Sarah Huckabee Sanders' Biggest Beauty Mistakes, According To Our Makeup Artist

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Governor of Arkansas Sarah Huckabee Sanders has been in the spotlight since becoming Donald Trump's senior advisor in 2016 and then going on to serve as his press secretary once he became POTUS the following year. Known for her no-nonsense attitude, Sanders' makeup totally reflects her personality. Unlike Trump's current press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, who rarely lets us see her makeup-free and likes to pile on the products, Sanders' approach to makeup is subtler — but that doesn't mean she's free of making beauty mistakes.

As a makeup artist with over 15 years of experience, I can confidently say that techniques and products need to be tweaked for camera-time. Certain ingredients, such as titanium dioxide, can cause faces to look overly white when taking pictures with flash. Moreover, if someone's skin is too matte, it can look flat, but too much shine is very visible on camera. As a busy person in the political realm, Sanders likely doesn't have hours to get ready, but at times, her makeup looks way too hastily applied — and it's easy to spot her many blunders.

During her downtime, Sarah Huckabee Sanders likes to go makeup-free, but when she's working, she makes sure to get a bit glammed up. Unfortunately, she went a bit overboard with the dark eyeshadow at a January 2020 rally for Donald Trump in Des Moines, Iowa. It looked like the politician used a dark-gray shade in a matte finish and applied it all along her lids, bringing it up past her crease. There doesn't seem to be any other color besides the one, and the whole effect looked flat.

With Sanders' close-set eyes, a lighter eyeshadow would have opened them up more. I would have used a cream-colored shimmer on the inner corners of her eyes, giving the illusion of more space between them. Furthermore, a warmer brown shade would have softened up her smokey eye look and be more appropriate for television. The charcoal liner under her eyes was a bit too harsh as well. Instead, she should have embraced brown eyeliner for a more natural look.

Flashing lights are unforgivable when it comes to shine, and Sarah Huckabee Sanders fell victim to them at Politicon in 2019. The mom of three wore barely there makeup to the convention that year, with what looked to be a dash of mascara and possibly a swipe of tinted moisturizer. With so little product, it's clear that Sanders has a great complexion and doesn't need much foundation. However, her skin was glowing as she posed in front of the cameras, but not in a good way.

If a person has oily skin, their face can get shiny really fast, even if they've powdered recently. In Sanders' case, she should have given herself a glance in the mirror and quickly patted down her face with powder. I love using invisible ones that look white in the compact but go on without a trace, such as IT Cosmetics' Bye Bye Pores Pressed Finishing Powder. It contains peptides, which are great for the skin, and doesn't have minerals that cause flashback, so it's the perfect double-duty option for an on-the-go touch-up, which Sanders clearly needed that day.

When Sarah Huckabee Sanders was Donald Trump's press secretary, she regularly held press briefings, which were always recorded. Sadly, one from December 2018 is preserved on the internet with her half-finished face. It looked like Sanders hastily applied some foundation, a bit of bronzer in the hollows of her cheeks (which was applied way too low), and an attempt at a smokey eye. Curiously, that's where the makeup stopped. There was no evidence of even a hint of lipstick or gloss, and Sanders' cheeks were void of blush as far as we can tell.

If there's one thing that makes a face look unfinished, it's ditching lip color. A simple swipe of a rose-hued lipstick would have brightened up Sanders' face, which looked particularly pale. Perhaps she was in a rush to the podium, but a dab of gloss and blush takes only a second to apply, so we can't forgive this. 

When wearing an outfit that shows a bit of your chest, it's always noticeable when your face doesn't match the rest of your body. Such was the case when Sarah Huckabee Sanders gave a news briefing in June 2018. The then-press secretary had on a tomato-red dress with a deep V-neck, which showed that her chest was paler than her face. The foundation looked two shades too dark. Judging from her décolletage area, she has a neutral to cool skin tone, but her makeup was way too warm.

It's always hard to pick the right foundation shade if you're not standing in natural light, so it's always best to check yourself outside during daylight if possible. Be sure to swatch the shade along your jawline — not your hand or the highest points of your face where the sun hits — and see if the color blends seamlessly into your skin. You shouldn't see a difference in color when you blend the foundation, and if it's invisible, you know it's the right shade. Perhaps Sanders should have used Melania Trump's glam room that day, as we're sure it would have had the best lighting.

It's clear that Sarah Huckabee Sanders isn't a big makeup person, unlike Melania Trump, who has had some big makeup mistakes herself. While stepping out with a beat face may not be on top of her list, Sanders often looks underdone or goes overboard with one feature. This time, she chose to go all out with her eyebrows and drew them into a chunky shape with a dark brown pencil. The strong brows overtook her eyes and made her appear smaller. What's more, they were filled in unevenly, with one rounded and the other in a sharp angle.

Eyebrows take time to be perfectly shaped but once they're drawn in evenly, the rest of the face looks cohesive. I would have used a brow powder on Sanders for a softer finish, using a stiff angled brush to get the shape just right. Furthermore, the ends of her eyebrows would look better angled slightly upward to lift her features, rather than bring them down to give the 43-year-old a more youthful appearance. Bold brows are in, but not if they look stamped on.