Angelina Jolie's Worst Makeup Mistake Of All Time

Angelina Jolie's face is so flawless that it's simply unfair. Jolie's stunning transformation from the young star in "Girl Interrupted" to the "Tomb Raider" heroine turned active philanthropist over the years hasn't disturbed her perfect skin with a single wrinkle. The actor has even revealed that she has never had plastic surgery (yes, those perfect cheekbones are real). The only thing that has flawed her face is a makeup fail, something even Jolie hasn't been immune from.

Jolie is usually the epitome of beauty when she graces the red carpet in an elegant smokey eye or bold red lip. However, when Jolie stepped onto the carpet at the 2014 premiere of Brad Pitt's film "The Normal Heart," the copious camera flashes turned the "Maleficent" actor into a ghost. Instead of her normally perfect skin gracing the camera lens, Jolie's face and chest looked like they were covered in flour, as if she had just come from baking a batch of cookies for the six children whom she shares with Pitt. The media only realized this makeup mishap after the event, when the paparazzi published their photos. Read more about this rare makeup phenomenon below.

The chalky residue on Angelina Jolie's face at the premiere that night led to many headlines the next day, calling it a major makeup disaster. However, the incident is more common than you may think. So, what's behind the powdery faces?

The culprit is translucent powder. Where setting powder is normally used to minimize shininess, using the wrong powder can completely ruin the makeup look. According to hair and makeup artist for the stars, Max May, Jolie's makeup artist specifically used HD powder, which is perfect for movie sets, but doesn't react well to flash photography, causing a reaction known as "flashback." "It's a super light powder used to specifically set heavy camouflage creams without making them look cakey on motion film ONLY," May told The Daily Telegraph. "A huge rookie error from her makeup artist."

According to May, the powder is only visible when the cool light of the flash from a camera hits the face, which means in the warm, natural light, the powder wasn't noticeable; neither Pitt standing next to her on the carpet, nor her makeup artist doing touch-ups throughout the night, could see the luminous powder. However, this mistake — like many makeup mishaps that can be quickly fixed — has a solution. Makeup artist and stylist Liz Everett told The List in 2021: "As long as you do a great job of sweeping it gently with your brush after [application], you are all good."