White House Press Secretary Beauty Blunders We Just Can't Ignore

Being White House press secretary is no easy feat. Not only do press secretaries have to deal with the world's inquisitive media questioning the president and administration's decisions, but all eyes are on them, dissecting every inch of their appearance from clothes to makeup. And everything in between, for that matter. As the official spokespeople of the White House, press secretaries are always facing the public. 

Unfortunately, though these political figures may be used to life in the spotlight, even the Secret Service can't protect them from a beauty blunder or two. In fact, under the unforgiving lights of the White House press room, makeup mistakes look even more obvious. From Kayleigh McEnany's uneven faux eyelashes, to Karoline Leavitt's presidential-esque orange tan, to Jen Psaki's smudgy, traveling eyeliner, we can't ignore these awkward mishaps that we definitely wouldn't vote in for a second term.

During 2017 press briefing, Sarah Huckabee Sanders experienced a faux lash wearer's worst nightmare when the inner corner of her strip lash became unglued on her left eye. Instead of curving around her eye, it levitated above her lid and created an unflattering straight line above her natural lash line. This mistake proved why it's a good idea to apply a little extra glue to the inner corner — where strip lashes are notorious for coming unstuck — wait a few seconds, then stick it to the lashline when it's become tackier to stop it moving. It also showed why it's never a bad idea to keep a little extra glue in your purse for emergencies.

Her faux lashes didn't fare that much better on her right eye, either. Though the falsie wasn't coming off, Sanders' application left a lot to be desired as it sat a little to high and didn't blend with her lash line. That made the lash strip fall flat and look unnatural. Instead, she should have tried one of our favorite fake eyelash hacks by using an eyelash curler, which makes application much easier and helps position the accessory close to the lashline. Sanders may also have been better off applying cluster lashes instead of strip lashes. While strips can look unnatural due to their thick and sometimes inflexible band, individual lashes can be more subtle, and it's less obvious if they become unstuck.

Also in 2017, Sarah Huckabee Sanders suffered another eyelash mishap. Only this time, it was on the opposite end of the spectrum. For one press briefing, she ditched faux lashes and mascara, but the lack of definition on her lashes meant they got totally lost and were barely visible. 

Of course, Sanders had the right to wear as much or as little makeup as she wanted, but seeing as she was wearing a full face of makeup, including eyeshadow and eyeliner, a slick of mascara would have helped open up her eyes and complete her look. It would also have counteracted the heavy pencil liner on lower lash line, which closed off her peepers.

If she didn't want to go too far with extra products, Sanders could have tried a brown or clear mascara, such as Clinique High Impact Mascara in Black Honey or Maybelline Great Lash Clear Mascara. Either would have lifted her lashes without adding too much color or drama. As a rule, older women should look for mascaras in brown colors, as they can be more forgiving than darker shades.

In addition to Kayleigh McEnany's woefully outdated outfits, she experienced an awkward foundation mistake toward the end of her tenure working with Donald Trump. Photos of McEnany during a 2021 White House briefing showed she'd clearly applied a matte foundation to her face, but her upper lip was devoid of any cosmetics. Not only was it slightly lighter than the rest of her face, her cosmetics-free skin also had a pinker undertone.

It's possible McEnany applied her makeup in a rush and forgot about that area (which is surprisingly easy to do). Or she may have been putting her cosmetics on in poor lighting, so couldn't see which parts she'd missed. Her foundation may also have rubbed off around her mouth as she ate, drank, or wiped her face. If that's the case, McEnany needs to invest in a foundation compact to reapply her cosmetics on the go. A good primer pre-foundation and setting spray — such as Urban Decay's All Nighter or NYX's The Face Glue Setting Spray — can also help keep makeup in place.

Jen Psaki, who undertook White House press secretary duties under Joe Biden, experienced a makeup mistake all too many of us have faced when her eyeliner smudged under her eye. During a 2021 press briefing, she had black liner on the inner corner of her bottom lash line on her left eye, but not on her right. That suggested the product had transferred from the heavy liner she was wearing on her lid, which can often happen when our eyes water and dampen the eyeliner.

To stop eyeliner moving and smudging, Psaki should have set her makeup with black eyeshadow powder using a thin, slanted eyeliner brush, such as the EIGSHOW Fine Angled Eyeliner Brush or the Essence Eyeliner Brush, which would have provided precise application that doesn't disturb the liner. A spritz of setting spray could also have prevented her cosmetics from smearing.

Jen Psaki loves her heavy eyeliner, and there's nothing wrong with that. Only, when she appeared in the press briefing room of the White House in 2021, her black liner looked a little too harsh and unblended. Photos showed the thick line began just next to her tear duct, which was distracting and looked unnatural, particularly considering she didn't have any other obvious makeup on the inner corner of her peepers. It's more complimentary for eyeliner to start thin in the inner corner before developing into a thicker line on the outer corner, creating the look of an elongated eye.

If Psaki's product was a pencil liner, she needed to sharpen it to get a thinner and more precise line near her tear duct. If she had used a liquid liner, the sharper tip would have stopped such a heavy, blunt line forming. She could even have used a Q-tip in the inner corner to subtly diffuse the product for a more natural-looking finish.

