The limelight is bright, but JD Vance's eyes are perpetually dark. Why? We decided to get to the bottom of it.
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00:00The limelight is bright, but J.D. Vance's eyes are perpetually dark. Why? We decided
00:06to get to the bottom of it.
00:08Ever since Donald Trump announced J.D. Vance as his VP pick, one question has been on everyone's
00:12lips. It's not about his grudge against cat ladies. It's not even about his policies.
00:17No, thanks to J.D. Vance, Americans from both sides of the aisle have united to ask one
00:22thing.
00:24Are you wearing eyeliner?"
00:27Look, it's possible. Vance's light blue eyes are very striking and tend to draw your attention
00:32more than usual. It doesn't matter what kind of lighting he's under. Those peepers are
00:36always rimmed by a crisp shadow that's so perfect, some would say it's, well, painted
00:41on.
00:42And to get this out of the way first, all politicians wear makeup to some extent when
00:46they make a public appearance. As Los Angeles-based hair and makeup artist Luna Viola said,
00:51many celebrities are known for using concealer to brighten the under eye and dark brown eye
00:55pencil liner on the lower eyelid to make their eye color pop.
00:59Viola also pointed out how some people have naturally dark lashes, which could be the
01:02case with Vance, saying,
01:04"...this can create the optical illusion of a black eyeliner, especially if contrasted
01:08with blue eyes. The natural contrast can make the lashes even darker than they are."
01:13But ultimately, this makeup artist was convinced that Vance's eyes could have some help from
01:18a cosmetics case. Viola concluded,
01:20It is very possible that he is wearing some makeup to enhance his appearance on camera.
01:24Well, we were curious what Vance would look like if he had lighter eyelashes, or if he
01:30skipped the makeup one day if his look isn't all natural. So we edited one of his photos
01:35to find out, and here's the result we got.
01:39When they're lightened, the contrast around Vance's eyes definitely isn't as sharp. However,
01:44it's not like it makes a drastic change to his appearance, either. Obviously, this solves
01:48absolutely nothing. But fortunately, some journalists have tried to get to the bottom
01:52of the mystery.
01:53Fashion correspondent for Puck News, Lauren Sherman, dug into the eyelash riddle and got
01:57the inside scoop. An excerpt posted on X explains,
02:01"...the consensus among people in Washington is that he doesn't wear eyeliner, although
02:05one person who has known him for a long time is convinced otherwise. This obviously doesn't
02:10really matter, but sort of matters."
02:12Ultimately, none other than Vance's wife, Usha, stepped up to give an answer to the
02:16question on whether eye makeup is incorporated into his look. Her representative provided
02:21a statement which said simply,
02:22"...they're all natural. I've always been jealous of those lashes."
02:26"...has anyone ever told you that you have beautiful eyes?"
02:33As far as eyeliner goes, that mystery is apparently solved. But as commenters were quick to point
02:38out, the statement was only talking about eyeliner, and neither confirmed nor denied
02:43the use of mascara. Uh-oh.
02:46Until J.D. releases a Get Ready With Me video and shares his step-by-step morning routine,
02:51it looks like this question will continue to go unanswered. Until then, to quote fashion
02:55correspondent for Puck News, Lauren Sherman, this obviously doesn't really matter.