On November 10, just five days after US election day, New York design director and content creator Elysia Berman told her followers that the embedded “Trumpism” in the beauty industry should have tipped us off for what the election results would be. “The aesthetics of the face have been changing, and I think they were predictive of a Trump win,” she said in the now-viral video. The shift Berman refers to includes the rise of no-make-up make-up, tattoo removal videos, Utah curls, latte hair colours, extreme thinness, and a push towards dissolving filler in favour of more subtle, less noticeable plastic surgery trends. With people referencing quiet luxury hairstyles and Ozempic use as “obvious indicators” that Trump would win in a landslide, in hindsight, could 2024’s biggest beauty trends have predicted the election? 

This isn’t the first time beauty trends have been associated with particular political leanings. Back in 2021, teenagers on TikTok were giving themselves makeovers based on their Republican or Democratic alter egos. ‘Conservative beauty’ can be defined as beauty trends that uphold white supremacist and patriarchal beauty ideals. For example, blonde hair has become the colour of the right under Donald Trump (with the help of Fox News), and there’s a link between conservative politics and negative attitudes toward people with larger bodies. Online, where trad wives (short for “traditional wives”) post with an aesthetic pulled straight from the 50s, conventional beauty has been a key component for the success of the far-right. This content hides anti-feminist narratives and white nationalist beliefs under a bell sleeve, pearls, and hair slicked into low claw clips.

Since the undertones of conservatism in beauty content are often presented as embracing ‘traditional femininity’, it can be hard to spot at first. Recently, many trends that are associated with this ‘aesthetic’ have already seeped into the mainstream. “Kylie Jenner is dissolving her fillers, and everyone is dyeing their hair their natural colour, giving up on their ‘alternative phases’, and shunning any kind of individuality,” says Berman. Other 2024 trends that could fall under this framework include the “quiet luxury” low bun, heatless “trad wife curls”, “soft life” make-up, the demonisation of tattoos and even visible eyeliner (apparently, winged eyeliner is the new skinny jeans) – the list goes on. Each one may appear harmless on its own. Still, together, they build a picture of a certain rural lifestyle filled with religious modesty, traditional family values, and an idealisation of family wealth. In their world, being a woman means always having your hair, nails, and makeup done (minimally, according to your husband’s likes) and only tending to your family’s needs. 

When pondering how interlinked the rise of far-right conservatism is with today’s beauty trends, it should (hopefully) go without saying that you don’t need to get lots of piercings or dye your hair blue to “look like” a liberal or leftist. It is, however, worth examining any beauty rhetoric that accompanies conservatism, including anything that rejects women being empowered by their own sexuality and focuses on women in a traditional role, appearing “naturally” beautiful and “classy” (like the trad wife aesthetic or “divine feminine” dialogue). “A lot of conservative discourse focuses on women in traditional gender roles, but this also speaks to women remaining submissive to men, remaining appealing to them, and inhabiting a passive role,” says Dr Amy Tatum, a lecturer in communication and media at Bournemouth University. 

What people are drawn to right now is white supremacist beauty ideals and a very ‘natural’ approach to make-up. Kylie Jenner is dissolving her fillers, and everyone is dyeing their hair their natural colour, giving up on their ‘alternative phases’, and shunning any kind of individuality

The women’s liberation movement has historically questioned the pressure for women to appear beautiful and adhere to cultural norms, rejecting beauty trends, make-up and expectations of body hair removal. “Feminist scholars largely and historically have viewed women’s ‘beauty work’ as oppressive tools of the patriarchy designed to metaphorically bind women and restrict their social progress,” says Mycah L. Harrold, assistant professor of marketing at Anderson College of Business and Computing. Here’s where it gets tricky: according to Dr Tatum, there’s also a long tradition in conservatism of women wanting to avoid being “too made up”. This tradition doesn’t stem from a rejection of beauty standards, like for feminists, but rather a desire to keep up with the gender stereotype of women as homemakers and keep away from accusations of vanity. 

Today’s beauty climate is set against the backdrop of what some scholars have called a “post-feminist” era, with a strong emphasis on choice feminism. Harrold’s 2023 research found that young adult women who report strong feminist identities and feel pressure from beauty standards respond by purchasing more expensive beauty products than non-feminists. “Feminists splurge on these products because they associate them with choice and empowerment, and non-feminists purchase discount and cheaper products,” Harrold says. She did not measure political orientation in the paper. Still, American liberals report stronger feminist identities than conservatives, which could partly explain how visible eyeliner and coloured hair became signifiers of liberalism, left-wing politics and women’s liberation. 

In Harrold’s research, she also found that both feminists and non-feminists are doing the same beauty tasks, so it’s safe to say that an unrelenting beauty standard spans across political borders. “While the specific trends, colours, products, services, and desired appearance may be different, feminists and non-feminists consume beauty products with comparable frequency,” she says. With this in mind, beauty work and consumption are not going anywhere, even if the current trend is to appear like you aren’t opting into the consumption, and even when Trump’s tariffs raise the price of imported beauty favourites. 

As discussions around gender – particularly about women’s roles in politics, trans and femme bodies, and access to reproductive healthcare – dominated this election season, Dr Tatum says it’s “no surprise” that women’s looks have been part of the conversation. “The repealing of women’s rights goes hand in hand with discussions over what is ‘acceptable’ for a woman, and that includes their appearance,” she says. And the timing lines up: a conservative aesthetic becoming the beauty ideal coincides with the conservative agenda of rolling back women’s rights and increasing gender inequality. As Dr. Tatum puts it: “Women’s bodies are often a battleground”.