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30 Times Makeup Artists Messed Up
1. James Charles’ Flashback Mary
Image Source / POPSUGAR
James Charles is a YouTuber/beauty guru who first came onto the scene in 2015. Throughout his years on the makeup of scene, he amassed over 23 million subscribers for his work in the beauty world but this red carpet moment has tarnished his makeup reputation completely. This blunder became a worldwide meme entitled ‘Flashback Mary’ and it's one we’ll never forget.
2. Cake-Face
Image Source / Pupperish
The beauty of makeup is that it gives you creative freedom to create whatever you want. This makeup artist however has collected numerous makeup fails and compiled it all on one face. The orange foundation with the white under-eye, the two toned lip, and the intense smokey eye is the recipe for makeup disaster.
3. The Scouse Brow
Image Source / the Telegraph
Liverpool is full of culture, music... and eyebrows. The evolution of the ‘scouse brow’ swarmed the city and became a staple in the makeup trends of the time. The thick, dark, pencil filled brows were a hit in Liverpool but for the rest of the world, an utter miss.
4. A Red Carpet Blunder
Image Source / SheKnows
The HD cameras on the red carpet leave no stone unturned, every makeup mishap will be documented under the bright lights. Even for the most experienced makeup artists, mistakes can be made; these mistakes usually consist of using setting powder that leaves an unfortunate white cast when pictured with flash.
5. Mindhunter’s Makeup Scandal
Image Source / Reddit
Show Mindhunder follows FBI agents who explore the psychology of criminals, but the only real crime in this show is character Wendy’s foundation shade match. It’s no secret that TV requires a more intense face of makeup for it to translate well on camera, but maybe the makeup artist on the set of Mindhunter went slightly overboard.
6. A Birthday Gift
Image Source / Reddit
This was the result of a lovely gesture from a boyfriend to his girlfriend, what girl doesn’t love a pamper. This however did not quite go to plan for this couple as this was the outcome of the woman in the makeup chair. She claimed that she was so disappointed with the service she had received that it brought her to tears.
7. A Mexican Makeover
Image Source / Reddit
Mexican athlete and politician Ava Guevara was done dirty by her makeup artist on this occasion. The poor foundation shade match and the hint of scouse brow was sure to distract from whatever public statement this lady was making. I’m sure this makeup artist was fired shortly after this event ended.
8. Highlighter Fest
Image Source / DeMilked
The trend of highlighting has been going wild for the past few years, nearly every makeup brand has created different formulas of highlighter with as much shine as possible. This makeup artist has taken the art of highlighting too far, making their client look sweaty and feeling very unsatisfied.
9. Panda Eyes
Image Source / Radar Online
Claudia Winkleman is well known for her smokey black eyeliner however her signature look was taken over the limit at this red carpet event. The excessive panda eyes left everyone wondering what she’d been up to before making an appearance on the red carpet.
10. Contour Fail
Image Source / DeMilked
Upon further inspection, this is by no means a bad face of makeup. However it is completely blinded by the contour that this makeup artist has used on their client. The purpose of contour is to sculpt the face, creating a deeper, natural shadow. It’s very rare that the natural contours of someone’s face is bright orange.
11. The Orange Osbourne
Image Source / Radar Online
Kelly Osbourne probably sacked her makeup artist as soon as she finished walking the red carpet of this event. The celebrity has been part of many controversies in her time in the spotlight, but the obvious incorrect shade match paired with the unflattering Barbie pink lip is the most controversial act yet.
12. Kesha As Batman
Image Source / Cafe Mom
Kesha is well known for her extravagance in the makeup and fashion world which is well regarded and encouraged in her scene. However this look was not as well received as it appears to come off as more of a last minute Halloween makeup look as opposed to the high fashion look they were going for.
13. A Vision In Blue
Image Source / The Chive
This is a visual example of how not to do a full face of makeup. Whoever was responsible for this should have their cosmetology license taken away, that’s if they had one in the first place. Hopefully this was wiped off immediately and it was all one big joke.
14. 90’s Brows
Image Source / The Sun
90’s icons all over the world rocked the skinny eyebrows and it was the cult classic makeup trend of the decade. This lady however, took it to the extreme, and her brows somewhat resemble two legs of a spider. I highly doubt this was the look that Angelina Jolie was going for when setting this trend.
15. 1 Star Reviews
Image Source / Reddit
There are speculations surrounding the looks we’ve seen so far regarding real cosmetology licenses, but this is in fact the work of a qualified makeup artist. This woman went to a 1 star rating salon to see how bad it actually is, and it is safe you should really take notice of those reviews you see online.
