These 30+ “Professional” Makeup Artists Should Find Something Else to Do

If you’re advertising a makeup product, it’s important to make the product look good. That’s basic marketing, right? Well, it seems like they weren’t too worried about that with this ad on TikTok.

Listen, we can give this stencil the benefit of the doubt — maybe at a reasonable distance, this stencil would work. We’re not so sure about this intense zoom-in on the model’s eyebrow is the best choice without tidying this look.

If you’re stepping out in front of the cameras for TV, you want to look your best. However, we can see how some days might not work out as well as others.

This Hoarders personality’s makeup artist may have forgotten to do something. Namely, the makeup isn’t blended down this woman’s neck. Alongside the starkly differing tones, it stands out under the lights and cameras. Maybe the other episodes are better.

When you pay for a makeup look, the price can vary. The heavier the makeup, the more the look is likely to cost. It’s more product, after all.

This person was headed to get their makeup done as a bridesmaid. For $60, they were promised a “full face.” In the end, they left with a splash of CC cream and some light mascara and eyeliner on their eyes. It isn’t bad but it’s definitely not what they asked for.

There are some places you expect to see near-flawless makeup. At the very least, you expect something a little more than what’s happening here.

Despite this show airing on Netflix, it seems like that doesn’t guarantee the makeup will look Hollywood-worthy. It’s hard to figure out what’s supposed to be going on here. Either way, though, it doesn’t seem to be working out. Hopefully, it got better in the next scene.

This makeup isn’t necessarily bad. Sure, it’s not everyone’s style but we can see how someone might go for a look like this. However, it’s the price tag that really stands out on this one.

This makeup artist was charging their clients $350 for this look. At that point, you’d expect something truly extravagant. But, some found that this look just seems a little lacking for such an intense price tag.

Bradley Cooper is an incredibly famous actor, so you’d think his team would make sure everything is properly blended before he hits the red carpet.

We’re not quite sure what went wrong here. What we do know is that these artists may have missed a step — or the entire bottom half of the actor’s face. The end result is a look that clearly isn’t blended into his beard.

In a show like Criminal Minds, the makeup of the actors playing FBI agents might not be the first effect you think of.

Away from the more gruesome details of the show, though, the main cast still has to stay camera ready. When it came time for this actor’s next scene, it seems like things might have been a little rushed judging by the unblended ears and neck.

When Selena Gomez was getting ready for the 2018 Met Gala, it wasn’t a makeup artist’s fault for this mishap, although she may have wanted to call one in. Like many others, the star tried to apply her own spray tan.

“[I] put on some of this tanning lotion, and it looked really beautiful and very even. As the evening went on, [my skin is] getting a little darker and darker, and I didn’t notice.” After the event, Gomez was quick to poke fun at her spray tan fail.

Powder is a part of a lot of people’s makeup routines. The goal is not to overdo it — especially if you’re standing under bright lights with snapping cameras all night.

This look might have worked for Drew Barrymore off the red carpet but her makeup artist didn’t quite take the effects of the situation into account. As soon as the cameras flashed, the powder showed easily, giving the actress a paler look around her eyes than she was probably hoping for.

There are plenty of videos online showing off new ways to try your makeup out. It doesn’t seem like every makeup artist’s ideas are as good as the last, however.

This artist may have been creative but it left most viewers scratching their heads. After all, most blush isn’t designed to look like a sunburn. While it might work for a costume, we’re not sure we’d choose this look.

Sometimes, you go to a makeup artist with high expectations. You don’t want them to just add certain makeup items but rather, you’re aiming for something specific. A picture helps a lot!

Still, one photo can’t just carry the session on its own. This person wanted the clean, glittery eyeshadow on the left but the results just don’t match up. As if that wasn’t bad enough, they said the makeup artist argued with this client, complained about others, and obviously disregarded their requests.

Matching your foundation to your skin tone is often touted as a basic of makeup. However, it’s not always easy to tell what will work for you by looking at the bottle.

If you’re feeling a little overwhelmed or want an expert opinion, why not head to a makeup store? Well, it seems not every artist there always has the correct take on the situation. After asking around for a few minutes, this person had hoped they grabbed the right shade but not quite.

It seems like a lot of celebs and their artists fall victim to powder mishaps in the final stages of setting up their looks. Eva Longoria was another star caught with a little too much powder under the flash of paparazzi lights.

Once these harsh lights flashed, what once gave her a glow beneath her eyes was stark white. To be fair, it doesn’t look like she was planning to strut the red carpet but rather, was just out and about.

A lot of people focus their makeup on their face and that makes sense! After all, that’s where most of the focus is when you love to play around with eyeshadow or lip looks.

However, there are some things you should pay attention to even if your makeup is focused on your face. This star’s artists could have done with some blending before a profile shot like this. Head-on, it might not be too bad but this image makes the difference clear and some fans were quick to call it out.

