Carrie Underwood Makeup Fails We Couldn't Ignore

Carrie Underwood's look has changed quite a bit since she won "American Idol" back in 2005. And, while you may have wanted to replicate Underwood's makeup routine back in the day, these days, she's a bit more heavy-handed with her makeup application. Underwood occasionally shows off what she looks like underneath the makeup, and we can't deny that her more recent penchant for heavy eye products and caked-on foundation just isn't doing justice to her undeniable natural beauty.

Of course, like most stars, some of Underwood's makeup looks are hits, while others are misses. Her softer, more natural makeup looks often show off a fresher-looking star who looks more like herself. Yet, it seems that as time passes, there are more and more heavy, dramatic beauty products Underwood can't live without. While Underwood has had her fair share of stunning, show-stopping looks over the years, we've got the ones that stopped us in our tracks for the wrong reasons. Of Underwood's not-so-flattering makeup looks, these are the worst of the worst.

Makeup lovers know that getting the perfectly sized false lashes for them isn't always an easy task. While a subtle falsie can do wonders to enhance almost any makeup look, an overly-heavy set of lashes can overwhelm anyone's eyes and leave them looking like they're sporting stage makeup. This is a beauty blunder we've seen from Carrie Underwood time and time again. One selfie she posted to Instagram, in particular, shows just how much some too-big lashes can distract from the rest of the star's makeup look. 

It's hard to look at anything in Underwood's selfie other than her over-the-top eyelashes. The rest of her makeup is relatively subtle. Yet, the lashes and eyeliner that goes all the way around her eyes make it appear that she's wearing a very heavy face of makeup. Experimenting with makeup and going over-the-top with your beauty routine to make a statement or add a bit of spice to your look is often a fun choice. Yet, Underwood's use of excess lashes and eye makeup makes her look unnatural and gives an overdone appearance, rather than something that looks like an experimental and glam fashion statement.

In 2022, Carrie Underwood posted a photo to Instagram that showed off some very harsh makeup. It's clear that Underwood was going for a dramatic smokey eye look here. Yet, the result was one of her worst makeup looks to date. Underwood's heavy black and brown eye look was balanced with a neutral, nude, pared-down lip and skin. This was clearly an attempt to make her eyes the star of the show and let the rest fade to the background. Yet, rather than a look that brought all the attention to her bold eye, this makeup made her look washed out and one-dimensional.

In this photo, Underwood's foundation looks cake-y and heavy, while also looking a bit flat due to the lack of dimension that would typically be added with some blush and contour. This was made worse by the nude, matte lip, which left the singer looking washed-out and a bit lifeless. It's easy to see what the goal of this makeup look was, but the execution shows just how important it is to bring some brightness and color into your face, rather than always opting for full coverage foundation.

Carrie Underwood obvious love of overly dark eye makeup is often the culprit behind her makeup fails. There was one occasion, however, when it was some very bad lipstick that stole the show. In 2016, Underwood hit the CMT Music Awards in a multicolor gown and a shoulder-length bob. While most of her look for the evening was a hit, her makeup was a total miss. Her eyebrow shape was a bit too rounded for her face and very 2016-core. Yet, the standout problem was all about her super matte lipstick.

Matte lips were popular when Underwood donned this bubblegum pink lip product. Yet, a good matte lip shouldn't look totally caked on or like it's ready to crack. This lipstick was way too flat and dimension-less. And, the color made this even worse. This shade of pink was way too light for her, and it just didn't look natural in this dry-looking, flat formula. This lipstick makes it look like Underwood grabbed a paintbrush and a Benjamin Moore paint color designed for a little girl's room and painted her own face. And, that's just plain distracting.

There are enough photos of Carrie Underwood out there to know that her makeup seems to be getting more intense as time passes. Yet, the singer was kind enough to give us a closeup of her heavy-handed makeup habits to prove just how much product she applies even when she's not necessarily going for a full glam look. In 2017, she posted a photo to Instagram that showed her eyes peeking out between a matching scarf and beanie. Since we couldn't see the rest of her face, we got up close and personal with her eye makeup. And it was clear just how much mascara she had piled on.

The star seems to be sporting her usual big falsies with eyeliner lining her entire eye. She also packed on quite a bit of clumpy mascara. The makeup was so jarring that it even sparked some discussion in the comment section. "Wtf with all that eye makeup. You lashes are scary," one commenter wrote. Looking at these lashes, it was hard not to think of Underwood's song "Cry Pretty," since crying in eye makeup like this would be downright messy and definitely not pretty.

Needless to say, when Carrie Underwood performed at Donald Trump's 2025 inauguration, her makeup didn't cause as much backlash as her decision to attend the controversial occasion did. That doesn't, however, mean that her makeup was at its best. Underwood can't escape plastic surgery rumors, and her appearance at the inauguration certainly didn't help. The "American Idol" alum simply didn't look like her usual self at this highly publicized event. And, regardless of whether or not any nip and tuck was involved, her makeup didn't help.

Underwood's eyelashes as she belted out "America the Beautiful" were so long, it was surprising that they weren't making her eyelids feel heavy. She paired these intense lashes with dark brows, a glossy lip, and thick foundation that looked a bit cake-y underneath her eyes. All of this gave Underwood's face a heavy look. And, while this makeup style seems to be mostly aligned with her current beauty preferences, she was nearly unrecognizable to some fans.