The “Republican makeup” or “conservative girl makeup” trend mocks the cosmetic choices of right-wing women with TikTok tutorials. As a spinoff of the “Republicansona” meme from 2021, it focuses on accentuating common and unfortunate aesthetic choices among made-up ladies on the right to the point of creating the saddest clowns you’ve ever seen.
The trend has exploded on TikTok as the left continues to take issue with the Trump administration’s policies, perhaps hoping to get under Republican skin the way calling them “weird” seemed to do.
What is Conservative girl makeup?
Republican makeup, or conservative girl makeup, means explicitly doing every step of the makeup process wrong, without the preparation necessary to create a natural look. TikTok user @itssuzannelambert released a Republican makeup tutorial on Nov. 16, 2024, that gained over 5.6 million views for nailing the meme.
“Starting with the base, we’re not gonna do any prep at all,” she begins. “We really want our makeup to cling to any dry spots and accentuate any texture that we might have.”
@itssuzannelambert Dont miss the surprise at the end! Let me know how i did
♬ Redneck Woman – Gretchen Wilson
She makes sure to choose a matte foundation that doesn’t match her skin and smears it onto her face with her bare hands (which have been treated with a tanner) so that it “doesn’t blend well.” Then she pairs it with a concealer several shades too light for the foundation and applies it generously.
“We don’t want to pat our makeup, we want to rub our makeup so that instead of actually blending it out and making it look smooth, we’re just kind of smearing it to other parts of our skin.”
She paints her eyebrows thin and angular and makes sure they don’t match each other, then chooses a warm tone blush to clash with her skin and applies it low so that it “looks like everything is drooping.” She uses her “whitest, brightest” eye shadow over the whole lid and does a smokey effect on her hooded eyes so they look smaller.
Finally, she tops it off with a thick application of dark eyeliner, top and bottom (don’t miss the waterline) and her “driest” mascara. For her lips, she chooses a skin tone lipstick and skips the lip liner, neglecting her top lip since she’s going to tuck it in when she smiles anyway.
Conservatives respond
Although similar makeup videos under the hashtag #republicansona started trending in 2021, and some responded in kind with “liberal girl makeup” tutorials, the full right-wing outrage hit just days ago over a TikTok entry by @cherrycokefanclub69.
This video shows a particularly spot-on version of Republican makeup already applied by a woman who poses and makes disturbing facial expressions for the camera under the caption “Republican makeup.” The post from Feb. 5 gained over 5.7 million views and quickly spread to X, where users started comparing her to prominent right-wing women and generally mocking the demographic.
For example, X account @codebluememes, asked, “Why is republican makeup the same as ‘I want a different nurse’ makeup.”
Conservative women on social media are not appreciating these digs, and many are suddenly embracing feminism in response.
“Women tearing down other women,” wrote one commenter on the Republican makeup video. “Disappointing to say the least.”
“So much women empowerment I see. Like liberal makeup is any better,” wrote another.
“If you’re on TikTok you might have seen the far-left created ‘Republican makeup’ trend which was designed to take down women that don’t agree with their views,” says X user @Carleemua. “All while actively calling themselves feminists.”
‘Male gaze makeup’
Those who are not the targets of the Republican makeup jokes have often observed that the style resembles what they’ve seen in pornographic content, especially that from at least 20 years ago. This, of course, clashes with the right-wing anti-porn stance in a way that has many observers bemused.
One explanation posed for this contradiction is the fact that, whether they approve of it or not, conservative men watch porn. They then teach conservative women that their job is to please men. As a result, whether consciously or not, these women strive to look the part.
@saintjenni #makeup #alternative ♬ original sound – jennifer 
“So if you’re trying to submit to your man, and men are creating those standards, those beauty standards for these women, it’s the same thing that’s happening in the [porn] industry,” explains TikToker @saintjenni. “Men are setting these standards for a submissive woman, and I think that is the look that they are going for.”
“This is a meme I found funny but also *glasses finger emoji* republican makeup in general is the traditional ‘male gaze’ makeup, and sometimes even resembling the kind of makeup in porn,” X user @proyearner_ concurs. “Why do you think the clean girl mature makeup thing became so popular in the last few years?”
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