Politics

‘First of all, femininity has power’: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez shared her makeup routine with Vogue

Rep. Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) appeared in a video on the publication's popular YouTube channel.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., speaks with other lawmakers during a break from testimony from Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg before a House Financial Services Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in October 2019. Andrew Harnik / The Associated Press

By Maddie Mortell

September 6, 2020

1 minute to read

Pop stars, models, athletes, and influencers often share their beauty tips and secrets with Vogue, but it’s not everyday a politician contributes her step-by-step makeup tutorial.

Recently joining the publication’s popular YouTube channel among the likes of stars like Tracee Ellis Ross, Doja Cat, Priyanka Chopra, and a number of Kardashians was U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.).

Ocasio-Cortez appeared in a late August video with a nearly 20-minute GRWM (“Get Ready With Me”)-style tutorial. In the video, Ocasio-Cortez talks about skincare, her signature red lipstick, and how the power of femininity informs her mood and work in the U.S. House of Representatives.

“I’m really excited to spend my morning with you. Let’s do it. I have not gotten much sleep last night at all — welcome to life in politics,” she said in the video. “We are trying to get people healthcare, making sure that they are taken care of in a pandemic. People are fighting too much, and so I have bags under my eyes. And so I always start with a toner.”

As she continues to get ready, Ocasio-Cortez ponders how women in power are seen.

“First of all, femininity has power. And in politics, there is so much criticism and nitpicking about how women and femme people present ourselves,” she said. “Just being a woman is quite politicized here in Washington. There’s this really false idea that if you care about makeup or if you care, if your interests are in beauty and fashion, that that’s somehow for the least. But I actually think these are some of the most substantive decisions that we make, and we make them every morning.”

AOC finishes the tutorial after carefully applying an all-day red liquid lipstick from the middle outward to add “a little more oomph” and then holds her French bulldog Deco up for a quick kiss on the cheek.