Karoline Leavitt’s White House makeover was so drastic it fueled speculation that her transformation wasn’t solely due to changes in her makeup application. And there wasn’t just chatter about her physical appearance after she landed a crucial role in the Donald Trump administration. Two months into her job as White House press secretary, Leavitt was getting a failing grade on her PolitiFact scorecard, and her obfuscations of the truth weren’t going unnoticed by critics. She was also treading into dangerous territory; the more falsehoods you tell, the higher the likelihood you’ll eventually slip up and get caught in a lie. As Leavitt has learned, makeup works much the same way; the more you put on, the greater the chance you’ll do something wrong.

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TikTok users have shown the Trump mouthpiece no mercy in mocking her makeup. In one video, influencer Suzanne Lambert scorched Leavitt when responding to requests to replicate one of her beauty looks. “The problem is, I just don’t have the right products,” she said. “Because when I’m gleefully taking away school lunches from kids and defunding childhood cancer research, I try not to look so jaundiced, me personally.” Ouch.

Leavitt was already a controversial figure before she stepped behind the lectern in the White House press briefing room, and she began making some pretty egregious makeup mistakes early in her political career. From false lash fiascos to lip gloss gaffes and bronzer blunders, she might find it more difficult to defend her worst beauty looks than Trump’s most spurious claims.

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Years before she fell prey to the MAGA makeup movement, Karoline Leavitt was just a fresh-faced girl who dreamed of landing a Congressional seat in New Hampshire. During a 2022 interview on the Londonderry Access Center TV show “Who’s Looking Out For You?,” she tried to highlight some of the issues she intended to address if she won her election, but her failed attempt at highlighting her facial features distracted viewers from what she was saying.

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Maybe Leavitt was trying to seize the spotlight as one of the right’s brightest future political stars, but she shone a little too brightly. By heaping on the highlighter, she blew far past the dewy look; instead of exuding a confident glow, she was giving profuse, nervous sweating. Of the perils of overdoing it with highlighter, celebrity makeup artist Cedric Jollivet told Variety, “It’s a fine line between looking greasy and looking glowy.” Another beauty industry professional, Mally Roncal, explained to Allure how she avoids using too much of the product. “I lightly coat my pointer, middle, and ring fingers with highlighter, and then rub them against the same fingers on the other hand,” she said. Roncal added that gently tapping it on achieves the desired effect.

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Karoline Leavitt has garnered comparisons to Donald Trump before for making snide remarks about his political foes and adopting a hostile tone when engaging with the media, and perhaps she’s also looked to her boss for beauty inspiration. When she appeared on “Jesse Watters Primetime” in August 2024 in her capacity as the Trump campaign’s national press secretary, it looked like she had borrowed the now-president’s bronzer to get that distinctive goldfish glow. It was complemented by her top, which was the color of a hazmat suit.

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The words coming from Leavitt’s mouth accused Kamala Harris of being an “American dream” slayer, but the makeup on it told a different story. It seemed she was raring to get to a party at Barbie’s dream home, as her bright pink lip gloss could have been the work of a preschooler with a gel pen. Or perhaps she just views the natural boundaries of her lips the way Trump views the Canada-United States border: as a totally arbitrary line that shouldn’t even exist.

The glare emitted by Leavitt’s lips was as bright as the city lights in the background behind her. And according to makeup artist Kathy Pomerantz, women shouldn’t be getting glazed like a Christmas ham before going on camera. “Among the biggest distractions on TV? Hands down, it’s high-shine lip gloss,” she told Allure, adding, “A little bit of gloss on the lips is a lot on camera.”

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Comparing Karoline Leavitt’s foundation application to the Gulf of Mexico would get even the most respected of news organizations denied access to the Oval Office, but it did resemble a map of the Americas from 1550-2024 when she appeared on “Hannity” in June 2024. While complaining about being censored by CNN, Leavitt sported a smooth, flawless gulf of all-American foundation on her patriotic forehead. It was surrounded by an arch of what appeared to be bare skin near her hairline, based on the smattering of visible freckles that hadn’t been concealed by the same dark contour that had obviously been used to alter the appearance of her nose.

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Unfortunately, it appeared that Leavitt (or whoever did her makeup) was in a rush, as a few areas looked unfinished and under-blended. The contour on the sides of her nose was dark and muddy, and there were pronounced brown lines beneath her inner brow. Her contour was possibly too dark, which would have made it difficult to blend. Makeup artist Samreen Arshad told Byrdie contour should be less than three shades darker than one’s natural skin. However, while demonstrating her makeup routine in a 2023 Instagram video, Leavitt swiped on some contour that was the color of milk chocolate, which is many shades darker than her fair complexion. Using contour incorrectly is one of the makeup mistakes that can make you look like a child — maybe even one who got a bit messy while enjoying a candy bar.

