An internet frenzy erupted last week after Susan Dell — billionaire philanthropist and wife of Michael S. Dell, chief executive officer of Dell Technologies — spoke in support of the Trump accounts during a press conference inside the Oval Office.
While unquestionably divisive, the topic of her speech wasn’t what riled the online masses. This time, netizens were much more concerned by the former fashion entrepreneur’s physical appearance, particularly her face.
In comments shared on social media, many claimed her face appeared frozen and motionless, her expressions nonexistent. Others questioned her alleged use of fillers and the plastic surgery procedures she may have undergone to combat signs of aging, recalling a certain cosmetic trend coined after Donald Trump’s famed Palm Beach resort and the women who frequent it.
If you were plugged in to TikTok in the wake of the 2025 inauguration, you likely know the look. If you’re unsure, think balloon lips, narrow eyes and Cheshire smiles. Dubbed Mar-a-Lago face, the aesthetic is essentially “an overfilled, unnatural appearance of the cheeks and lips,” said Dr. Ira Savetsky, a New York-based plastic surgeon. “It’s when you look like a different species.”
Those classified as having Mar-a-Lago face are primarily women within Trump’s inner circle, like Dell, hence the name. Of course, not all women in Washington, and Southeastern Florida for that matter, fit the stereotype. “There are people in Washington that are tasteful looking, and I have patients from Palm Beach who come see me and they aren’t looking overfilled,” Savetsky said. “Obviously the ones that get sensationalized are the ones that do look overfilled.”
The point is, the term is meant to be pejorative, used to describe — and let’s face it, judge — the most exaggerated form of plastic surgery, politics aside. Why? Because we can’t help ourselves from commenting and pointing fingers at people for looking too old or too plastic, and by whose standards?
We say there’s no right way to age, to embrace our natural appearance, and yet, we act like there is. Kris Jenner gets a deep plane facelift, and suddenly, that’s the answer to the universal reverse aging query. Yet, the second someone gets a botched facelift, the internet at large is back to its regularly scheduled ridicule, arguing so-and-so made the wrong choice in going under the knife. “Anytime there’s bad plastic surgery, it always gets sensationalized and does damage to the specialty,” said Savetsky.
Yes, “bad” plastic surgery is overplayed and embellished in the media more than what’s generally deemed as “good” plastic surgery. However, even natural-appearing cosmetic work is condemned online. So, really, aging is a no-win situation, especially for women in the public eye. They’re slammed for touting wrinkles, and they’re faulted for getting filler and a facelift. But at the end of the day, “there’s no wrong or right way to age,” Savetsky said. “That’s a very personal decision for someone who wants to slow down the signs of aging.”