The ‘MAGA Makeup’ Trend, Explained

Can you spot a Donald Trump supporter in the wild? Sure, if you are a scholar of what is now called MAGA Makeup.

First identified by comedian and creator Suzanne Lambert, this lewk has captivated attention on both sides of the political spectrum and says a lot about trends in beauty and fashion, as well as the current state of American politics. Yes, eyeliner can do all that!

Here’s everything you need to know, in this edition of TL;DR.

Give me the TL;DR.The popular makeup styling of Trump supporters, or MAGA Makeup as it’s being called, is going viral after comedian Suzanne Lambert identified the key components on TikTok.

Wait, I need more. What’s the background here?Well, we are officially in our second Trump administration, and with it comes a whole new cast of characters. Along with being forced to listen to Elon Musk against our will (and learn about his ever-growing baby mama drama), a fresh crop of Republican women have entered the spotlight.

From GOP representative Nancy Mace to Trump press secretary Karoline Levitt, this group of ladies has barged into the halls of government and are ready for their close-up (Hope Hicks, we barely knew ye). But for all the talk of their odious policies and harmful rhetoric, one thing has really stood out. The way they, and many other Republican women, do their makeup.

At least, that’s what Lambert, a former Republican originally from the South, believes. A corporate girl turned full-time comedian now living in Washington, DC, Lambert made a name for herself on TikTok following Trump’s election for her sardonic and Regina George–like responses to MAGA trolls on the platform and now has nearly 700,000 followers.

Of course, her videos describing how she trolls conservative influencers and making fun of the right’s public bathroom obsession has gotten her plenty of haters, but within them Lambert started to notice a trend. A lot of the Republican women, both in DC and in her DMs, had a similar look.

“I think as a comedian. That’s just what I do—I notice things,” she tells Glamour. “And it’s not like I only started noticing it around the election. I never really felt like we could talk about these things, even though they were always in our faces talking about our blue hair and making fun of our appearances. We were never allowed to hit back.”

It helped that Lambert considers herself a makeup aficionado, noting that many of the people who taught her what she knows are from the same communities that Trump, Mace, and many on the right are trying to harm.

“How I got good at [makeup] is by watching and listening to tons of videos for years, largely from queer people and people of color,” she says. “They have beauty advice and knowledge from a different perspective so they can teach me things that I wouldn’t have known.”

So, what is MAGA Makeup, exactly?Lambert broke it down for us, relying on both observation, she says, and how she used to do her own makeup when she was a Republican. First, the face.

“No skin prep whatsoever,” she jokes. “So there’s no moisturizer. If they use a primer, which is rare, but if they do, it’s likely a silicone-based primer that does not go with their water-based foundation. The foundation never matches their undertones. They love a golden undertone when a lot of them should be wearing a cool tone like me. So it’s like, yellow and then a red neck and chest because they are perpetually sunburned for some reason. They also don’t believe in sunscreen.”

As for the eyes, she instructs that there should be heavy concealer around them with a lighter shade than the base, which is then paired with super-thick eyeliner and “spiky mascara.”

“That’s the hallmark, so it gives that raccoon-eye effect,” she says.

There’s absolutely no contouring, she adds; instead, a warm blush is applied low on the cheeks. They may wear a dark eye shadow. And while they may be overly tanned, Lambert says, she doesn’t see much bronzer used.

“Then to finish it off, they love a frosted lipstick that kind of matches their skin tone with no lip liner,” she says.

What does the internet think?Lambert’s videos breaking down MAGA Makeup went instantly viral, sparking a trend all over the internet. Soon people on TikTok were replicating the look themselves, with tutorials and GRWMs, usually setting their video to a country song, “God Made Girls.” There’s even a “MAGA” or “conservative woman” filter on TikTok now.

The way you feel about this trend probably depends on your political affiliations. If you are liberal (or at least, anti-Trump) like Lambert, you likely think it’s hilarious. But if you’re MAGA yourself, you may think this is petty or bullying behavior.

Some right-wing creators have made videos in response calling out “liberal makeup,” which, apparently, means a lot of colored eye shadow or wigs. Others just use a clown filter.

In Lambert’s mind, though, she’s using humor to make a larger point. Is it petty to make fun of someone for being bad at applying eyeliner? Sure! But that pales in comparison to some of the rhetoric happening in politics right now.

“What’s meaner? Telling someone that their contour doesn’t match their undertones—because it doesn’t, and that’s something you can change, by the way—or referring to immigrants as animals?” she says. “I think it’s pretty clear what the answer is for who’s actually the mean girl. And it’s not me.”

So, why should I care?Lambert’s MAGA Makeup crusade is part of a larger trend across Democratic politics. Many liberals, she has observed, are tired of staying silent while being consistently mocked or insulted by Republicans online.

The “we go high” era has been replaced by the “Regina George liberal,” and no one’s affinity for spray tanning is safe.

“I want the people ruining the world to have good makeup,” Lambert says. “I want them to look good. I always thought it would be hot people ruining the world. I didn’t think it would be the weird hall monitors ruining the world.”

The enthusiastic response to Lambert’s videos, and other so-called liberal provocateurs like Jack Schlossberg, reveals an undercurrent of malaise and bite underneath respectful Democrats that, facing a second Trump term, they are now itching to unleash.

And perhaps by doing so, women can point out the dichotomy between the hatefulness of the rhetoric of the left and the right. Because while, yeah, telling someone to contour may be bitchy, it can’t exactly compare to telling women they need to lose their right to vote or denying a trans person’s right to exist.

“You have a lot of women who are pissed off at the status quo and are pissed off at how we’ve been told we have to behave,” says Lambert. “I think that’s exactly what we’re seeing now. It starts with makeup, but it doesn’t end with makeup.”

What should I tell my friends about this?You guys should all try the lewk for yourselves. I mean, why not?