Plastic surgeons and consultants describe Mar-a-Lago face as a deliberately conspicuous and homogenized aesthetic, with one estimate placing the 2025 cost of a full set of procedures at around $90,000 plus ongoing maintenance.[9] Journalistic and academic analyses have situated the trend within far-right and Trump-aligned visual culture, arguing that a recurring, highly stylized face helps signal allegiance to Trump and project shared values among his supporters.[11] Some commentators compare the look to forms of aesthetic eugenics tied to a Caucasianbeauty ideal and to the display of the body as a political symbol for Trump’s circle.[6] Others relate Mar-a-Lago face to gender-affirming surgery or drag-like performances of exaggerated femininity and masculinity within the MAGA movement.[10] Conservative surgeons and writers have criticized the label as a politically motivated attack on conservative women and allies of Trump, rather than a neutral description of cosmetic trends.[12]
Description
According to Women.com, Mar-a-Lago face is characterized by excessive makeup, fake tans, fake eyelashes, dark smoky eyes, and lip augmentation.[1]The Week called the look a "must-have accessory" for the inner circle of President Donald Trump.[5] Mar-a-Lago face is named for Trump's home in Florida, Mar-a-Lago.[2] Melinda Anna Farina, an aesthetic consultant, identified the Mar-a-Lago face as attempting to emulate the appearance of Eastern European women.[2]
Board-certified surgeon Jeffrey Lisiecki characterized the Mar-a-Lago face as "overfilled cheeks that are high and firm, full lips and very taut, smooth skin".[9] Writing for The Guardian, Arwa Mahdawi commented that when the appearance is applied to men, enhancements are applied to the jawline rather than lip size.[13] Mark Epstein, a New York City plastic surgeon, observed an increase in requests in the wake of the attempted assassination of Donald Trump in Pennsylvania.[14] From January 2025 onward, plastic surgeons in the U.S. capital area reported a "surge in ‘Mar-a-Lago face’ requests from Trump insiders".[15]Axios reported the increase was due to many Floridians moving to the Washington area at the time.[15]
California surgeon Matthew Nykiel estimated the 2025 cost in U.S. dollars to be approximately $90,000 along with upkeep costs of $2,500 per year.[9]
Analysis
The Hollywood Reporter describes Mar-a-Lago face as a "Fellini-esque exaggeration of the dolled-up Fox News anchorwoman look".[8] One etiquette and image consultant told HuffPost that the aesthetic is designed to signal wealth and privilege.[9] Beyond what this beauty trend may look like in practice, the use of plastic surgery to create a homogenized aesthetic has been attributed to the success of anti-feminist and far-right social media content. Megan L. Zahay, professor of communications at the University of Wisconsin, asserts that repetition of the aesthetic serves to amplify particular ideological beliefs, creating a sense of in-group homogeneity or consensus.[16] Barnard College professor Anne Higonnet argues the move towards this particular aesthetic serves as "a sign of physical submission to Donald Trump", in that the aesthetic creates traditional feminine and masculine features.[11]
Santiago Martinez Magdalena of the University of Navarra compares Mar-a-Lago face to "aesthetic eugenics", and associates it with "the Caucasian model as a hygienic and normative horizon, the choice of working models and the exposure of the body as the focal point".[6] Catherine Tebaldi of the University of Luxembourg and Scott Burnett of Pennsylvania State University hypothesize the inclusion of men within this aesthetic to be a part of a broader trend in the US far right movement, bolstered by online image boards and publications, where both "hardness" and symmetry in facial features is seen as important to outwardly demonstrated masculinity.[17] The promotion of a uniform aesthetic within the MAGA movement has been likened to body fascism,[18] an ideology which prizes individual physical strength and beauty conformities as reflections of the wider political movement of fascism.[19]
Joan López Alegre, a professor at Abat Oliba CEU University, describes the phenomenon as reflecting Trump's changing base: "The Trump voter is no longer a conservative voter like the Bush voter, but a lower middle-class voter. It is not clear to me whether they want to be more like Romeo Santos or Barbie's Ken".[2] He further states that Trump's aesthetics were seen as "tacky" in New York City, but are more accepted in Florida, and therefore may appeal to the evolving demographic support of the Republican party.[2] A Boca Raton plastic surgeon said Mar-a-Lago face "whispers refinement", and a Washington, D.C.-area surgeon identified it as a "modern aristocratic mask".[15]
