History Main / CosmeticCatastrophe

Related to (subtrope of?) UncannyValleyMakeup. See InelegantBlubbering for another catastrophe involving cosmetics.

* Katara and Toph try out cosmetics after a day at the spa in one episode of ''AvatarTheLastAirbender''. The makeup doesn't look ''that'' bad, but it's still off enough to attract the attention of a trio of snooty girls. Toph and Katara respond to the criticism by dropping them into a river and washing them downstream.
* This is, predictably, the effect of [[TheSimpsons Homer Simpson]]'s "makeup gun" as demonstrated on Marge.

* Happens in TenchiInTokyo when Ryoko applies make-up to her face by the pound. Everyone is startled but then laughs hysterically when they see her face (especially [[TheRival Ayeka]], who's laughing so hard she's crying at the sight!)

* [[ConfessionsOfGeorgiaNicolson Georgia Nicolson]], the likable and clumsy AlphaBitch protagonist of Louise Rennison's series (beginning with ''Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging''), is the queen of this trope... even though she ''does'' use make-up on a regular basis. Somehow, she always has to push things just a bit too far: she dyes a blonde streak in her hair only to have the hair snap off when her boyfriend runs his hands through it, she tries to make a pimple look like a beauty spot with the aid of a lip pencil (making it even more obvious) and shaves off her "orang-utan" eyebrows when she decides tweezing hurts too much. In another book, she dyes her legs bright orange in a self-tanning-lotion mishap.

* In ''Webcomic/GunnerkriggCourt'', GadgeteerGenius Kat falls for a boy at her school, tries to paint her face in an effort to impress him, and messes it up. Best friend Annie salvages the situation by redoing it into a much more understated look. When Kat notes that she doesn't look very different from normal, Annie tells her that she's beautiful as she is, making this one of the rare instances where that particular Aesop is specifically employed.

* [[ConfessionsOfGeorgiaNicolson Georgia Nicolson]], the likable and clumsy [[TheLibby Libby]] protagonist of Louise Rennison's series (beginning with ''Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging''), is the queen of this trope... even though she ''does'' use make-up on a regular basis. Somehow, she always has to push things just a bit too far: she dyes a blonde streak in her hair only to have the hair snap off when her boyfriend runs his hands through it, she tries to make a pimple look like a beauty spot with the aid of a lip pencil (making it even more obvious) and shaves off her "orang-utan" eyebrows when she decides tweezing hurts too much. In another book, she dyes her legs bright orange in a self-tanning-lotion mishap.

[[GunnerkriggCourt http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Cosmetic_Catastrophe_6609.jpg]]

The path to ''womanhood'', on the other hand, seems limited to the correct application of make-up.

Frankly, sometimes you're better off with the bear-wrestling.

Problem is, she's never used them before. She might even be specifically banned from using make-up/hair dye/curling tongs until she's "old enough". So, she swipes some of her mum's make-up, sneakily buys some hair dye, and runs off to the bathroom for some makeover magic.

And, of course, it all goes horribly wrong.

* A variant of this occurs in episode 28 of {{Pokemon}}, Team Rocket run a fake beauty salon for pokemon. Ash and Misty get into an argument about fashion that ends with Ash daring Misty to take her Psyduck to the salon to get a makeover. She tries, but Team Rocket end up thinking that ''she'' wants a makeover. So they put her in weird clothes, give her a new hairstyle, and paint her face with [[UncannyValleyMakeup ridiculous clown-like makeup.]] She thinks it looks good, until Ash sees her and ''laughs his butt off'' at how stupid she looks.

* Employed in the 1990 "NewMutants Summer Special" where Rahne is given a makeover by one of the residents of Megalopolis to seduce her over to Consumerism. The "mirror" shown to her is a glamour shot. Her actual makeup consists of childish scrawlings and a badly fitted wig.

* Tracy Beaker, of Jacqueline Wilson's ''The Story of Tracy Beaker'', ''The Dare Game'', and ''Starring Tracy Beaker'' has an example of this in the first book, with an on-the-money illustration by Nick Sharratt. However, she doesn't do it for a boy, but because an author is coming to her care home and she wants to make an impression. [[spoiler: She does. The author, Cam Lawson, later becomes her foster mother.]] The worst part is that she doesn't even realise why people are laughing...

* The RobertHeinlein book "Podkayne of Mars" has Podkayne try to imitate garish makeup from a magazine cover. Fortunately an older woman shows her how it should be done.
* This is the unfortunate result when the transvestite protagonist of the YA novel ''Flipside'' attempts to apply makeup for the first time, almost discouraging him entirely from crossdressing until his girlfriend (who finds him most attractive as a girl) teaches him the proper technique.
* In one book of {{The Babysitters Club}} - Mallory while in California and away from her strict parents basically blew all her money on make up and [[WhatAnIdiot "Temporary" Blond Dye Job]]. The Catastrophe in this scenario is that that it's implied in her narration that she's wearing too much, and that the dye is not going to come out before she has to return home.