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During a 2019 outing to Fenway Park, Karoline Leavitt was ready to catch a fly — and we’re not talking about one of the baseball variety. She was suffering from a bad case of spider lashes, thanks to a few thick coats of black mascara on her upper and lower clumped-together lashes. The dark eye makeup stood out in stark contrast to her blond brows, which were over-plucked in places and not filled in.

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Leavitt’s lips appeared dry and splotchy. If she had applied some gloss or lipstick before the ballgame, it was long gone. Her parched pout probably could have benefited from some light exfoliation and a lip balm with healing ingredients. As for her eyes, because the rest of her makeup was more natural, a lighter application of brown mascara might have been a better choice, especially for a casual event like a baseball game. “While a chocolate brown mascara isn’t as strong of a statement as a jet black mascara, it’s giving some depth — gentle though it may be — without feeling heavy,” makeup artist Amanda Gabbard told Glamour. “You want to have a little something on but not look like you’re trying too hard.”

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When Karoline Leavitt posted a photo on Instagram of herself and a friend enjoying a drink at a Boston bar in 2023, her main concern was assuring PETA that her jacket’s fur collar wasn’t the genuine article. However, the animal-related issue she should have been more worried about was the reverse raccoon situation going on with her eye makeup. Her concealer’s color was a few shades too light, and she had applied a thick coating of it all the way up to her lower lashline. In a YouTube video, makeup artist Wayne Goss demonstrates how doing this can make the eyes appear smaller. “We’ve taken away the discoloration underneath the eye, and it shrinks the eye … you have to apply some form of shadow underneath the eye in order to open it up again,” he explains.

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It’s also possible Leavitt tried to smooth and brighten her under-eye area by baking her makeup but went a bit overboard with the translucent powder. Or perhaps she forgot to brush off any excess powder before heading out the door, creating weird white crescents to rival those often seen in Donald Trump’s worst makeup fails.

In the makeup-free photos Karoline Leavitt has shared on social media, it’s clear her skin has pink undertones, and she made the mistake of wearing makeup that over-emphasized them in 2023 when she attended the Seacoast Republican Women’s Chili Fest. Her foundation and/or bronzer was so rose-tinted that it made her look sunburned, while her neck was almost as pale as her white sweater. Perhaps she was just feeling extra patriotic and was trying to replicate the contrast between the red and white stripes of the American flag on her cozy top (if that was the case, at least she didn’t add blue eyeshadow to the mix).

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It would have helped considerably if Leavitt had blended her makeup down into her neck to erase the line of demarcation and make the color difference less noticeable. Makeup artist Naoko Scintu also has some helpful advice for those trying to choose a foundation that matches their neck. “As a rule, go for the slightly lighter shade, because you can always match it up to your skin tone by using bronzer,” she told Good Housekeeping. “If the shade is too dark, it’s much harder to fix.” Based on Leavitt’s exceedingly pigmented beauty looks, she’s not lacking the bronzer to add warmth to foundations that are a bit too pale.

In March 2023, Karoline Leavitt took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to let her followers know that she would be “filling in” for Howie Carr on his radio show. To prepare, she apparently spent some extra time filling in her bold brows, which were the focal point of her beauty look. Unfortunately, this is because they were far too large for her face. While eyebrows can make the perfect frames for the eyes, Feather Brow Couture CEO Ursula Cervellone explained to the Daily Mail, “Over-the-top block eyebrows actually make your eyes look smaller.” Another brow stylist, Giselle Soto, told Self, “One of the most common mistakes that people make is using way too much product when they don’t need to.” The smudge of powder above one of Leavitt’s brows in the screenshot above is a telltale sign that she fell prey to this makeup misstep.

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Another issue is Leavitt’s lip product choice. Her upper lip looks thin because it lacks color, and it appears to be slathered with a generous amount of lip gloss. She applied it beyond her lip line in a possible effort to plump up her pout, but instead, she managed to make her lip blend in with the skin above it. Much like Donald Trump’s Hooters hotpants-hued skin, the over-glossed upper lip has become Leavitt’s signature look, and it’s one TikTok users love to recreate in their videos lampooning her makeup.

A smokey eye is usually a bit too intense for daytime, but Karoline Leavitt intruded into Kimberly Guilfoyle’s beauty domain for a February 2025 White House press briefing. She ended up with egg on her face during the briefing, which was an expensive error due to what she was discussing: the rising costs of goods. She suffered a little verbal whoopsie when she used the phrase “prices at the store and at the grocery pump,” but her larger error was trying to pump up her lashes’ volume with too much mascara and weighing her eyes down with other dark makeup.

