What Hillary Clinton Looks Like Makeup-Free

Hillary Clinton has had a lengthy career in politics. After being the first lady of Arkansas and of the United States after her husband Bill Clinton was elected, she was elected as a U.S. senator in New York. Then she became secretary of state for four years during former President Barack Obama's administration. Hillary was also the Democratic presidential candidate going head-to-head with Donald Trump in the 2016 election. 

After the campaign cycle for that election, one supporter on X, formerly known as Twitter, noticed that Hillary seemingly went makeup-free during one of her speeches and commended her for doing so. "Love that @HillaryClinton decided not to wear makeup in her first speech off [sic] the campaign," the X user said. "She's clearly had it with the #patriarchy."

Love that @HillaryClinton decided not to wear makeup in her first speech off the campaign. She's clearly had it with the #patriarchy 💪🏼🤘🏼 pic.twitter.com/AyA91WG0VG

— Madelaine Pisani (@MadelainePisani) November 17, 2016

During her campaign earlier in 2016, Hillary didn't forego makeup. One thing people took notice of was the shade of lipstick she wore often. One user on Reddit inquired if anyone knew what she was wearing after a debate. After she lost to Trump and made her concession speech, Refinery29 reported that Hillary's lipstick was Votre Vu Champs-éLIPsée Lip Crayon in the shade Spark, which was confirmed by an individual who knew Clinton's makeup artist and worked in publicity for Votre Vu. However, as of writing, it does not seem like Votre Vu is still in business.

In 2012, the conservative outlet The Drudge Report shared a photo of Hillary Clinton mostly emakeup-free, besides wearing lipstick. She was also wearing glasses and had her hair down and not styled in its usual way. According to the Washington Post, the photo was from an official trip to Bangladesh. The newspaper pointed out the double standard between men and women in politics, and how women are primarily the ones who are subject to scrutiny over makeup and looks. This is something that Clinton understands very well.

In Clinton's 2017 memoir "What Happened," she discussed her feelings about having to wear makeup as a well-known woman. Per Refinery29, she said, "I once calculated how many hours I spent having my hair and makeup done during the campaign. It came to about 600 hours or 25 days. I was so shocked, I checked the math twice." 

Clinton continued to say one of the only things she was envious of male politicians was that they didn't need to work so hard on their looks. (At the time of publishing, did Clinton realize that Donald Trump reportedly wears makeup too?)

In "What Happened," Hillary Clinton may have been referring to The Drudge Report when she said, "The few times I've gone out in public without makeup, it's made the news. So I sigh, and keep getting back in that chair, and dream of a future in which women in the public eye don't need to wear makeup if they don't want to, and no one cares either way."

The former politician embraced a makeup-free look and emphasized the importance of two things on Instagram in 2020. "No makeup? No pantsuit? No problem," Clinton wrote in the caption. "I've got the must-have accessory for spring. I'm wearing a mask (and voting!) for my country, my community, and my grandchildren." 

In a 2022 interview Clinton was firm that rumors she was running for president in 2024 were untrue. Although she's stepped back from politics, she does not share personal photos often and instead mostly uses her social media presence to advocate for important causes. In July 2024, she and her husband endorsed Kamala Harris as the Democratic presidential nominee in a statement shared on Instagram, after President Joe Biden announced his exit from the race and endorsed Harris.