Top 10 Biggest Celebrity Makeup Fails
#10: Nicki Minaj
This music superstar is known for her over-the-top hair and makeup looks, but when you regularly go big, some attempts are bound to fall flat. Now, contouring isn’t for the faint of heart, and we understand wanting to accentuate your features. The key with this technique, of course, is blending, blending and more blending to ensure you don’t have any obvious stripes of color on your face. Unfortunately for Nicki, someone on her team didn’t get the memo, because her nose contour has been clearly visible on more than one occasion, and during a press event for the American Music Awards in 2011, the lighter highlight shade under her eyes was pretty obvious too.
#9: Nadine Coyle
Famous for her stint with British reality TV girl group “Girls Aloud”, Nadine Coyle generally looks perfectly coiffed and well put together. The bright lights of morning television however, can reveal even the most subtle of errors. When the singer appeared on British Morning Show “Lorraine”, her foundation clearly clashed with her natural skin color, making her face an entirely different color than her neck. It seems the foundation she was wearing had a strong yellow-orange undertone, while her natural shade is more cool or neutral.
#8: Lil’ Kim
While many of the entries on our list today can be critiqued for one specific error, this entry is more about the overall effort. Lil’ Kim’s face can frequently be seen bronzed practically beyond recognition, with the added oily or shiny effect when hit by the light, meaning she probably skipped the finishing powder - though some of our other picks might make anyone reticent to use that. Though light pink lips may be her signature look, when paired with the orange-brown tint of her foundation, the result is less than flattering. Her eye makeup and faux lashes are totally over the top, making for an overall effect that just doesn’t mesh.
#7: Taraji P. Henson
This Oscar-nominated beauty shouldn’t have to put up with mediocre makeup application, but it just goes to show that bad things can happen even to talented actresses. The “Empire” star appeared at an event in 2009 with a flawless face except for one notable exception under her eyes. While High Definition setting powder can be used to great effect, one of the biggest risks is flashback in photography. In person, this powder may very well have been invisible, but in photos... it’s all you can see. Taraji may be the first on our list today to struggle with this tricky product, but she certainly won’t be the last.
#6: Kelly Osbourne
The Osbournes are known for making shocking choices, and Kelly is no exception. The media personality has experimented with daring looks during her time in the public eye - the key word being experimented. As a general rule, you focus on either lips OR eyes, keeping the other simple and understated. But at an evening benefiting the Life Through Art Foundation in 2003, Kelly Osbourne decided to go big with both of these features. One or the other may have been fine on its own, but the combination of glossy hot pink pout and dramatic smokey eye is a hot mess. Though she’s toned down her makeup choices as an adult, she has managed a few missteps, including off-color foundation at a red carpet event in 2012.
#5: Leighton Meester
Yes, even Blair Waldorf can’t escape a bad snap or two from the cameras. While attending the opening of American Eagle in Times Square in 2009, the “Gossip Girl” star opted for a darker look. Now, not all of this is bad by any stretch. The bright red lip set against Meester’s dark locks is a good choice, and even the eye shadow colors - a dusty purple and gold - would look flattering in moderation. Where this goes into ghostly or vampiric territory is in how the shadow lines both Meester’s lids AND her under-eye. In the wrong light, or with a bright flash, Meester looks gaunt and perhaps in serious need of a good night’s sleep.
#4: Melissa Joan Hart
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again - there’s nothing more disappointing than having a perfectly good makeup look ruined by the last-minute addition of overzealous finishing powder. While attending the LA premiere of Disney’s “Frozen” in 2013, the “Sabrina the Teenage Witch” alum suffered from careless application of this tricky product. In this case, the powder is clearly visible on the actress’ forehead and nose. The rest of her makeup was tasteful and expertly applied but of course… no one paid any attention to that! She’ll need a little bit of magic to erase this blunder from the public’s memory!
#3: Nicole Kidman
Sometimes we ask ourselves if a celebrity’s team has the forethought to do test shots before hitting the red carpet. When Nicole Kidman appeared at the premiere for the movie “Nine” in 2009 with obvious face powder dusting her nose and under eyes, it was painfully apparent that no one looked at the actress’ face under different lighting. Nicole has actually suffered from the same powder dilemma several times, such as the Women In Film Crystal + Lucy Awards in 2015, and it’s really a shame, as her poise, class, and pristine complexion, are normally a highlight on the red carpet.
#2: Angelina Jolie
No matter how big the star, no one is safe from the threat of visible powder. You’d think by this point, makeup artists would be beginning to make progress, but year after year celebs appear with this powdery substance marring their famous faces. Angelina Jolie is known for her stunning good looks and her effortless appearance even when glammed up on the red carpet. Her signature sultry style is generally consistent, but at the 2014 premiere of “The Normal Heart”, a shoddy makeup job distracted from her otherwise characteristically captivating features. It looked as if someone had run by her with flour on their hand and tapped her on the chin, leaving a very prominent splotch of white on Jolie’s face.
Before we unveil our top pick, here are a couple of honorable mentions.
Miley Cyrus
Madame Peng Liyuan
#1: Drew Barrymore
While many of the ladies on this list who experienced powder overload looked silly, Drew Barrymore is a cut above the rest. At the UK premiere for “Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle,” she was sporting so much of the white stuff that it gave her a ghostly, spectral appearance. Because of the way the product was applied, it almost looked intentional - especially as it was also in her hair. We have to remember though that the stars themselves never would have noticed how absurd they looked, because to the naked eye, the white cast would be virtually invisible. It’s only with the inconsistent lighting of camera flashes that disasters like this actually show themselves. Nothing like learning you applied your makeup poorly from the tabloids!
