Photographs of Karoline Leavitt, spanning from her college years to her tenure as White House Press Secretary, show a clear transformation—from a more natural, youthful look to a more “Mar-a-Lago” aesthetic as the Trump administration’s “mouthpiece.”
Leavitt, 28, began attending Saint Anselm College in 2015, where she founded the school’s first broadcasting club the following year and made her earliest appearances reporting on political issues. At the time—perhaps reflecting her young age—her makeup appeared more stripped back, highlighting her natural features.
In August, social media users reacted to “before and after” photos of the press secretary after images from her college years went viral, prompting speculation about whether she had undergone cosmetic surgery.
The episode kicked off fresh chatter about the so-called“Mar-a-Lago” face, which has become a common and widely discussed aesthetic among MAGA figures, both men and women.
Speaking to HuffPost, board-certified plastic surgeon Dr. Jeffrey Lisiecki described the “Mar-a-Lago” look as featuring overfilled cheeks, pronounced lips, and tightly smoothed skin, often accompanied by a full face of makeup.
According to Dr. Matthew J. Nykiel, a board-certified plastic surgeon who spoke with HuffPost, the “Mar-a-Lago” face—which has seen a surge in requests among plastic surgeons in Washington, D.C.—can cost upwards of $90,000 to achieve the full look.
In her daily press briefings, Leavitt has been seen wearing heavier makeup, frequently paired with pronounced lips, though she has not publicly confirmed whether she has undergone any cosmetic procedures.
“Karoline Leavitt usually wears full-coverage makeup with warm, bronze tones and bold brows, which works well in studio lighting but can appear heavier in photos,” celebrity makeup artist Andrea D. Charles told the Irish Star.
Yet the makeup artist also noted that, in some photos, Leavitt “looks softer and more controlled,” using lighter foundation and tighter contour.
Meanwhile, some users have described Leavitt’s changed appearance not as a “Mar-a-Lago” makeover, but as a “power makeover,” suggesting it reflects the kind of transformation that comes with power, influence, and professional styling.
Dr. Jennifer Harrington, a board-certified plastic surgeon and adjunct professor at the University of Minnesota, suggested that if Leavitt has used lip filler, it is “subtle,” likely amounting to a “natural-looking boost with just 0.5 to 1 ml of filler per lip.”
“She does appear in this interview to have enhanced fullness of her upper and lower lips,” Harrington commented on Leavitt’s look during a September Fox News interview.
Perhaps the closest look at Leavitt’s MAGA makeover can be seen in a photograph by Christopher Anderson for Vanity Fair.
“It’s surprising to see somebody’s face have those sort of dark marks,” said Sam Escobar, senior editor of the Daily Beast’s beauty, health, and wellness site, The Looker, about what seemed to be injection sites along the vermilion border of Leavitt’s lips.
“When you first get your lips done, they can look uneven—it takes a little bit to settle,” Escobar continued, noting that, in her opinion, Leavitt’s alleged injections must have either been done recently or she’s a “slow healer.”
“What I probably would have done is put concealer all over her lips and then use lip liner, and then put dark lipstick on her,” Escobar said, describing how she would have handled Leavitt’s makeup.
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