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The edges of Leavitt’s eyeshadow needed to be diffused to make it look less harsh, and the black eyeliner on her upper and lower lashlines gave her eyes a droopy appearance. In a YouTube video, makeup artist Ali Andreea advised viewers against applying black liner all around the eye like this. “It not only ages you, but it gives you a very severe look,” she said. Maybe Leavitt was trying to soften her beauty look by adding a punch of pink with her lip color, but again, she failed to keep it between the lines, which gave her upper lip an uneven appearance.

Pink eyeshadow can make you look sick or like you’re suffering from allergies, but Karoline Leavitt applied it liberally for her first White House press briefing in January 2025. Her peach eyeshadow clashed with her bubblegum pink lip gloss, and both colors didn’t quite complement her fuchsia blazer. Matching her eyeshadow to her outfit’s rich hue might have been the best move. “You should choose a vibrant pink that actually shows,” makeup artist Patrick Ta told the New York Post. “When you choose something too subtle, it can make your eyes look a little sick.”

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Unfortunately, Leavitt’s issues didn’t end with the pink pandemonium at the podium. As you can see, her bronzer and contour also don’t look like they were blended well, creating a visible line where her cool-toned, cocoa-colored contour ends and her warm-toned, rosy bronzer begins. She was probably going for a sun-kissed look but ended up with muddled makeup that appeared far from natural. In a “Queer Eye for the MAGA Guy” video, content creator Landon Reid roasted Leavitt’s look while replicating it. “I’ve never seen somebody be able to look like a constipated toddler and an angry Karen before, but somehow our current press secretary has managed to capture both of them,” they quipped.

In a viral TikTok video, Suzanne Lambert broke down the Republican makeup look. While applying concealer underneath her eyes, she advised, “Make sure you really get it under the crease so that it settles into the fine lines.” She also said everything should look dry and “dusty.” Tragically, Karoline Leavitt nailed the MAGA makeup trend at Donald Trump’s second inauguration by loading her face with cakey powder and aggressively trying to enhance her features with excessive bronzer, dark eyebrows, and thick false eyelashes that shrouded her eyes in shadows. She also traced her peepers with black eyeliner.

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Leavitt lightened things up a bit with coral lipstick and didn’t smear gloopy gloss all over her pout for once, but she suffered another unfortunate issue. Her color feathered on her top lip, making it look like she had taken a swig of Kool-Aid and forgotten to wipe her mouth afterward. 

In a video, YouTuber Amanda Maryanna theorized that Leavitt and other Republican women have adopted overdone, theatrical beauty looks because they’re trying to look like the pageant contestants Donald Trump used to walk in on while they were changing, as he confessed to Howard Stern (via CNN). Maryanna said of the former Miss Universe Organization owner, “This man clearly has a type.”

When Karoline Leavitt met contour queen Kim Kardashian in 2020, her face looked dull and dimensionless without any contour, blush, or bronzer. This would have been fine if she was going for a natural makeup look, but the layers of mascara on her lashes said otherwise — there was so much that her bottom lashes were clumped together. 

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According to one makeup artist, the contouring step Kardashian helped popularize is crucial for a well-rounded beauty look. “I always contour because a solid base often looks flat,” Joseph Carrillo told Allure. “Using a foundation about three shades darker than your usual formula as a contour helps refine, resculpt, add warmth, and define.”

Leavitt also should have asked Kardashian for some brow advice. One was quite a bit thicker than the other near the arch, and her unfilled brows were far too dark for her hair color. Speaking to The Irish Sun about choosing the correct eyebrow tint color, esthetician Kristin Gunn advised, “If you have lighter hair, go for a shade that is one or two shades darker than your hair color.” Unfortunately, Leavitt had one more beauty problem she needed help solving — her lips were as colorless as her bleach-blond mane.

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Karoline Leavitt is a repeat offender when it comes to one makeup mistake. While addressing the press in January 2025, she was sporting her bulked-up, overfilled brows. She also swiped way too much bronzer on her cheeks in a color that was far too bright — it looked like she had suffered a messy makeup transfer blunder by giving Donald Trump a hug and pressing her cheek against his turmeric-tinted makeup. The unforgiving outdoor lighting further highlighted her garish gaffe.

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She could have used the advice of makeup artist Carly Giglio, who told Who What Wear, “Start with less [bronzer] and build more (it’s always easier to add than remove!).” Leavitt’s bronzer had an unblended appearance that Suzanne Lambert listed as one of the hallmarks of Republican makeup (via TikTok). Another was leaving any mascara smudges intact, which Leavitt apparently did, based on the black splotches sinking into the lines in her undereye area.

Leavitt’s skin had a matte, chalky appearance, so she might want to consider taking it easy with the powder. “As we age, our skin loses its natural glow. By using powder,  you are flattening the skin’s texture even more,” makeup artist Liz Pugh told Good Housekeeping. “Additionally, too much powder will enhance any fine lines.” And when it comes to her conservative girlie urge to apply gloss to the area above her upper lip line, Leavitt should learn to resist the temptation and just Leav-itt alone.

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