All About The ‘Republican Makeup’ Trend That’s Taking Over TikTok
Makeup tutorials are the latest frontier of the culture war — just take it from TikTok. “Republican makeup” and “MAGA makeup” have emerged as popular search terms on the app, with some users racking up millions of views for their tongue-in-cheek videos.
Comedian Suzanne Lambert originated the trend: within days of President Trump’s reelection, she sarcastically poked fun at conservatives by “doing [her] makeup like the gorg maga girlies in the comments.”
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What Is “Republican Makeup” or “MAGA Makeup?”
The look — which clashes with the trendy, subtle “clean girl” aesthetic TikTok is more commonly associated with — involves a list of makeup faux pas, including no skin preparation. Moisturizer, serum or primer that provides a dewy, flawless base? More like “matte and flat,” “dusty and drained,” says Lambert.
“We really want our makeup to cling to any dry spots and accentuate any texture,” Lambert explains in her viral video, which has since been viewed over six million times.
Other tenets of “Republican makeup” include streaky foundation that is too warm for one’s skin tone, as well as garish eye shadow, caked-on powder, clumpy mascara and heavy, unprecise eyeliner. Sharp, defined brows should look overdrawn, as if “applied in the dark.”
Who Inspired “Republican Makeup?”
Look no further than Trump’s lackeys for inspiration: the president’s spokesperson Karoline Leavitt, secretary of homeland security Kristi Noem and representative Nancy Mace of South Carolina are frequently referenced by TikTok users as progenitors of the trend.
While Lambert’s technique involves no contour — avoiding a sculpted appearance is key — others have piled on bronzer or orange-tinted self-tanner worthy of the commander in chief himself.
What Does “Republican Makeup” Have to Do With Conservatism?
While it’s true that heavy makeup isn’t only associated with members of the GOP (in fact, it was a wide-sweeping trend as recently as the 2010s), there are correlations between the “Republican makeup” look and the party’s politics.
TikTok user Hobbitparty, who herself tried out the “Republican makeup” trend, refers to the look as outdated — perhaps a commentary on the party’s views being a thing of the past. These days, what’s trending in beauty (largely proliferated by Gen Z users on TikTok) is a more refined, natural look that plays up one’s unique features.
“Many Republican women haven’t updated their makeup trends since the 80s,” she told Newsweek. “Younger generations see the stale and crunchy makeup and can see how it can progressively be improved upon, but these women are too stuck in their ways to listen.”
Additionally, the Trump administration has made its stance on gender known: on his first day back in office, the President issued an executive order declaring that only two genders, man and woman, exist, conflating the terms with biological sex.
Trump has also rolled back rights for those seeking gender-affirming care, making treatment illegal for those under 19, though this executive order has been paused by federal judges.
While scientific evidence suggests that both gender and sex exist outside of a set binary, conservatives believe that rigid roles should be assigned to men and women based on the sex they are assigned at birth. For women, this means that hyperfemininity, including the routine use of makeup, is the only acceptable norm.
According to UCLA gender studies professor Juliet A. Williams, Ph.D., while Trump and his cabinet claim they don’t practice radical gender ideology, in reality, they seek to enforce one of their own.
“Women like Karoline Leavitt or Melania Trump are demonstrating fealty to a very specific beauty hierarchy that’s crafted in the image of the straight white male gaze,” Williams said.
“The hair, the makeup and the clothes are a way of affirming that this beauty standard is the right standard, and it’s a standard that positions a certain kind of white woman as the natural embodiment of femininity, and everyone else as a failed striver,” she continued. “That is about beauty, but it’s totally about traditional gender order. Anyone who thinks it’s just about makeup, I think, is really missing the message here.”
Williams also cites Judith Butler’s theory of gender performativity: Butler, a feminist scholar, theorizes that roles are “performed,” rather than inherent to one’s sex. This performance can take shape in speech, mannerisms, clothing and even beauty routines, which brings us to the idea of “Republican makeup.”
“The funny thing is that the most transphobic people are the ones that are most doubled down on the performative dimension of gender,” Dr. Williams explained. “They really seem to make plain how performative gender is because gosh, it takes a long time for these women to be able to present the appearance of femininity. It’s rich to see that the supposed, purported immutable, natural fact of gender isn’t even close to sufficient for these people.”
What Is the Point of “Republican Makeup?”
Lambert, who now has more than 700,000 followers, calls herself a “Regina George liberal,” a reference to Rachel McAdams’ blond bully in the 2004 film “Mean Girls.”
Speaking on CBS’ “America Decides” earlier this month, Lambert shared her disillusionment with those who have gone soft on the Trump administration — and the MAGA movement as a whole. Mockery, she believes, is the antidote.
“People are like, ‘You shouldn’t fight fire with fire,’ and I’m like, ‘Well, I’m not a firefighter,'” Lambert quipped. On a more serious note, she added, “I would also say you don’t fight fire with a little drippy water hose, you fight fire with equal exertion of force, and we need to do that.”
“Humor has been a cornerstone of politics for the entirety of our history,” Lambert continued. “I want more people to feel comfortable fighting back and I also want people to see others fighting for them.”
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