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Clara Bow’s cupid’s bow.
Getty Images/Illustration by Soleil Summer
Marlene Dietrich’s overlined lips.
Marilyn Monroe’s contoured pout.
All three of these now-iconic makeup looks could not have been done withoutlip liner.
Jillian Hernández’s grandmother, Zaida “Madelyn” Santiago in the 1960s
And that standard, naturally, was very white.
But bythe 1990s, a lip liner aesthetic emerged that was, to its core, quite the opposite.
Sometimes the lipstick was aneutral hue.
Jillian Hernández’s grandmother, Zaida “Madelyn” Santiago in the 1960s
But one thing it always had to be was stark.
It was the defining look of the decade, worn by everyone from Naomi Campbell to Naomi in HR.
Like many things beloved by mainstream America, this iconic makeup style has roots in communities of color.
Getty Images/Illustration by Soleil Summer
“Shades of brown weren’t even considered in the makeup industry,” Fine tellsAllure.
Back then, one of the only brands making products for Black women wasFashion Fair.
The company was the brainchild of Eunice Johnson, co-founder of the Johnson Publishing Company, which put outEbonyandJetmagazines.
Priscilla Ono and her mother (in black) Maribel Aguilar in 1998.
Today, Fine is the brand’s global makeup ambassador.
That moment of scarcity, ugly as it was, inspired beautiful innovation.
But it was more than just a simple makeup hack.
Getty Images/Illustration by Soleil Summer
Black women weren’t the only ones who embraced dark liner with light lips.
Latinas living in urban areas were also early adopters of the look.
But before there were cholos and cholas, there were zoot suit-wearingpachucos and pachucas.
This generation of Mexican-American youths living in 1940s Los Angeles are considered the predecessors to their ’90s counterparts.
Zoot suitsinitially became popularin Harlem, America’s most famous Black neighborhood, during the 1930s.
Denizens of the day would pair that with equally roomy, extra-long suit jackets with exaggerated lapels.
The eye shadow was heavier, the lipstick was darker, and the pompadours were higher.
Proximity in both location and socioeconomic class creates an environment that allows for cultural exchange.
When groups of people interact, they tend to influence each other.
Cholas employed dark liner to affirm their identities and establish their own standards of beauty.
Priscilla Onohas vivid memories of this moment.
The makeup artist is a native Angeleno still based in the city.
“Everyone thought the cholas were cool,” she recalls.
“I also grew up watching hip-hop music videos, admiring the makeup.”
“All mytiasdid it, my mom, my friends,” she says.
The lighter, both Fine and Ono note, played an essential role in getting the look just right.
“I can smell it just talking about it,” Ono recalls.
White celebrities likePamela Andersonpopped up wearing versions of the style, modified to fit their skin tones.
At the time, that particular liner style went against notions of what “tasteful” makeup looked like.
It became chic and sophisticated, edgy and fashionable.
Younger Black and Latinx celebrities still carry on the tradition their predecessors put forth in the ’90s.
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