Celebrity Beauty
Selena Gomez Is Repping Her Cultura Chicana With Pigtail Braids
The Rare Beauty founder shared her style on Instagram.
On Sept. 21, Selena Gomez took to her Instagram stories to share an impromptu snap of her current glam moment. The Rare Beauty founder’s makeup was truly on point (which, let’s be honest, it always is), featuring a soft smoky eye, a neutral pout, and full eyebrows to frame her face — but it was her hair that truly felt effortless, youthful, and even subtly symbolic.
Parted down the middle, Gomez’s dark tresses were pulled into two pigtail braids, starting back towards the middle of her crown. And especially in the midst of this year’s Latinx Heritage Month, it seems it may be an understated nod to her Mexican-American culture.
In Chicane culture — which, ICYWW, refers to an American person with Mexican descent — braids are very much woven into the fabric of its history, from ancient tribes of the past to more modern, ribbon-wrapped iterations. A purposeful artist in that she does, Gomez has worn similar braids on numerous occasions, most notably on her 2021 studio album cover, Revelación, which features songs recorded fully in Spanish for the first time in her career.
Her playful twin braids are surprisingly easy-to-recreate, and has that on-trend slicked-back vibe that perfectly pairs with low-key athleisure ‘fits and cool-girl street style moments alike.
A glam girl through and through, the Rare Beauty founder is no stranger to working with the industry’s top makeup artists and hair gurus for red carpets and beyond.
For her star-studded 31st birthday, the multi-hyphenate took sultriness to new heights with a Pamela Anderson-inspired updo, siren-esque contoured eyes, and bright Barbiecore nails. More recently, the Single Soon artist arrived on the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards pink carpet in a glitzy red dress with her raven hair long and sleek down her back, pairing the look with “cinnamon spice girl” makeup.
In many ways, her go-to looks are bold and chic (as she’s in her most empowered era yet), although Gomez also doesn’t shy away from keeping things down to earth, with countless makeup-free selfies posted on her ‘gram — and, of course, her dedication to increasing access and education for mental health.
