Is Chola Makeup only a trend? Or is it a cultural heritage? Or maybe it has more meaning than that! By the time you finish reading this article, you will know more about Chola culture and makeup. You will know that Chola style comes from way back in the day when Europeans came to the US or before “Lean Like A Cholo” hit the charts. These days many Pop artists and celebrities like Nicki Minaj and Gwen Stefani think that Chola-inspired makeup, Chola eyebrows, dark eyeliner, and Chola lips look cool and sassy. But little do they know that this was a protest and a movement in favor of the people of color. Moreover, the Chola Outfits and Chola hairstyles were more of a representation of Mexicans breaking out of the racist culture. Here, you will know all about the origin of Chola culture and its historical meaning.
What Is Chola? History and Evolution of Chola Makeup
If you have seen Cholo or Cholas, you might think of tattoos, pencil-thin eyebrows, or Flocka from “Orange Is The New Black.” But, Chola aesthetics and Chola culture come from a purpose and a long history.
Origin of the Word
The origin of the word “Cholo” is complicated in its meaning as it stems from “Xoloitzcuintli” which is a word in Nahuatl, the language of “Aztecs.” “Xolo” refers to an indigenous breed, the “Peruvian Hairless Dog,” which represents racism. But it was not something people chose for themselves. When the Spanish showed up in Latin America, they created a racial caste system placing Spaniards at the top. They used the word Cholo for the indigenous and mixed indigenous people at the bottom.
The Rise of Pachucos
Even when we fast forward to the United States, things only got racist more than ever. In the 1940s, people of Mexican descent representing Hispanic-American culture, living in the US, were known as Pachucos. These people wore zoot suits as their Pachuca style, and most of them were living in East LA. At that time, America was suffering from World War Two. Pachuca women or “Las Mujeres” were known for breaking the mold of a good wife that was all over the place in wartime America. They form girl gangs, wore zoot suits, and large bouffant hairstyles, by which they protested against their forced assimilation into gender roles of American culture.
The Next Generation – Cholas
Pachucos voiced their identity by zoot suit riots after the incident of cops targeting young Pachucos in 1943. This was pivotal for Pachucos as it later became Chola culture. Talking about the 50s and 60s, here comes the Cholo, the children of Pachuco zoot suit culture. They had different looks and a lot of attitudes. Cholas represented their experiences as tattoos on their bodies. Inspired by gang culture, jail attire, and working-class migrant clothes, they rocked bandanas, dickies pants, flannel shirts, big hoops, tattoos, and Chola eyeliner. They also associated lowriders and muscle cars with their purpose.
Types of Chola Makeup
Now that we know how Chola makeup originated and how old the word itself is, it is time to look at Chola outfits and Chola makeup looks. You will see how well Mexican Chola makeup and Chola style depict the feminist struggle of those people.
1. Glam Chola Makeup
Chola makeup can take many different forms, and because the Chola style has a vast history, it evolved. This glam look is the one, which women do for entertainment and parties these days. Women draw the less intense arc of Chola eyebrows for this look. Chola hairstyles such as braids are excellent for a better complete look.
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2. Chola Clown Makeup
This look constitutes the most recent Insta-worthy makeup trends. Makeup influencers have taken Chola makeup on another level by trying such creative Chola styles. Chola eyebrows thinly drawn with eyebrow pencil or eyeliner is the highlight of this look. And because women go wild with the Chola lips making them more exaggerated, this look is another level of art.
3. 90s Chola Makeup
Bouffant hairstyles and half hair updos are the classic 90s style hair women wear today as well, specifically as 90s Chola style. The makeup is more like cute Chola-style makeup. Women draw thin eyebrows and wear darker lipliner to make their lips look like the Chola lips. Although, the style does not at all represent the feminist struggle of Mexicans, but looks more like Chola makeup.
Also Read: People often make some fashion mistakes when they combine makeup and outfits from different eras.
4. Mexican Chola Makeup
I would call this makeup look the real Chola makeup. It is because the accessories are an important part of Chola style and you cannot miss that. The silvery grey and black eye makeup plus the highly arched eyebrows make it the iconic Chola trend. Women wear a bandana and big hoop earrings as part of Chola outfits. For this look, the lips must be glossy with an outer darker line and an inner light shade.
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5. Chola Halloween Makeup
Halloween makeup trends have been extremely popular on social media platforms. Chola has made its way into modern culture, whether as clown makeup, or Halloween costume makeup. People go extravagant with the artistic innovations they do over their eyebrows and around their lips. Eye makeup is just the same as Chola fashion trends.
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6. Latina Gangster Makeup
More or less the same Chola or Chicano outfit and that gangster appearance! People rock complete outfits and makeup look at the costume parties. You would likely come across a Latina gangster Cholo makeup style in some hip hop, rap genre of pop music culture, like in the music video of “Young Money” and “Nicki Minaj.” Although makeup is the same as real Chola makeup, the style is incomplete without the flank tops and dickies pants. A teardrop tattoo under the eye is what makes the style complete.
Step By Step Guide on How to Wear Chola Makeup
You now have a vague idea of how the different Chola styles look, and clearly, they are not for everyone to wear. People with the right attitude and extravagant personalities can rock Chola makeup and Chola outfit. Here is how you can do it
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Step 1: Apply Foundation
Chola makeup look is well known for putting too much foundation for the highlight. Making the foundation prominent is the first step. Apply the foundation evenly over your forehead, cheeks, and nose, then blend it with a makeup sponge. Choose a long-lasting foundation for a perfect base for the entire day.
Step 2: Chola Eyebrows
Another specific part of Chola Styles is the thinly drawn Chola eyebrows. For a perfect shape, you can do one of the two things. Either cut your eyebrows and draw them over or hide them by sticking and applying makeup foundation over them. This way, you will have a clear canvas to draw thin arched eyebrows with an eyeliner gel or an eyebrow pencil.
Step 3: Chola Eye Makeup
Put on an eye primer to make your makeup last long. Then for an excessive appearance, draw the upper lash line using eyeliner. The lash line must stand out. Put on silver eyeshade over the whole eyelids. Then draw over the crease of your eyes with a black color shade and blend it with silver. Then curl your lashes and put mascara over them for a fuller appearance.
Step 4: Chola Lips
Chola lips are easy to make. Firstly, apply a lip moisturizer. You then have to choose a dark-colored lip liner, preferably black, burgundy, or berry-colored Chola lip liner. Then outline your lips with that color. Fill your lips with dark lipstick but one or two shades lighter than lip liner. Make your lips glossy, and you are good with your Chola lipstick.
Step 5: Wear Chola Hairstyle and Accessories
For the Chola style to rock, you need to wear a proper hairstyle and some accessories as part of the Chola outfit. A bandana, huge hoop earrings, flank white top, shirt, wide pants, some chains and rings, nail paints, and huge bouffant hairstyle make the outfit stunning. Moreover, for the Chola, tattoos are important as they represent their past. A teardrop tattoo under the eye is a trend of Chola makeup these days.
When we connect the dots, Cholo culture and Chola style represents a long history of resistance to colonization and cultural assimilation. Chola makeup is more than just a look; it’s an attitude and a movement. These days it looks cool to dress up like a Chola, but you should also know the cultural and historical meaning behind this Mexican Chola makeup. Cholo is a word that was to insult people of color, but those people transformed it into a look, attitude, and culture based on their experiences with marginalization.
Also Read: You can try these nail art designs by choosing darker nail paints to go with a Chola style.
Love all these hair ideas, especially The Next Generation – Cholas! It looks so fun and classy!