Archived Post

Have you ever used makeup to look worse?


Have you ever used makeup to look worse? Share!

I can’t say I have! At least not deliberately 😉

Thanks to reader Emily for today’s question idea Do you have a question idea? Submit yours here.

40 Comments

Comments that do not adhere to our comment policy may be removed. Discussion and debate are highly encouraged but we expect community members to participate respectfully. Please keep discussion on-topic, and if you have general feedback, a product review request, an off-topic question, or need technical support, please contact us!

Please help us streamline the comments' section and be more efficient: double-check the post above for more basic information like pricing, availability, and so on to make sure your question wasn't answered already. Comments alerting us to typos or small errors in the post are appreciated (!) but will typically be removed after errors are fixed (unless a response is needed).

We appreciate enthusiasm for new releases but ask readers to please hold questions regarding if/when a review will be posted as we can't commit to or guarantee product reviews. We don't want to set expectations and then disappoint readers as even products that are swatched don't always end up being reviewed due to time constraints and changes in priorities! Thank you for understanding!

Comments on this post are closed.
Lizzi Avatar

Actually I have… I used red liner around my eyes, purple eyeshadow under my lids and whitening powder on my face to pull a Ferris Bueller once. It worked!! My boss sent me home before I clocked in. 😉

Courtney K Avatar

I do it for theater all the time! Made half my face look burned a few weeks ago. One time I was supposed to play a hideous, obnoxious twit, so I gave myself a huge unibrow, bright blue eyeshadow, messy red lips, and a giant mole. Worked great.

Dusty Avatar

Aside from the ocassional zombie, vampire or Robert Smith moment, in high school I used to enjoy making myself look all crazy strung out! Dark circles and pale, pale skin. I think at 17 seeing people’s reactions must have been entertaining. I can’t remember really anymore… I just remember doing it. LOL

artemis Avatar

yep, when i was little…to look more tired or smth…cuz i read in a magazine. weird. so i put lipgloss under my eyes(weird) cuz i already had the dark circles lol

helen Avatar

Agreed. Not intentionally but looking back at old photos, i can see that what i thought was ‘fabulous’ now looks hideous. But that’s what trends are all about.

Andie Avatar

Maybe for a costume look on Halloween or something. Sometimes I wear a makeup look I know doesn’t look great on me, just because I like it. YOLO. Haha.

Em Avatar

Heck yes!

I need to lay the groundwork for “being sick” the next two days, so I cut foundation and under-eye concealer out of my routine, then applied Tarte Natural Beauty lightly all over my face. I still applied mascara so people wouldn’t think “she just looks bad because she’s not wearing makeup today.” (I also jabbed myself in the eye a few times, and sprinkled black pepper on the sleeve ribbing of a sweater. Whenever I rubbed my nose, I was snorting a few more flakes of pepper, which created some very convincing sneezes.)

Rachel R. Avatar

Ha, ha! This is a great question. I have at Halloween.

I have left off wearing makeup or worn makeup to emphasize dark undereye circles and pale skin when dealing with psychiatric doctors, social workers, schools, etc. to help show how worn out and stressed I was from dealing with my son’s unstable periods, and make them more inclined to get him the services and hospitalization he needed. In those circumstances, I wasn’t going to make myself look better for vanity’s sake. Let them feel sorry for me. All’s fair in love and war.

markiebamboo Avatar

When I was a kid I discovered that using my moms pink lipstick and blue eyeshadow patted on top, that I could make what looked like bruises or black eyes.

And when I was in high school I would line my eyes with red eyeliner (maybe it was a lip liner) which resulted in a pink eye sort of look but I really liked it.

kim Avatar

I have never used makeup to look worse. But I have purposely not worn makeup to work, to make an upcoming ‘sick day’ more believable. It always worked.

Lotus Avatar

YES! In the theater I had to really get gritty! I was playing a homicidal junkie who was in prison with others & fighting constantly. I already was pale enough, but I added pure white to make the stark contrast of hollowed bones and eyes. I dug it. 😀

alie Avatar

oh HELL YES.
surefire way to get your boss to send you home – line your eyes with red eyeshadow or even bright pink blush on your waterline. use browns and yellows and a dash of purple under your eyes. create redness around your mouth and nose. perfect “i have something contagious and please send me home” face.

-bruising. accentuate or create a bruise with a palette of yellows, greens, pinks, purples, blues and reds. i seal it with hairspray so it wont rub off. (ive done this for years for photography and stagework)

Julie Avatar

Yes! It was for Halloween a few years ago, and I utilized green face paint with grey and matte burgundy eyeshadows for contouring, it was quite mesmerizing. My deskmate could not stop staring at me. Guess it was scary, lol!

Fia Avatar

Hell yes! I remember one time when I wanted to fake an illness to get off work. I was going to get my drivers license and wanted to stay home and prepare as much as I could. So I made my under eye circles worse by using a slight grey-blue contour, a paler foundation and then everyone believe I was really ill. So I was pretty pleased. And I got my license 😉

alisha Avatar

Yes, in high school when I was going home sick and I wasn’t really sick to make me look a bit pale. Lol. Basically just powder no blush. Also, for Halloween. I have also used it for no makeup looks which could be seen as a downgrade from what I usually look like with a full face. When I was younger my one friend would be like put your makeup on when she would pick me up cuz I would always attract guys but apparently she didn’t think I could unless I wore my makeup but I wasn’t intentionally doing anything.

Estefania Avatar

I think I actually did once to get out of a date with a guy that was such. a. tool. He had been hinting that he wanted to ask me out and my brain was like (LOL NOPE), so I applied lipstick really messily, didn’t blend my eyeshadow, smudged my mascara, and left my brows and skin bare. It was a desperate attempt and I was really shy back then haha.
Needless to say, he proved his tool-ness when he took one look at me and was like “Never mind.”

We try to approve comments within 24 hours (and reply to them within 72 hours) but can sometimes get behind and appreciate your patience! 🙂 If you have general feedback, product review requests, off-topic questions, or need technical support, please contact us directly. Thank you for your patience!