Lined lips, Big hoops, and the Virgin: Three Trademarks that define Latina style

Music, such as reggaeton and trap, is topping all the world charts, and Latino actors are becoming more and more prevalent in Hollywood. Around the world, people are being inspired by some of the Latina trademarks and styles that have been around for decades. It seems like everybody wants to be Latino nowadays. As Bad Bunny would say: “todos quieren ser latinos, pero…”

Let’s break down some of the most popular Latino trademarks!

Brown Lined Lips

In the US, brown lip liner became a Latina trademark in the 1960s thanks to the Chola aesthetic, which emerged in the Los Angeles neighborhoods among first- and second-generation women of Mexican origin. It’s a distinctive look: lips outlined in a deep brown tone (and filled in with nude lipstick or lip gloss), bold black eyeliner, thin, penciled eyebrows, baby hairs, and long acrylic nails.

Makeup brands currently have a wide range of tones and colors in their foundations, blushes, eyeliners, and lipsticks, but it was not always like that for Latina and black women, who had to create their aesthetic with the only products that were available. Therefore, many used brown eye or brow pencils to outline their lips in shades similar to their skin tones.

The brown eyeliner technique reached its peak popularity in the 1990s and now is back. Recently, Hailey Bieber was criticized after calling the brown lip liner technique Brownie Glazed Lips and saying that it was her favorite fall beauty look. The model immediately received backlash for cultural appropriation.

Big Hoops

History tells us that wearing big hoop earrings originated in different African and Asian cultures since ancient times. Whether to demonstrate status, devotion, or fashion, hoops have been an important part of history and a way for people to express themselves. 

It’s no surprise, then, that hoops have become a symbol of resilience in the lives of brown and black individuals. Owning a pair of hoops as a kid is almost a right of passage for many Latinas. Your ears are pierced as soon as your mother can get someone to do it, and a pair of studs or micro-hoops are placed in your ears as a sort of training wheels.

Once seen as low-class and distasteful, hoop earrings have now resurfaced as a popular trend among celebrities and in fashion shows. Latinas are proud to wear their hoops, as they represent cultural identity, generational history, and the struggles that have made them more resilient in their day-to-day life. They also are a symbol of femininity and are often seen as a sign of status and wealth.

Hoops are also a popular choice for special occasions, such as quinceañeras and weddings, where Latinas get to express their culture and heritage.

Devotion to the Virgin

Latin America holds most of the Catholic population of the entire world, and each country has its own Virgin to whom they devote and pilgrimage.

Believers make an annual or monthly pilgrimage to show their love for the Virgin, such as the Virgin of Guadalupe in Mexico or the Virgin of Luján in Argentina, among others. This custom, which began years ago after the Spanish colonization, has mutated into becoming a part of the Latino culture and everyday life. Religion and devotion are taught from a very young age at home and at school, and both boys and girls learn to love the Virgin for their entire lives.

Specifically, for Latina women, the term “Marianismo” is important. It means to be like the Virgin Mary- kind, nurturing, dependent, predictable, quiet, docile, vulnerable, enduring all kinds of pain, virginal, and also a self-sacrificing mother and wife. This description includes the acceptance of a double standard concerning sexual promiscuity and the mutual acknowledgment of male superiority. 

The image of the Virgin Mary is prominent in Latino style and fashion, and she can be seen in tattoos, murals, and on medallions.