--- description: Why Hailey Bieber's "brownie glazed lips" trend isn't just controversial—it's cultural appropriation. title: Why Hailey Bieber's 'Brownie Glazed Lips' Are Controversial image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9f9cba5e247e2da6/698a35df09208f08a64199a7/Hailey-Bieber-brownie-glazed-lips-cultural-appropriation.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [celebrities](/tag/celebrities/) ## celebrities Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Hailey Bieber’s ‘Brownie Glazed Lips’ Look Is Yet Another Example of Cultural Appropriation in Beauty ## Video: Formula One’s Race Against Racism [Watch (HLS stream): Formula One’s Race Against Racism](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/dqpNe8OX.m3u8) (9:15)  _Published 2022-09-02. Thanks to a new owner and a popular Netflix show, Formula One has grown more popular than ever—but, in many ways, the sport is still stuck in the past. The sport has faced criticism for failing to diversify and struggling to address incidents of racism among its drivers and fans. In June, Lewis Hamilton—the sport’s biggest star and only Black F1 driver—called out the league for promoting “old voices” who don’t value inclusivity following reports that alleged retired champion Nelson Piquet used a racial slur to describe him. TIME’s Sam McPeak sat down with former F1 driver and TV presenter Karun Chandhok and journalist Lawrence Barretto to discuss how the sport can root out racism for a more inclusive future._  by [Cady Lang](/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 26, 2022 10:39 PM CUT  Hailey Bieber departs Good Morning America on June 15, 2022 in New York City. Hailey Bieber departs Good Morning America on June 15, 2022 in New York City.GC Images - 2022 Gotham  by [Cady Lang](/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 26, 2022 10:39 PM CUT Hailey Bieber faced criticism over the weekend after a TikTok video she made about “brownie glazed lips” was called out for appropriating a makeup technique favored by Latinas and Black and brown women since the ’90s. In Bieber’s [original video,](https://www.tiktok.com/@haileybieber/video/7135189540179807530?is%5Fcopy%5Furl=1&is%5Ffrom%5Fwebapp=v1 "undefined") which has gained 2.9 million views since she posted it on Aug. 23, the model wears brown lip liner with a clear glossy lip treatment from her beauty brand Rhode, captioning the post “ready for all the fall things including brownie glazed lips.” The use of brown lip liner and clear gloss has long been favored by women with darker skin tones, and Bieber doesn’t claim to have invented the lip combo in the video—but her post led to an influx of primarily white TikTok users recreating the look on the platform and crediting Bieber as their inspiration. As the trend took off, critics derided the framing of a beauty technique long practiced by women of color as having been “started” by a white celebrity. The controversy reached a boiling point over the weekend, when the topic began to trend on Twitter. One [video ](https://www.tiktok.com/@victorialyn/video/7145325160621444398?is%5Fcopy%5Furl=1&is%5Ffrom%5Fwebapp=v1&lang=en "undefined")in particular, in which creator Victoria Lyn referred to the beauty trend as “Hailey Bieber’s go-to fall lip combo,” was cited multiple times by other creators arguing that branding the technique “brownie glazed lips” is problematic and meant to help sell Bieber’s cosmetics. > [](https://twitter.com/tajiareed/status/1573664622795694083) **_Read more_**_:_ [_Cornrows and Cultural Appropriation: The Truth About Racial Identity Theft_](https://time.com/4011171/cornrows-and-cultural-appropriation-the-truth-about-racial-identity-theft/ "undefined") Twitter users underscored the longevity of the beauty trend and how it was popular with women of color long before Bieber posted about it; they also pointed out how the racism inherent in beauty ideals means that Bieber is being celebrated for doing the same thing that women of color have been criticized for. > [](https://twitter.com/aishumaj/status/1573126676003049472) > [](https://twitter.com/baddiepluq/status/1572750684864364550) > [](https://twitter.com/KINDAFENTY/status/1574257374881513474) Some of Bieber’s fans made the case that her mother is Brazilian and could have been the source of the model’s inspiration. But the look has historically been associated with the distinct aesthetics of [cholas, a subculture of first and second generation Mexican Americans](https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2014/aug/15/-sp-chola-style-cultural-appropriation-fashion-crime "undefined"), as well as Black and brown women, who often turned to [brown brow and eye liners and clear lip gloss to create a nude lip color](https://www.allure.com/story/history-of-90s-dark-liner "undefined") when the market lacked shade options to match their skin tones. **Read more:** [_‘Keeping Up with the Kardashians’ Is Ending. But Their Exploitation of Black Women’s Aesthetics Continues_](https://time.com/6072750/kardashians-blackfishing-appropriation/ "undefined") The controversy surrounding Bieber’s “brownie glazed lips” is hardly new—it’s part of a larger conversation concerning cultural appropriation in beauty practices, especially when it comes to so-called trends that are popularized on platforms like TikTok and touted by influencers and celebrities. On TikTok, the most glaring example of this may be the [“clean girl aesthetic,”](https://www.nylon.com/beauty/clean-girl-beauty-trend-problem "undefined") which is characterized by slicked-back hair, gold hoops and other jewelry, minimalist makeup, and acrylic nails. These are all aesthetic elements that Latinas and Black women have long sported, now rebranded as “model off-duty” looks inspired by women like Bieber and Bella Hadid. --- ### More from TIME --- The implications extend far beyond TikTok. Though beauty standards are constantly shifting, [the idealization of whiteness in beauty remains](https://time.com/5860313/unilever-fair-and-lovely-name-change-colorism/ "undefined"). Aesthetic trends practiced by women of color, like wearing braids, wigs, and elaborate acrylic nail art, have consistently been stigmatized until white women have tried them, suddenly making them cool or edgy. [Kylie Jenner claimed she “started wigs,”](https://time.com/6072750/kardashians-blackfishing-appropriation/ "undefined") and Kim Kardashian referred to her Fulani braids “Bo Derek braids.” The “brownie glazed lips” controversy shows how easily appropriation can happen and how, whether intentional or not, it comes at the expense of women of color. In a TikTok video posted on Friday, Latina creator @benulus said she regularly wears a dark liner and gloss combo in her videos and gets criticized for it, arguing that the appearances of white women are rarely scrutinized in the same way that those of women of color are. “A white woman does it—it’s going to become a trend. It’s going to be praised,” she said in her video. “I’m so flattered that Hailey Bieber always gets inspired by my community, a POC community. But because she does it now, all the people that told me that these lips are ugly are exactly the ones that are going to fall behind that trend.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6216791/hailey-bieber-brownie-glazed-lips-cultural-appropriation/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6216791/hailey-bieber-brownie-glazed-lips-cultural-appropriation/"},"headline":"Hailey Bieber’s ‘Brownie Glazed Lips’ Look Is Yet Another Example of Cultural Appropriation in Beauty","datePublished":"2022-09-26T22:39:57.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-24T14:48:49.734Z","description":"Here's what you need to know about the viral beauty trend","url":"https://time.com/6216791/hailey-bieber-brownie-glazed-lips-cultural-appropriation/","keywords":["celebrities","culturepod"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9f9cba5e247e2da6/698a35df09208f08a64199a7/Hailey-Bieber-brownie-glazed-lips-cultural-appropriation.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Cady Lang","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/cady-lang/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9f9cba5e247e2da6/698a35df09208f08a64199a7/Hailey-Bieber-brownie-glazed-lips-cultural-appropriation.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Celebrity Sightings In New York City - June 15, 2022","caption":"Celebrity Sightings In New York City - June 15, 2022","creditText":"GC Images - 2022 Gotham","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/celebrities/","name":"celebrities"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/6216791/hailey-bieber-brownie-glazed-lips-cultural-appropriation/","name":"Hailey Bieber’s ‘Brownie Glazed Lips’ Look Is Yet Another Example of Cultural Appropriation in Beauty"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Formula One’s Race Against Racism","description":"Thanks to a new owner and a popular Netflix show, Formula One has grown more popular than ever—but, in many ways, the sport is still stuck in the past. 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