6 Trump Family Makeup Fails We Couldn't Ignore

There's no such thing as too much makeup when it comes to the Trump family. Members across the Republican political clan have shown an affinity for touching up their faces, often to exaggerated degrees that are enough to make supporters of understated trends like the lazy girl method or the clean makeup technique squirm. 

From family patriarch Donald Trump, down to his youngest daughter Tiffany Trump, everyone has been known to go a little overboard with their respective beauty products — especially on occasions that didn't exactly call for such extravagance. Then again, subtlety is not a trait commonly associated with the Trump family. 

Nicole Bryl, Melania Trump's longtime makeup hand, encapsulated the Trumps' makeup aesthetic best when she told The Telegraph: "Looking pale isn't a makeup vibe I would ever create on Melania. It's just not her style." Considering the liberal use of spray tans and bronzers associated with various members of the Trump family, it's evident that appearing washed out is absolutely not an option for the people-facing jobs they hold. Most of their camera-ready looks involve the use of heavy makeup, with each Trump choosing a different feature to focus their cosmetic attentions on; some painstakingly define their eyes, some their lips, and yet others — like the presidential candidate himself — their whole faces. Here are six Trump family makeup fails we couldn't ignore. 

Among the many inexplicable things about Donald Trump is the unusual tint on his face, which has long invited a comparison to oranges. During his presidency, this particular detail about him — as well as the memes it generated — only grew more distinct in popular culture. In fact, it became a subject of such hot discussion that Trump himself was compelled to weigh in on the conversation. He blamed eco-friendly lights. "Number one, to me, most importantly, the light's no good. I always look orange," he told an audience in Baltimore in 2019 (via The Guardian). But if certain reports are to be believed, Trump's appearance might actually be a case of bad makeup. 

A story by The Washington Post that same year, which contained quotes by members of Trump's staff, claimed the former President used tubs upon tubs of beauty products by the Swiss makeup brand Bronx Colors — even at the cost of leaving "rust-colored stains" on his shirt collars. If that's true, then the Trump family patriarch would do well with a little professional guidance to avoid going overboard with his makeup; he wore a real angry-looking shade during his court appearance in the hush money case in May 2024 (and we don't just mean his expressions). Other theories that abound regarding the mystery of Trump's face relate to tanning beds and booths, which the White House seemed to have denied during his tenure.

There's an iconic meme about Melania Trump that references multiple instances of her squinting straight at the camera, with a pertinent observation that she always looks like she recognizes you but doesn't exactly know where from. A common link between all of Melania's pictures that give this impression is her eye makeup that is perennially dark and smokey. It has been a recognizable part of her look from the day she officially became the First Lady of the United States at her husband's 2017 inauguration, and then every day since. On several occasions, Melania's eye makeup has been so intense that it eclipsed not just her eyes, but even the rest of her face.

It turns out that it's actually a carefully engineered power move, not simply a makeup fail. Lighting plays an important role when it comes to optics and, as Melania's makeup artist Nicole Bryl pointed out to The Telegraph, "Without enough flash a face can get lost in the shadow. Because of this I often smoke her eyes up for events, so that the camera, under any circumstance, will not fade her out." Dramatic eye makeup also aligns well with Melania's personal stylebook, which apparently places little importance on bold lip colors. Despite her preference for minimal touch-ups, Melania hasn't been able to circumvent criticism from social media users, who often poke fun at the effort it would take her to scrub off all that eye makeup.

Having spent minimal time in the political spotlight of her father's presidential bids, Tiffany Trump has attracted far less public commentary than other Trump family members who have been front and center during Donald Trump's career. So when she finally come out in support of her father at the Republican National Convention in 2020, the scrutiny was pronounced. The youngest Trump daughter — whom the former U.S. President shares with actor Marla Maples — turned up for the event in a powder blue pantsuit and a face caked in makeup that was not at all subtle. Her dark eyes were generously highlighted with shimmery eyeshadow while her lips were done up to sparkle as brilliantly as her teeth.

