Trump's Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt Suffers Unfortunate Makeup Fail

ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images

In her first month as Donald Trump's new press secretary, Karoline Leavitt experienced an embarrassing makeup fail when she took to the White House podium wearing too much eye makeup. The young press secretary spoke before the media on February 5 to discuss Trump's meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the recent aviation disasters. She sported a sleek, all-black outfit, with her hair slightly curled and tucked behind her ears. However, Leavitt's heavy eye makeup distracted from her look. She wore thick eyeliner on both her upper and lower eyelids, giving Leavitt the raccoon-slash-panda eye effect. Her clumpy mascara and dark eyeshadow only added to the drama, as seen in the photo above.

The incident came just days after Leavitt's first briefing since she had stepped into her new role as Trump's press secretary on January 28. She wore a purple suit with heavy tan makeup that could easily rival the president's — or that of Donald Jr.'s now ex-fiancée, Kimberly Guilfoyle. On Instagram, some fans agreed that Leavitt's makeup style ages her, with one user pointing out, "Can't believe she's only 27. I thought she was much older," while another remarked, "There's no way you're 27." A third user suggested that it's the fillers that ruin her appearance, although Leavitt hasn't admitted to any cosmetic procedures. "She is hard af to look at. Throw the whole injector away. But then again, she deserves to look like this." Ouch.

While it's unclear whether it's Karoline Leavitt who did her own makeup for her recent press briefing, the Atkinson, New Hampshire native has given fans a look into her makeup process. In November 2023, she posted an Instagram Reel showing a step-by-step of her makeup routine for her TV interviews. "I receive a lot of questions about how I do my makeup when I go on TV... so I figured I'd show it!" Leavitt captioned the video. "Here's the look I did for a hit on Fox Business... in my New York City hotel room at literally 4AM."

She confirmed that she is, in fact, a star who does her own makeup, handling it herself for most of her TV appearances. However, she credits the professionals for making her look flawless on air. "I can't take all of the credit because when I arrive at the networks, the amazing hair & makeup teams provide touch ups," added Leavitt. "However most of the time, I do interviews from my home studio and I'm my own glam team!"

In addition to raccoon eyes, Leavitt has also fallen victim to another common makeup mistake — over-powdering, resulting in a photo flashback. In February 2023, she shared a snapshot from a night out with a friend at a Boston bar on her Instagram page. In the image, she wore a black faux fur jacket, but what stood out was the noticeable streak of powder under her eyes. On another occasion, Leavitt also suffered an unfortunate makeup mishap when she attended her brother's wedding in Massachusetts back in October 2022.