Maybe he was born with it, maybe it’s guyliner? On X, formerly known as Twitter, it’s not just J.D. Vance’s strangest behavior that has netizens befuddled about Donald Trump’s controversial VP pick — his baby blues are also making news. Some people believe that Vance uses makeup to augment his eyes’ appearance, and it’s entirely possible this is the case.
Professional hair and makeup artist Luna Viola exclusively spoke to Nicki Swift about which beauty products are possibly part of Vance’s political rally prep. “Many celebrities are known for using concealer to brighten the undereye and dark brown eye pencil liner on the lower eyelid to make their eye color pop,” she said. However, Viola added that there’s a chance Vance is not using dark eyeliner on his upper lash line. “It is also very possible that he has very dark, perfect thick eyelashes,” she explained. “This can create the optical illusion of a black eyeliner, especially if contrasted with blue eyes.”
According to Viola, many men in the public eye wear various cosmetic products when attending special events, but their aim is usually to minimize imperfections. There have also been reports that Trump’s weird orange cast comes from concealer, and musicians such as Adam Lambert and Trump nemesis Billie Joe Armstrong don’t try to be subtle when it comes to their eyeliner use. If Vance really is using a much lighter hand to apply eye makeup, it has possibly worked to his advantage.
Donald Trump is reportedly a fan of JD Vance’s eyes
According to The New York Times, Donald Trump has gushed over J.D. Vance’s “beautiful blue eyes,” so the Ohio senator had a good reason to play them up while trying to win the veepstakes. Photojournalist Zach D. Roberts is a believer in the eyeliner theory. “I really thought people were joking about this, but then I photographed him last week. Vance 100% does wear eyeliner,” he tweeted.
In response to a screengrab of Vance from a 2016 TED Talk, some Redditors opined that he looked so different back then not only because his beard was missing but because he wasn’t wearing eyeliner. In response to a commenter who pointed out this supposed lack, another person wrote, “Is that why he looks so strange to me? I couldn’t figure out why his eyes didn’t look right.”
Some of Vance’s critics on the other side of the political aisle have been reluctant to joke about his possible makeup usage because the Democrats are supposed to be the party that supports gender nonconformity and self-expression. “Saturday Night Live” star Cecily Strong had no such reservations during the “Comics for Kamala” fundraiser. She roasted the wannabe veep by joking, “J.D. Vance is confusing because his rhetoric wants us to panic about immigrants but his eyeliner wants us to Panic at the Disco.” Vance could always prove his critics wrong by letting Jimmy Fallon playfully rub his face down with a makeup remover wipe.