Reaction to trend
Many of Donald Trump's critics have sought to identify any hypocrisies arising from the ideological proponents of natural health and traditional beliefs about women. Writing in Der Tagesspiegel, Ronja Merkel compares the bodies and physical appearance of the present Trump cabinet and members to the Trumpist version of America First ideology: that those who fail to meet even the artificial image of America are unwelcome.[20] Merkel describes the surgically altered appearances of Trump insiders as "rules, control, and the restoration of a 'natural' hierarchy".[20] Christoph Künne writes in the German magazine Docma that Mar-a-Lago face is not "total disfigurement", quoting a surgeon who described the look as "overdone" and "plastic".[7]
Writing for Mother Jones, Inae Oh calls Mar-a-Lago face "gender-affirming care the right can celebrate".[10] She states that Mar-a-Lago face "seems intended to signal membership with Trump" and "force strict gender norms" with a blunt approach.[5][10] Eva Wiseman in the Otago Daily Times also associates Mar-a-Lago face with gender-affirming care and drag.[21]The Week describes the trend as "the leader and followers compet[ing] to inject as much unsightliness as possible into the American field of vision".[5] Joan Callarissa, a fashion-and-celebrity journalist, identifies Mar-a-Lago face as an extension of Trump's "counter-revolutionary" movement, saying, "If they have a face they don't like, they change it, without caring if it looks natural or not, because reality does not matter to Trumpism".[6] Ani Wilcenski writes in The Spectator that Mar-a-Lago face represents the "broader Trumpian artifice" and the "national id" of the US.[3]
In response to criticism, surgeon and conservative activist Sheila Nazarian has described the term "Mar-a-Lago face" as an attack on conservative women.[12] In USA Today, Nicole Russell said conservative women were victims of "cruel attacks" due to Mar-a-Lago face.[15]
Noted individuals
Florida congressman Matt Gaetz is a noted example of Mar-a-Lago face in a male
Individuals who have been described as having Mar-a-Lago face include:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Davis Smith, Jamie (June 2, 2025). "Plastic Surgeons Reveal How Much It Costs To Get A 'Mar-A-Lago Face'". HuffPost. Archived from the original on July 2, 2025. According to Dr. Matthew J. Nykiel, a board-certified plastic surgeon at SoCal Plastic Surgeons, Mar-a-Lago Face "refers to a recognizable combination of facial features and plastic surgery enhancements, often modeled after Ivanka Trump's signature look."
↑ Abbate, Grazia (May 29, 2025). "The 'Mar-a-Lago Face': Ivanka Trump Becomes the New Ideal of Beauty". La Voce di New York. Archived from the original on May 30, 2025. The new aesthetic ideal in the Palm Beach of Trump loyalists no longer comes from Hollywood, but from Mar-a-Lago: according to two well-known plastic surgeons, more and more clients–mostly women, but also men–are asking to look like Ivanka Trump.
↑ Gottlieb, Julie (2011). "Body Fascism in Britain: Building the Blackshirt in the Inter-War Period". Contemporary European History. 20 (2): 111–136. doi:10.1017/S0960777311000026. ISSN1469-2171.
1 2 Merkel, Ronja (August 22, 2025). "Das Botox-Kabinett von Donald Trump: Darum sehen Amerikas neue Rechte alle gleich aus". Der Tagesspiegel (in German). Archived from the original on August 22, 2025. Die Ideologie dahinter ist klar: Trumps Regierung setzt auf Grenzschließungen, Massenabschiebungen, die Kriminalisierung von Migration und ein Verbot geschlechtsangleichender Maßnahmen für Minderjährige. In mehreren Bundesstaaten wurden Abtreibungsrechte massiv eingeschränkt, trans Personen aus dem Militär ausgeschlossen und Antidiskriminierungsgesetze zurückgedreht. Die Körper im Kabinett sind das visuelle Versprechen dahinter: America(ns) First – alle anderen müssen draußen bleiben. [...] In autoritären Systemen ist der perfekte Körper nie nur Oberfläche. Er steht für Regeln, für Kontrolle, für die Wiederherstellung einer 'natürlichen' Hierarchie.
↑ Wiseman, Eva (May 17, 2025). "Made-up to look like women". Otago Daily Times. Archived from the original on May 18, 2025. If it was, it would surely not require all this — the injectables, the lipstick, the dye, or indeed the surgery, which some might call gender-affirming care. It's drag, with all the campery and inauthenticity that implies.
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