Dana Perino held the title of White House press secretary under George W. Bush for about a year and a half, from 2007 and 2009. But after she left the White House, we couldn't stop staring at her lashes. During a 2022 appearance on Fox News' "America's Newsroom," Perino's eyelashes looked seriously clumpy, to the point we could barely appreciate her flattering smoky eye.

There are plenty of tips to help say goodbye to clumpy lashes, from avoiding volumizing and waterproof formulas to building up thin layers of product — but we feel Perino would have seriously benefitted from a lash comb on this occasion. Because the hairs were so stuck together, they lacked volume. A quick comb-through would have separated them for a more complimentary, fanned-out effect. Try the Sweet View Eyelash Separator and Comb or Tweezerman's Folding iLashComb Model 1054-R to sidestep bunching lashes, as metal teeth can make light work of diffusing clumpy mascara.

Karoline Leavitt has had several embarrassing fake tan fails, but her deep orange tan in a family snap is one of the most obvious. Donald Trump's press secretary appeared to take inspo from his trademark hue in the 2022 Instagram upload, which showed her smiling alongside her nearest and dearest. Leavitt's high-saturation skin looked seriously out of place next to her kin's more natural skin tones. "Why is she so orange?" one Instagram user even commented.

Though it's not clear if the outspoken Republican had a spray tan or applied a tanning product herself at home, the shade was anything but natural, particularly as her natural skin tone has cooler undertones. To avoid making the same mistake, Leavitt should try a tanning product with purple undertones, which can cancel out orangeness. Purple-based tanning products including the b.tan Violet Base Self Tanner Mousse or Fake Bake Flawless Self-Tanning Liquid could have offered a more natural-looking color.

Karoline Leavitt shared gorgeous photos on Instagram of her brother's 2022 wedding, but we were blinded by her high levels of highlighter. Leavitt applied an abundance of the product over her nose and around her eyes, which made both areas look several shades lighter than the rest of her face and body. In fact, it looked like the outspoken press secretary had been wearing a large pair of sun goggles that had given her serious tan lines.

Instead of layering on the product on like foundation or blush, Leavitt needed to use a lighter hand with a softer brush for a natural-looking, light-catching finish. A fan brush, such as the Docolor Highlighter Fan Brush or HALEYS Fan Brush, would have helped diffuse the product to stop it looking so heavy and obvious. The political figure should also have been more careful with her highlighter placement, as the heavy application down the bridge of her nose wasn't flattering and was seriously distracting.

Karoline Leavitt shared an Instagram snap of herself and a friend enjoying a drink in 2023, and we couldn't help but notice her super light undereye makeup was a different color than the rest of her face. The shade difference was likely made more obvious by the camera flash, which seemingly bounced off the product. Donald Trump's right-hand woman wore a concealer with a yellow undertone, which she likely set with a yellow-tinted powder. While that can work for some, Leavitt has naturally pinker undertones, meaning a pink-leaning powder — such as Wet N Wild Photo Focus Loose Setting Powder in soft pink, or L'Oréal Paris Infallible Blur-fection Loose Setting Powder in light pink – would have neutralized the yellow and helped it match the rest of her makeup.

Equally, the White House press secretary's undereye makeup would have stood out less if she'd used pink-toned concealer. Not only would it have looked more subtle, but pink and peach concealers can be used for color correcting (which doesn't have to be intimidating), creating the look of a brighter undereye by canceling out the blue and green tones in dark undereye circles. Maybelline's Instant Age Rewind Eraser in color 160, or NYX's Pro Fix Stick in 0.2 pink would have looked far less obvious.

Karoline Leavitt's orange glow wasn't the only fake tan fail she experienced in front of the world, though. In 2025, she lived through another common faux pas when she spoke to reporters outside the White House with hands that were noticeably paler than the rest of her body. Leavitt had clearly applied a tanning product (her face and upper arms were very bronzed), which suggested it had washed off her hands.

It's common for fake tan to disappear from our hands first, as we wash them more often than the rest of our body. But there are ways to rectify a pale-hands-tan-body situation. We'd have advised Leavitt to dab, not wipe, her hands with a soft towel after washing them to prevent her tan rubbing off, as well as using a mitt to apply another light layer of an at-home tanning product over the backs of her hands and fingers to bring some color back.

In a 2025 Instagram video taken on the set of Fox News, Kayleigh McEnany showed us how tough it can be to get false lashes right. She wore long and dramatic strip lashes that elevated her makeup and brought attention to her eyes, but they didn't match. On her right side, the false eyelash appeared fuller and made her eye look rounder. On the left side though, the accessory gave her more of a cat-eye effect, as the lashes were more visible on the outer corner.

For a more natural, symmetrical look, McEnany should have tried a faux lash applicator, like the HOYUJI False Eyelash Applicator or the iENVY by Kiss Lash Applicator Tool. Not only can these make application easier, they can also be used to push the lashes up and position them for a more eye-opening effect. Had McEnany angled her lashes upward just a little more on the left side, they wouldn't have looked so uneven.