Kate Middleton is known by many as a style icon, and it makes sense. But things weren’t always like this. After marrying into the royal family, Middleton’s fashion sense experienced a significant transformation. Still, she’s experienced a few style controversies, with some people even deeming her outfits inappropriate. After all, she’s only human! Along with some fashion blunders, she’s also had a few makeup fails over the years that might make you cringe.
While Catherine, Princess of Wales, is generally known for being flawless from her accessories to her cosmetics (even while she’s in recovery), she’s had her off days, as we all had. From a shocking eyeliner faux pas to difficulties with contouring, here are the worst makeup blunders that this royal has made.
Not wearing lipstick washes her out
While she frequently wears eye makeup, she occasionally goes out without any lipstick. There’s nothing wrong with a toned-down look, but due to her complexion and thin lips, not wearing lipstick looks unflattering. When you combine this with a ton of black mascara, it’s just a look that doesn’t make sense.
She can over-contour, leading to an awkward look
When Kate Middleton attended the Ring O’Fire Ultra Marathon in the summer of 2013, she played around with contouring. While the contouring was completed to highlight Middleton’s beautiful cheekbones, this is one of those situations where less is more. With contouring, it’s essential to know when to put the brush down, and while it may have seemed like a cohesive look when she checked herself out in the mirror, this over-contouring debacle serves as an important reminder: always check your profile twice before you leave the house. Applying too much contouring makeup can lead to a streaky look on your cheeks rather than enhancing them.
Wearing too much eyeliner underneath her eyes
On November 13, 2016, at the yearly Remembrance Sunday Service at the Cenotaph, this royal opted for a more serious look to honor the people injured or lost in the war. She wore an all-black outfit complete with a hat and finished the look with a heavy dose of eyeliner. However, she applied an excess of eyeliner on her bottom lid, leaving a look that was more raccoon-chic than a smoky eye. To her credit, she’s started to reduce the amount of eyeliner she wears, rocking a fresher and more dewy look these days.
Another use of heavy eye makeup takes over
When you have natural beauty like Kate Middleton, you don’t need to wear lots of eye makeup. In 2017, when the Princess of Wales was on a tour of Germany and Poland with her husband, she met with the former German Chancellor Angela Merkel. To the visit, she wore copious amounts of blue eyeshadow and mascara that clumped her lashes together, creating a messy, shadowy appearance that emphasized jet lag rather than hiding it.
A final look proves Kate Middleton should avoid cakey eye makeup
If these blunders have taught us (and Kate) anything, the naturally sophisticated Kate should keep her makeup looks low-key and avoid heavy, cakey, and colorful eye makeup. Initially, it seemed like a clever decision when she rocked a dark brown eyeshadow. It highlighted her outfit, hazel eyes, and brunette hair- however, attempting a smoky eye created a cakey look. Instead of emphasizing her elegance, it highlighted the lines surrounding her eyes, settling into the creases.
When applying a smoky eye, it’s crucial to blend it well for a more natural look that won’t bring out crow’s feet. If this dark brown, smoky look had been done more professionally, it might have gone down in history as one of her best looks.
We’ve all made mistakes with makeup, though, and practice makes perfect. Blending is the number one rule to remember, as well as the fact that if you’re not highly experienced in cosmetics, it’s fine to go simple and limit the amount of makeup you apply.
