Unfiltered Pics Of Kayleigh McEnany That Prove She Loves Her Makeup Caked On
Of all the strange things everyone ignores about Kayleigh McEnany, perhaps nothing is more revealing than the image-conscious way she approaches public life. It's also one of the least discussed aspects of her televised career. McEnany's worst makeup fails would perhaps come off as comical if they weren't so consistent. There are also McEnany outfits that completely missed the mark, altogether creating the impression that despite a life spent under the unforgiving glare of cameras, journalists, and politicians, she remains committed to cosmetic choices that don't photograph as well as her polished rhetoric would suggest.
The pattern became particularly pronounced when McEnany was hired as the White House press secretary in April 2020. There's a distinct aesthetic that emerges wherever the MAGA crowd congregates. You may already know what "Mar-a-Lago" face is and who has tried the trend, but since McEnany's time in the spotlight predated the aggressive cosmetic interventions of 2025 by a few years, her own brand of maximalist glamour has the one saving grace of mainly involving heavy makeup.
Specifically, McEnany has been photographed dozens of times with foundation so thick and poorly blended that it creates visible texture on camera, settling into fine lines and creating the kind of cakey effect that becomes more conspicuous the more you zoom in on her face. But don't just take our word for it. The photographic evidence from across Donald Trump's first term and beyond speaks for itself.
McEnany's first on-camera briefing set the tone for consistently cakey makeup
When Kayleigh McEnany entered the James Brady Press Briefing Room on May 1, 2020, it had been 417 days since the last formal press secretary briefing (Sarah Sanders' last press conference was on March 11, 2019) and the pressure she felt to appear competent and camera-ready after more than a year without formal briefings must have been considerable.
"I will never lie to you," McEnany declared to members of the press (per NBC News), but her makeup told a different story. The foundation had oxidized under the lights, turning more artificial-looking than it'd probably appeared when first put on, giving way to that feared cakey effect when the base is applied with a free hand.
The overly contoured look of McEnany's that became a signature
A few days later, on May 6, 2020, Kayleigh McEnany held her second formal news conference, engaging in a bit of back-and-forth with the press over the matter of Covid-19 and her questionable statements regarding the federal government's handling of the pandemic.
What stands out in her visual profile here is the heavy contouring that would become McEnany's go-to makeup approach throughout her White House tenure, complete with harsh, muddy lines along her cheekbones and jawline. The aggressive application might have worked in another context, like Instagram photos where you have control over the angle and all the filters. But on camera during a live briefing? Your complexion isn't keeping any secrets.
When McEnany's foundation emphasized every pore and spot
While Kayleigh McEnany's press briefing on May 12, 2020, mostly revolved around the Trump administration's response to the pandemic and attacking the press for its supposed inaccuracies and negative reporting on the government's efforts, many appearance-conscious observers must have noticed that she's really committing to the cakey texture.
The most glaring problem with this approach is that more often than not, the makeup ends up sitting on the skin rather than blending with it. And in the case of someone like McEnany, the cameras will be there to bring to light every little imperfection the heavy makeup was meant to hide.
McEnany goes full-body spray tan and the heavy makeup exacerbates the problem
At the 2020 Republican National Convention, which used pre-recorded footage due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Kayleigh McEnany took her place behind a Trump-Pence 2020 podium and gave her address to fellow GOP devotees.
Photos from this particular appearance moved beyond the usual mismatched foundation and showcased McEnany with a full spray tan that had turned her body orange-brown. The color is in definite opposition to her natural complexion, and the heavy application of makeup is not helping sell the look either. Instead of looking polished and professional, it just looks like she didn't know when to say stop, whether to her tanning salon or her makeup team.
McEnany's definition of battle-ready comprises heavy, caked-on makeup
The days following the 2020 election were hectic for the Trump administration for a number of reasons, not least of which was the push to challenge the election results. Kayleigh McEnany's November 9 press conference alongside RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel was one such instance of this, but her look that day doesn't so much say battle-ready as scream uneven and heavy-handed.
The foundation is once again too heavy and too dark, applied without the kind of finesse that prioritizes subtlety. That in turn created an artificial, mask-like appearance that only makes you think of the word "overdone."
McEnany is aiming for polished, but her face is usually washed out
It's clear that for one reason or another, restraint isn't part of Kayleigh McEnany's makeup philosophy. Her looks often rely on a heavy and aggressive base, and the overall effect comes off as flat and lifeless rather than professional or polished.
This August 31, 2020, press briefing at the White House perfectly encapsulates everything we've been talking about, showing how a free hand with the product array often ends up compromising a look. What makes this even more baffling is how the makeup ages her dramatically. McEnany is around 32 in this photo, yet the cakey, poorly blended makeup adds years to her appearance.
Four years later, McEnany was still committed to her signature look
No aesthetic philosophy is wrong in and of itself, but if you're also not a fan of aggressive, caked-on makeup, you'll notice immediately from this 2024 Fox News photo — taken several years after her tenure as press secretary — that Kayleigh McEnany has learned nothing from her time at the White House.
The heavy foundation and the overly bronzed complexion, not to mention the cakey texture overwhelming the skin surface, are all still there. But now, instead of the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room, it's gracing the set of the Fox studio. McEnany seems committed to this maximalist approach, even if it doesn't photograph well.