16. Unsatisfied Customers
Image Source / DeMilked
When you sit in a makeup chair, all of your trust goes into that one person with the brushes and the pallets. As a paying customer, it is vital that the service you receive is of a good standard. It is safe to say that this isn’t the case with this one.
17. From GCSEs to Glam
Image Source / Kaiser Magazine
There are numerous things that get the alarm bells ringing for this one. What’s worse, the obviously fake drawn on freckles with eyeliner or the orange foundation stain all over the school uniform? It makes you wonder where the youngun’ is going after school.
18. A Natural Flush Of Orange
Image Source / Bored Panda
Its pretty obvious that this is not this lady’s natural skin tone, but if you couldn’t tell already, take a look at her arm. This really accentuates the true falseness of whatever they were trying to create with this look. It’s by no means the worst face of makeup to be posted online, but there’s definitely a reason it has been featured on this list.
19. A Natural Beauty
Image Source / Reddit
The before and after side by side really highlights how much you can change your whole face with makeup. The power of makeup is a wonderful thing, but it seems in this case its gone too far. The natural beauty of this lady is completely hindered by orange tones, so much so that it makes her hair look less ginger!
20. Jessie’s Poor Lipstick Choices
Image Source / Nicki Swift
Undoubtedly the biggest blunder in Jessie J’s makeup looks. As someone who can pretty much pull anything off, this bright purple lip was a huge miss amongst fans and makeup fanatics all over the world. I don’t think she ever lived this one down, and the atrocious purple lip will follow her for life.
21. Blushed To The Gods...
Image Source / Kaiser Magazine
This makeup artist is indeed ‘blushed to the gods’, but it’s unlikely that is where anyone’s attention is drawn to. The editorial concept is not awful, but the colour palette is questionable. It is certain though that Shrek would be proud of the green lip choice.
22. Just Insulting
Image Source / Reddit
This Buzzfeed attempt at Geisha makeup side by side with actual Geisha makeup is not only really terrible, but no doubt offensive to Geisha culture. The history behind the culture is meaningful to those who practice it, so this was definitely not well received. And not to mention the dreadful blending skills this person possesses.
23. What Is Going On Here?
Image Source / Reddit
They say eyebrows should be sisters and not twins, but these eyebrows are more like lovers! They could win the award for closest eyebrows of all time. Throughout this compilation, there has been a running theme of tango skin, but this is the other end of the scale.
24. Drew Barrymore Or A Ghost?
Image Source / Good Housekeeping
Another case of a flashback fail in the form of Drew Barrymore. The red carpet has provided so much entertainment over the years but in makeup terms, is a tough test for makeup artists across the globe as it is sure to pick up on the slightest of mistakes.
25. Sweaty Selena
Image Source / Vogue Australia
The Met Gala is the most prestigious fashion event of the 21st century so all eyes are on those who attend the event. Selena Gomez turned heads and got people talking at the 2018 Met Gala as it looked like she’d ran a marathon right before attending. The singer even admits herself that her makeup was not good.
26. It Gets Worse...
Image Source / Youtube
Here we have another visit to a 1 star reviewed makeup salon, this one just as bad as the last... if not worse. There is no way that whoever did this makeup is qualified in the slightest, it looks more like it should appear on the makeup version of ‘Botched’.
27. The Perfect Shade Match
Image Source / Reddit
Trying to work out your perfect shade match in a shop can be borderline impossible, and usually the makeup artists employed by the store are on hand to figure it all out so you don’t have to. This artist must have been having a bad day at the office, or there was a blackout in store.
28. 11 Years Old!
Image Source / DeMilked
Most 11 year olds spend their time going to school and playing with friends, however this 11 year old is taking dress up to a whole new level. Hopefully this was wiped off as soon as this picture was taken, or she’s getting ready to win ‘the worst makeup award’ at the school disco.
29. Enough Is Enough!
Image Source / Kaiser Magazine
Sometimes its good to know when to stop; when you’ve reached a point where you look like you’ve been dragged backwards through the mud, then maybe that’s your sign to stop. There is so much wrong with this one, but I think the image speaks for itself.
30. Last But Not Least
Image Source / The New Daily
What better way to round this up than the utter travesty that is, Donald Trump. The visual representation of this man really correlates with his inward political views, and this picture really shows his true colours... orange. Let this be your final reminder to blend your foundation into your hairline!