It was evident that Tiffany was attempting to make an impactful first impression as the then-latest recruit on Trump's political bandwagon. To that end, in the words of Vanity Fair, "She turned up the gloss and glitter." Her dazzling makeup and Barbie-blonde locks gave her the look of a Disney princess — not the best compliment for someone taking the stage to make a political appeal on behalf of their father — and across social media, she was likened to a knockoff version of Elsa from "Frozen." Had she ditched her regular glam makeup palette to opt for a more businesslike appearance that complemented the rest of her outfit, she would probably have been taken more seriously.

Ivana Trump was a beauty enthusiast, and it showed. Donald Trump's ex-wife was generous with her makeup to the extent that it became an inextricable part of her identity. Heavily done eyes, almost sloppily painted pink lips, and a face always a shade lighter than her neck — Ivana's features were so dramatically distinct that they stopped short of being caricature and evolved into her personal style statement instead. She made a memorable exhibition of it in 2017 at the Zang Toi fashion show in New York, decked in a varied palette of greens and pinks to go with her purple outfit.

Ivana was evidently not a fan of minimalism and, by current standards of no-makeup trends, her makeup would have been considered a total wreck. But she wore it with as much pride as she did her golden bouffant, even well into her later years. "I feel young at heart, and I feel, like, you know, 40," she told Harper's Bazaar in 2009 when she was nearing 60 and still unafraid to experiment with bold looks. Also part of the Ivana lore was her dependence on cosmetic procedures to keep the natural process of aging at bay, and just like her opinion on makeup, she was unapologetic about this indulgence too. "I see a grown-up beauty," she once expressed to The Guardian. "I think my face and body reflect a life well spent and enjoyed." 

When Lara Trump took the stage at the Republican National Convention in 2024, she went through a multitude of topics that framed her father-in-law as the ideal choice for U.S. President. Through her 20-minute monologue on the second day, it became increasingly hard to concentrate on what she was saying, especially in the moments that the cameras cut to mid-closeup shots of her. No, it wasn't her toned arms that created the said distraction. The makeup on Lara's face was so loud that it made it difficult for people to listen to her speech over it. In the words of one X user, "She looked scary and had way too much bronzer." 

To be frank, this slip-up was slightly surprising coming from Lara, who usually never falters this hard at her makeup game. Hair and makeup artist Luna Viola exclusively told The List what went wrong for Eric Trump's wife at the RNC 2024. "It looks like the contouring was not blended to Lara's hairline, resulting in a visible line coming through," Viola said. "The tone of her skin also looks very bronzy, adding a lot of orange warmth to her skin tone." Instead of her makeup, it seemed Lara committed more to her wardrobe for the RNC, opting for a carefully thought-out black outfit that, as The New York Times noted, symbolized sobriety and worked great for the optics after Donald Trump's recent assassination attempt. 

It would be hard to imagine what Kimberly Guilfoyle looks like without makeup. The former Fox News host has seldom been seen without her signature full face that covers all aspects of her features — from her excessively defined eyes, to her densely rouged cheeks, and her lips that are more often than not stained in bold colors. Through her transitioning roles as a television personality and political speaker, Kimberly Guilfoyle's over-the-top makeup has remained constant and, if possible, only become more pronounced over the years. While social media users have never reined themselves in when it comes to critiquing Guilfoyle's makeup in an age where less is more, they couldn't help doubling down on her exceptionally when she made an unforgettable camera appearance in 2023 on "The Kimberly Guilfoyle Show." 

The Trump spokeswoman had Sarah Palin over on her show to talk about issues of political significance but her own physical presentation made it almost impossible to concentrate on the exchange between the two Republican women. Guilfoyle had on a dark pink dress that matched the shade of her lips, while the rest of her face was caked in similarly extravagant makeup. It led one X user to remark, "The makeup artist absolutely hates Kimberly Guilfoyle." Sure, a camera-facing job warrants some extra cosmetic definition, but Guilfoyle would have safely made it through the podcast episode had it been for fewer strokes of her brush.