AOC spent $2,000 in campaign cash to hire pricey celebrity makeup artist: ‘outrageous’
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), known for once sharing her own makeup routine online, spent over $2,000 last fall hiring a celebrity makeup and hair team for campaign events, Federal Election Commission filings show.
Records show that on November 5, Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign paid The Only Agency—a New York and Los Angeles-based styling company—$670 for “campaign event makeup services.” The following week, the campaign made two additional payments of $693.08 and $665 for combined hair and makeup services. The agency’s rates start at $600 for hair and $600 for makeup, placing these appointments on the high end of professional styling services.
One prominent appearance where she used the service was at a get-out-the-vote rally in Queens for Mayor Mamdani on October 26, where she shared the stage with Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-Vermont). Makeup artist Jocelyn Biga posted on Instagram about working with Ocasio-Cortez, calling it “an unforgettable moment” and sharing photos of the congresswoman’s finished look.
At the rally, Ocasio-Cortez wore a smokey brown eye, understated red lips, and perfectly groomed eyebrows while delivering remarks on New York City’s history of immigration, highlighting Irish, Italian, Jewish, and Black communities fleeing oppression.
Campaign filings do not specify all events for which The Only Agency was hired. Around the same period, Ocasio-Cortez attended the Eugene V. Debs award ceremony for Sanders on October 25 in Terre Haute, Indiana, as well as Mamdani’s election night celebration on November 4 in Brooklyn.
RNC National Press Secretary Kiersten Pels criticized the spending, saying, “AOC’s favorite slogan is ‘tax the rich,’ but her campaign spending shows she’d rather live like the 1%.” Analysts note that most candidates spend roughly $100–$200 for professional hair and makeup for events, while a highly rated salon in Forest Hills charges about $100 for hair and $150 for makeup.
This is the first time Ocasio-Cortez reported campaign spending on professional styling services in her filings, though it is not her first publicized instance of high-end makeup. In 2021, the House Ethics Committee found she violated gift rules by accepting hair and makeup services for the Met Gala—initially charged to Conde Nast—which totaled $344.85 for makeup and $477.73 for hair. She later reimbursed the costs herself after an ethics complaint.
Paul Kamenar, counsel to the National Legal and Policy Center, condemned the latest spending, calling it “outrageous” and accusing Ocasio-Cortez of misusing campaign contributions for luxury styling.
Ocasio-Cortez previously offered makeup tutorials on Instagram and for Vogue while discussing the pressures women face in politics to maintain a polished appearance. In a 2019 Instagram post, she explained that women spend significantly more time than men on their appearance to be taken seriously, and in 2020 she demonstrated her signature red lip routine for Vogue’s “Beauty Secrets” series, which included tutorials from prominent beauty influencers.
Neither The Only Agency nor Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign responded to requests for comment regarding the recent payments.
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