Photo: Bonnie Cash/UPI/Bloomberg via Getty Images
This week, Vanity Fair published a photo of Karoline “The Mouthpiece” Leavitt. You know the one. The one where we can see every last detail of her face, including what looks like lip gloss over a pair of seemingly polka-dot lips. Let’s just say that it’s not the kind of portrait one might want to blow up and hang in the living room — Vanity Fair’s Instagram post was filled with comments like “Her makeup artist HATES her,” “jumpscare,” and “diabolical.” So, what is actually up with her lips?
I spoke to two board-certified dermatologists and one board-certified plastic surgeon and asked them that question. All of them agreed that they look like bruises and spots of bleeding that happen when “a needle or cannula passes through the delicate blood vessels of the lips,” says dermatologist Dr. Mona Gohara. And all of them assured me that based on the look of the lips, it appears she got the injections within a few days of the photo shoot — possibly even the day before? Maybe she wanted to look extra nice for her close-up, all right? (Leavitt has never admitted to getting filler or commented on the photo but posted some glamour shots instead.
Dr. John Diaz, a plastic surgeon, noted that there are “slight irregularities in contour present, which is not ideal.” But because it’s so early in the process, he says it’s hard to tell how her lips will end up. “The pictures show lips that likely had newly placed filler,” says dermatologist Dr. Lauren Moy. “It takes a little time for swelling/bruising and filler to settle.” So there’s no need to freak out and dissolve them just yet, Karoline. Lots has been written about “Mar-a-Lago Face,” and the overdone aesthetic of some who are in Trump’s inner circle. But we don’t body shame in this house. And we’re so happy Karoline Leavitt was able to get her gender-affirming care.
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