Nicole Kidman is a veteran on the red carpet and she’s given the press a lot to love with her looks for the events. However, there are some aspects of her looks the paparazzi have criticized again and again.

At the Monte-Carlo Gala in 2019, she debuted on the red carpet with the unfortunate white powder mistake. Critics were quick to point out the repeated mistake but it could have been much worse.

If there’s one thing that’s hard for makeup artists, it’s making someone look entirely different. It makes sense — special effects makeup is a whole new level of difficulty.

Still, that hasn’t stopped movie fans from critiquing some of the artist’s attempts over the years. One example that fans couldn’t quite wrap their heads around was the 104-year-old makeup Guy Pearce donned in Prometheus. The result doesn’t look quite human and fans couldn’t quite look past it.

When you’re going on TV, you’d hope the makeup team would have your back. Not every show has the same quality for the people starring in them.

It looks like a reality show like Married at First Sight is apparently a place for makeup fails to fall through. This person doesn’t look too bad but it also seems as though the artist didn’t give much mind to the foundation shade. The person who posted it said it didn’t seem uncommon on the show either.

Once again, we have to say that if you’re going to be on TV, you trust your makeup artist to help make sure you’re ready for your big moment.

The actor in question here, Martin Kove, wasn’t so lucky. The makeup artist in question here may have forgotten to match and blend the foundation in this case. This might not have been so noticeable if it wasn’t for such an uneven application. It’s easy to see spots where there isn’t any makeup.

When you’re looking for a new makeup artist, it can help to look at reviews from past clients. This way, you can get an idea of the person before you shell out any money.

This YouTuber was curious and decided to get her makeup done by an artist in her city with the worst reviews. It seems like the reviews weren’t lying either. The image of what they were going for isn’t anywhere near the look they left with.

There are some celebrities that fans and critics are especially harsh on when judging how they look. Of course, this includes the Kardashians.

In one of many TV appearances, it seems like the makeup artist forgot something here. From the neck up, the makeup looks rather standard for the star’s style. However, her chest seems to have been left out of the foundation equation the artist was working through here.

Speaking of the Kardashian-Jenners, another makeup fails come from an episode of Keeping Up With the Kardashians — although from a different family member.

A lot of eyes are on Kylie Jenners’ makeup especially since the star touts her own makeup brand. As far as this look goes, there are a few things that come down to stylistic preferences. In this shot, fans and critics had a hard time looking away from Kylie’s unblended hairline.

This is another case of a star who could have spent a few more minutes with their artist and a beauty blender. This look raised a few questions from critics.

Kelly Osbourne debuted this look when she hit the red carpet for the Los Angeles 2012 Art of Elysium Heaven Gala. The mismatched, slightly yellow foundation already caught fans off-guard. Under the flash of the lights, everything from her hairline to her neck was criticized for a lack of blending. It’s bound to happen to everyone eventually!

As we’ve seen time and time again, matching your foundation isn’t always easy. Yet, it’s also one thing people notice almost instantly. Overall, this person’s makeup isn’t too bad if you focus on their face.

When the camera zoomed out, though, the audience noticed that the makeup artist may not have matched this person’s foundation perfectly. It didn’t take long for people to complain about how the show didn’t do her justice with this look.

Once again, we have to point out that expectations are higher for a makeup ad. To advertise the product, you have to make it look as good as possible.

That’s not the feeling everyone walked away with after seeing what the makeup artist did to the model in this Instagram ad. We could almost chalk this up to an intentional golden glow but a lot of the people who saw the ad were wondering why they used a foundation so far from the model’s shade.

There are some things worth spending your money on. For many, looking their best at a wedding is worth the cost of working with a makeup artist.

Maybe not the one this person dealt with, though. They said $40 later, after a trip to get their makeup done, they were left with a look that was lackluster — to say the least. We can’t really blame this person for expecting more than this at that price.

It’s no secret that pop superstar Christina Aguilera has received her fair share of criticism throughout her career — thanks to her bold looks and style.

This one seems like it was intentional, so we hope that she was a fan of it, even if the critics were harsh. However, the eyeshadow and bronzer combination isn’t the appearance many fans liked. The looks a bit aggressive if you aren’t as in love with pink.

Jennifer Lopez isn’t new at stunning on the red carpet. With so many appearances under her belt, it’s understandable this star would have a less-than-perfect look sometimes.

After this event, fans couldn’t help but noticed that Jennifer Lopez looked a bit more washed out than normal in these pictures. Rather than a foundation problem, though, the culprit here may once again be powder made to look even more dramatic at the flash of the cameras.

To be fair, 16 and Pregnant star Maci Bookout’s makeup really would have looked fine if the camera stayed focused on her face. Maybe that was originally the plan.

Panning out, however, shows that the reality star’s foundation might not be a perfect match, although it’s blended well. The show may have been able to hide this had they not zoomed out. Yet, some commenters were quick to note the temperature, studio lights, or other factors could account for the difference.

There are some things that can vary in price a lot. Depending on who you work with, you might pay a pretty penny to get your makeup done by that artist.

