Queen Camilla's Worst Makeup Mistakes

We may wonder how some royals look without makeup, but Queen Camilla likely isn't one of them. She usually looks like she's wearing almost no makeup day-to-day. From head to toe, King Charles III's wife has her own signature style and, while her style has certainly evolved since she joined the royal family, at least one thing has remained the same: she favors a simple beauty routine. Among the many things you won't catch Camilla wearing is a full face of glam makeup. That doesn't mean, however, that her beauty routine always leads her in the right direction.

While she has only been the queen since 2022, Camilla has been in the public eye for decades and has attended several public events over the years, so we've gotta hand it to her: she has a pretty good track record and hasn't sported bad makeup nearly as much as others have. Even so, she's had a few makeup looks that weren't quite right, and it proves that when it comes to perfecting the no-makeup makeup look, consistency is key.

Looking over photos of Queen Camilla through the years, it's not easy to find a pic of her where her makeup is anywhere close to too heavy. At the 2004 Prince's Trust charity concert, however, she definitely went for a more made-up look than she typically does, and it didn't work for her. For starters, her contour or blush was just a bit too dramatic and certainly a lot more drastic than she normally goes for. This may have worked well if the rest of her makeup was a bit more pared-down. Instead, though, she lined her eyes all the way around with dark liner. This typically makes the eyes appear smaller and can make the whole makeup feel heavier. 

In addition to her heavier-than-normal contour and eyeliner, Camilla opted for metallic, shimmery finishes on her eyes and lips. In her defense, this style was on trend in the early aughts. Even so, the sheen of her lipstick and eyeshadow made her look more made-up and didn't draw attention in the right way.

Queen Camilla's tendency toward lighter makeup is actually part of why she has made so few major makeup mistakes over the years. A pared-down makeup look can let your natural beauty shine and prevent overdone, caked-on looks, and this is certainly a style that works for Camilla. Still, her makeup at the Prince's Foundation Gala Dinner in London in 2000 proved that some pared-down makeup looks are better than others. 

Her makeup for the event was so light that it almost looked like she wasn't wearing any. This didn't quite work with her over-the-top jewels and fancy attire. Beyond that, though, she looked washed out. A bit of color on her lips and cheeks would have done wonders to make her look more vibrant and fit for a fancy event. She also appeared to have some light yet smudgy eye makeup on, which further made her face feel undone and flat.

Queen Camilla is far from the first person in the public eye to fall prey to an overly brightened under-eye. Sometimes when you think your under-eye concealer is the right shade, under different lights and camera flashes, it can look like anything but the right shade. At the Sandringham Flower Show in 2022, Camilla's makeup looked a bit uneven overall, and her bright under-eyes seemed to steal all the attention. 

Camilla's foundation looked too dark in comparison to her neck, and her under-eye area was particularly light, making it look like she was wearing an eye mask. She also had some shininess on her forehead, showing that she either needed a bit of powder there or simply wasn't wearing foundation there, at all. Either way, this added to the uneven look of her complexion and drew attention to her makeup for all the wrong reasons.