sacred. The cultural history surrounding how communities of color used it, evolved it, and were treated for wearing it is what deserves recognition,” Flor says.

She explains that the technique works because the dark liner gives lips structure.

“A light center brings dimension,” she says. “Gloss catches the light at the center and makes the lips look fuller and more hydrated.”

One of her favorite products for creating the look on herself or clients is Charlotte Tilbury’s Pillow Talk Lipstick & Liner Set.

“I think Charlotte has done a beautiful job creating browns and nudes that can work across different complexions,” she says. “E.l.f. is also at the top of my list. It’s more affordable, and they have really beautiful brown and neutral shades, which makes this look accessible to so many more people. I also love L’Oréal Paris’ Nudes for Life’ Color Riche Lip Liner paired with L’OréalParis Color Riche Satin Lipstick in ‘Worth It.’ That combination is gorgeous, especially on olive, tan, and brown skin tones. It gives you that defined brown-liner look without feeling too heavy. This is my go-to, always.”

Flor also recommends Lassi Lips Staining Lip Liner in “Jaan,” their Deep Brown, and Matte Blur Lip Stain Earl Grey if you want a more defined brown lip with longer staying power.

The way brown lip liner became associated with Hailey Bieber as its “original” creator is another example of how a look gains mainstream attention once a white person embraces it.

“I think appreciation becomes erasure when the origin disappears. You don’t have to belong to a culture to appreciate a beauty technique. Beauty is meant to travel,” Flor says. “Cultures have always borrowed, exchanged, and influenced one another. The question is: Do we acknowledge the people and communities who helped create the beauty language we’re now enjoying? If someone wears brown liner because they love the look—beautiful. If a brand celebrates the technique while acknowledging its history and making products for the diverse women who have worn it forever—even better. But when something rooted in communities of color is stripped of its history, given a new name, and presented as though it emerged yesterday, that’s where I think we need to pause.”

We’ve seen this happen with more than brown lip liner and long acrylic nails. It has also happened with brown lipstick, Black hairstyles—especially styled baby hairs, braids, and cornrows—and Black and Latina features once considered less beautiful or “too much,” such as fuller lips and bigger butts. Those features have since helped fuel the popularity of BBLs and lip fillers. They’re called ghetto on our bodies, then celebrated when they appear on thin, white women who fit Eurocentric beauty standards.

“These beauty looks weren’t always celebrated…Then it appears on TikTok later, when the same elements appear on a mainstream celebrity or influencer, suddenly they’re ‘chic,’ ‘editorial,’ or ‘a new trend,'” Flor says. “I don’t have a problem with a new generation discovering the look. I love that. What I think we should do is discover it with the history attached.”

Flor believes understanding the history makes the look even more powerful.

“Learn where it came from. Learn about the women who wore it. Understand the difference between Chicana, chola, Black, Afro-Latina, and other beauty traditions rather than collapsing everyone into one ‘Latina aesthetic,'” she says. “Then make it your own. That’s how culture stays alive. It evolves without forgetting where it came from.”

As Flor points out, beauty trends will keep evolving—but that shouldn’t mean the women who shaped them disappear from the story. True appreciation means learning, acknowledging, and crediting the originators who wore the look long before it became a “trend.”