This artist apparently charged a staggering $700K for this birthday look. Given the intense fee, you would think the end result would be unmatched. While this look isn’t bad, it isn’t necessarily one everyone thought was worth this amount of money.

This makeup artist was ready to show off the latest work they did for a client. Some of the people who saw the results had a few questions, though. The biggest one was about the lashes.

If you’re charging someone, shouldn’t the lashes at least be on the right way? Some of the other commenters were quick to question the contour that this makeup artist tried to do on this client as well. It’s just not particularly well-blended. We hope the client liked it, at least.

In a show like 20/20, the makeup might not be the focus. Still, they didn’t do this person any favors by skipping a step. Namely, the hairline here is what does this look in.

Otherwise, it probably would have looked okay! The only problem is that the hairline really distracts from everything else. Maybe it wasn’t as noticeable before someone paused at the wrong moment but we’re not so sure.

It seems like loose powder must be the bane of celebrities’ red carpet routine with eagle-eyed critics looking at high-definition photos like this.

Melissa Joan Hart wasn’t safe from this makeup mistake when she hit the red carpet for the Frozen premiere. The dusting of powder is so light. So, when the cameras weren’t flashing, this probably wasn’t as starkly noticeable.

The red carpet is supposed to give stars the chance to show off and shine. As such, a lot of work usually goes into getting them ready for premieres.

It seems like Natalie Portman’s makeup artist might have been a little too rushed in the process. That or they just failed to look at their famous client straight on to check if this eyeshadow was close to even.

When it comes to choosing a birthday gift for yourself, a makeover can be a lot of fun! That is, unless it turns out like this.

This person just wanted a new look for their 30th birthday. The total for this look ended up costing about $60. Judging by the caption they added here, it seems like they weren’t too thrilled with the results or the cost they came with.

Listen, this one might not come down to the makeup itself. However, the image people caught in the process was one they couldn’t let go of.

After all, this doesn’t quite look like a relaxing or refreshing process. It looks more like something you’d see in a scary movie. While it all boils down to an ill-timed screenshot, this artist is only applying eyeliner to their client’s waterline, although the process looks downright terrifying.

We really can’t stress how important blending is when you do your makeup. It’s how you achieve the smooth look that most people want, whether they prefer something matte or natural.

So, we have to wonder what this company was thinking when they advertised their bronzer like this. The blending here left something to be desired for many viewers. The comments weren’t about to just let this go either.

Some of these foundation mismatches have been pretty bad. A few might have gone unnoticed without the intense scrutiny a paused scene can offer.

It’s hard to blame this one on anything but a makeup artist. The foundation here just doesn’t match this person’s neck and chest — and it clearly doesn’t match their ears either. At almost any angle, this makeup might need a second go.

Okay, this one is bad for different reasons. This makeup could look cool if it wasn’t like this. Namely, this isn’t makeup at all.

It’s just a tiger print photoshopped over someone’s eye but photographed as if it was a makeup look. We have to wonder what the goal was here. Was this supposed to showcase a concept or did they actually believe someone would think this was real?

It seems we really can’t stress this enough. When you add foundation, don’t forget to blend it into your neck. Otherwise, people might notice.

This person was enjoying an episode of Who Killed Sara when they noticed the makeup artist may have made a slight mistake for this scene. When the character turned like this and the viewer paused it, the line where the makeup stopped became clear.

There are an endless number of ways to do someone’s makeup. That’s why the artist usually talks to a customer about their preferences beforehand.

On the bright side, this person said the look was free and it’s not necessarily bad. However, it’s not what they asked for. The person explains that they specifically asked for a “no makeup” look. Instead of something natural, they walked away with a new look entirely.

There are some publications that you expect to only tout the best looks. You probably think Vogue would nail this aspect.

In this post, they were trying to show off the eyeliner and, admittedly, it’s a great cat-eye. It’s not necessarily what everyone is paying attention to, though. Instead, all eyes were on the mascara the model was wearing. We’re not sure what happened there.

It really seems like blending is one of the hardest parts of this art, especially when we look at all these pictures in a row. Even Andy Cohen wasn’t safe from the mistakes of blending here either.

Especially around his eyes, you can see where his foundation isn’t as clearly blended here. Some were quick to point out they didn’t catch the celeb at a flattering angle, which doesn’t help.

This one is almost salvageable but still stood out enough for people to have a few notable criticisms about the look.

For one, this comes from another ad, so people were extra critical about the quality of the makeup they put on the model. With a closeup like this, any flaws will be easily noticed. Some critics wondered why they didn’t put a little more effort — and blending — into this look.

From casual to high glam, we’ve seen a lot of different looks from Angelina Jolie. Not every single one has been as well-received by critics as the last.

In this photo, the star looked ready to stun. Unfortunately, the cameras caused the powder to stand out. Once again, the near-invisible finish Jolie was donning showed up unexpectedly under the flash of the lights.