Reba McEntire Makeup Looks That Missed The Mark

Country music icon Reba McEntire is known for her sassy personality, her musical talents, and her signature red hair. A member of the Country Music Hall of Fame (she was inducted in 2011), the beloved singer-songwriter has won the CMA vocalist of the year multiple times, has a bunch of Grammy Awards sitting on her shelf, and even received Kennedy Center Honors in 2018. She's also fronted her own hit TV shows, proving that McEntire is so much more than a one-trick pony, and has even shared her wealth of knowledge about the music industry as a coach on "The Voice."

Having released her first album in 1977, McEntire has been an industry mainstay for several decades, and she has the beauty moves to prove it. The country legend's fiery locks have changed with the times, with McEntire revealing several bold hairstyles over the years, and her makeup has followed suit, matching big hair with big blush and lipstick shades that were popular, then dated, then popular again.

It's possible that you might not even recognize McEntire without makeup, but there's definitely a chance you've cringed at a few of her makeup choices, as well. The stunning star hasn't always put her best face forward, often drowning in eye makeup, dodgy one-color palettes, and too-dark or too-pale complexions. 

It may have been spring in April 2019, but Reba McEntire's makeup look at the 54th Academy of Country Music Awards in Las Vegas was definitely giving off more wintry vibes. As the song goes, Frosty the Snowman had two eyes made out of coal, and we can't help but think he was the singer's inspiration when it came time to do her makeup for this star-studded event. True, the smokey eye is a forever favorite for glitzy nights out big and small, evoking a special kind of glamour that goes perfectly with sparkly gowns and red-carpet paparazzi shots. 

But there's a fine line between smoke and all-out black, and sadly the "Does He Love You" hitmaker crossed it. Her eyes are completely ringed with black eyeliner, and her mascara is thickly applied to both the upper and lower lashes. Dark-brown shadow has been pressed into the creases, too. Add to that her light-pink lipstick, the barest of blush on her cheekbones, and almost bare upper eyelids, and McEntire's eyes look like two black holes in a face full of pale. Smokey makeup is meant to make the eyes pop, not recede back into the face.

If you've lived as a woman for any amount of time, you know that a pair of tweezers and too much time on your hands can be a dangerous combination. But the skinny brow was super popular at one point, and Reba McEntire indulged in plucking to her heart's content. In September 2001, she attended the Macy's and American Express Passport fashion show, showing off the results of her time in front of the mirror. The makeup trouble began, though, when she paired her skinny brows with skinny lips and equally skinny bangs. The country star's brows were barely visible, even with a bit of pencil applied. 

What you could see only seemed to serve as the top half of face parentheses, with her lips serving as the bottom half of the punctuation marks, her nose and eyes sandwiched in between. McEntire has had a stunning transformation over the years, going from short hair to longer, flowing locks, but her brows have stayed the same (once plucked, always plucked). The difference is in how the "Reba" star has learned to balance her makeup and mane moves to be less of a grammar lesson and more of a glamour one. 

Sure, red hair has certain requirements and limitations when it comes to color palettes, but having scarlet locks doesn't mean everything on your face has to match the shade. When Reba McEntire stopped by Sirius XM Studios in New York City, in October 2024, she seemingly limited her look to two colors: A black shirt with orange everything else. 

Orange eyeshadow matched orange lipstick matched orange eyebrows. Even her blush was a subtle shade of peach, bringing the country star's beauty look into monochrome territory. To top it all off, McEntire chose to wear her hair with deep bangs starting at the top of her crown, giving us an uninterrupted sheet of orange rising up from the tips of her lashes.

The "I'm a Survivor" hitmaker should probably have added a taupe or brown eyeshadow to break up the color blocking just a little bit. And if she was so inclined to do such a matchy-matchy look, McEntire could have even slicked on a taupe lip gloss. Her only saving grace is that she didn't opt for orange mascara too.

The "Fancy" hitmaker went a little too fancy with her beauty look for "CMT Giants" in October 2006, apparently applying all of the products in her makeup bag at the same time. Sure, it was a special occasion, with the singer-songwriter being honored by Country Music Television at a starry ceremony in Hollywood, but sometimes extra-special just becomes extra. Both bronzer and blush started off the makeup extravaganza, followed by a dark-pink lipstick. Black eyeliner was applied around Reba McEntire's bright peepers, with a special shot of glittery shadow or liner along the edge of the top lid, just above it.

A frosty blue shadow was next, along with a little bit of brown. And, of course, multiple coats of black mascara were brushed over each lash. Less cheek color wouldn't have been out of line, and would have also had the benefit of not making the country icon look like she was blushing from all the attention. We're sure McEntire got plenty of it while sitting in the makeup artist's chair — we can only imagine how long it took to create the look (and how much time and how many wet wipes it took to remove it once she got home).  

Although hardly one to shy away from the public — when Reba McEntire couldn't escape plastic surgery rumors, she had plenty of things to say about it — when the Grammy winner appeared on "Access Hollywood Live" in November 2017, in New York City, she looked like she was about 10 seconds from fading away. Her eyebrows were fully defined, and her usual eyeliner was present and accounted for, but everything else about the "Happy's Place" star's makeup looked like it was desperately trying to disappear. 

Super-pale pink lipstick was barely visible, seen only due to a light shimmer when the sun hit it just right. And if we look really, really hard, we can also spot just a hint of blush at the top of her cheekbones — although we wouldn't be surprised if it was just the light reflecting off her hair, bouncing a subtle shadow on to McEntire's skin. A darker lip would've brought a much-needed pop of color to the singer's face, waking up her complexion and pulling her back into the spotlight where she firmly belongs.