* In an early episode of BoyMeetsWorld, Cory tries to use a hair care product but fails to read the directions. After they manage to unstick the comb from his head, he tries and fails to slip through the whole day of school wearing a hat. At least he doesn't end up "bald as a cue ball", which is what Eric insists someone else who used the same product did.
* On TheSuiteLifeOfZackAndCody, Cody decides to differentiate himself from his brother by lightening his hair. Result: pink hair. On the day of a scholarship interview. Naturally, a TwinSwitch is the ''perfect'' answer. Not.

* An episode of {{Yeralash}} is about a little girl who's left alone with her mom's cosmetics. In the end, two robbers break into the flat... and run away in fear.

* In ''GunnerkriggCourt'', GadgeteerGenius Kat falls for a boy at her school, tries to paint her face in an effort to impress him, and messes it up. Best friend Annie salvages the situation by redoing it into a much more understated look. When Kat notes that she doesn't look very different from normal, Annie tells her that she's beautiful as she is, making this one of the rare instances where that particular Aesop is specifically employed.

* Katara and Toph try out cosmetics in one episode of AvatarTheLastAirbender. Since Toph is blind it's assumed Katara did them both, and appears to have made the common error of forgetting her friend has skin quite a bit paler than her own. All is well however, as the pair [[ComedicSociopathy drown the first pair of libbies]] to laugh at them. (Well, don't ''drown'' them, but do dump them in the river.)
* This is, predictably, the effect of [[TheSimpsons Homer Simpson]]'s "makeup gun" as deonstrated on Marge.

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[[GunnerkrigggCourt http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Cosmetic_Catastrophe_6609.jpg]]

For obvious reasons, the victim of the trope is AlwaysFemale. Related to (subtrope of?) UncannyValleyMakeup. See InelegantBlubbering for another catastrophe involving cosmetics.

* [[ConfessionsOfGeorgiaNicolson Georgia Nicolson]], the likable and clumsy [[TheLibby Libby]] protagonist of Louise Rennison's series (beginning with ''Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging''), is the queen of this trope... even though she ''does'' use make-up on a regular basis. Somehow, she always has to push things just a bit too far: she dyes a blonde streak in her hair only to have the hair snap off when her boyfriend runs his hands through it, she tries to make a pimple look like a beauty spot with the aid of a lip pencil (making it even more obvious) and ''shaves off'' her "orang-utan" eyebrows when she decides tweezing hurts too much.
** In one book, she dyes her legs bright orange in a self-tanning-lotion mishap.

* RareMaleExample: In an early episode of BoyMeetsWorld, Cory tries to use a hair care product but fails to read the directions. After they manage to unstick the comb from his head, he tries and fails to slip through the whole day of school wearing a hat. At least he doesn't end up "bald as a cue ball", which is what Eric insists someone else who used the same product did.
* Another male example; on TheSuiteLifeOfZackAndCody, Cody decides to differentiate himself from his brother by lightening his hair. Result: pink hair. On the day of a scholarship interview. Naturally, a TwinSwitch is the ''perfect'' answer. Not.

* And another male example: on ''{{Friends}}'' Ross used too much of a dental bleach agent, causing his teeth to glow in the dark under his blacklight and scaring off his date.

* Another male example: In one episode of ''Dad's Army'', the platoon are told that Home Guard members who are too old to fight will be drafted into ARP under new government rules. Preparing for an inspection which will decide who is too old to stay, the men go to increasingly desperate lengths to attempt to look younger - toupees, girdles, and even covering themselves in the makeup that Frazer uses when preparing corpses. HilarityEnsues.

** Which is then immediately and intentionally [[BrokenAesop ruined]] by Kat [[LampshadeHanging pointing out]] that Annie always wears makeup, prompting her to change the conversation immediately.
** Later it's made to seem that Annie wears her makeup for the same reason some people wear sunglasses: to keep distance to other people. It's pretty understandable why she doesn't want her more sociable friend wearing it.

* In ''AsToldByGinger'', the heroine and her two best friends try to make themselves look beautiful for the school photo, by stealing Lois' (Ginger's mother's) cosmetics. Then, when they're found out and forbidden from using makeup, they follow a magazine's instructions for making "fake-up" out of household materials. The results are predictably disastrous. This is a good example of the "pot-kettle-black" scenario between mother and daughter: despite forbidding her child from using such things, Lois keeps an ''entire bathroom'' to herself to store her make-up in.
** This troper also recalls something involving shaving legs and the mother forbidding her daughter to do it that struck a definite ValuesDissonance note. So not allowing your daughter to shave her legs and keep from humiliating herself and expressing herself by wearing capris for the first time in her life is a ''good'' thing?

* Katara and Toph try out cosmetics in one episode of AvatarTheLastAirbender. Since Toph is blind it?s assumed Katara did them both, and appears to have made the common error of forgetting her friend has skin quite a bit paler than her own. All is well however, as the pair [[ComedicSociopathy drown the first pair of libbies]] to laugh at them. (Well, don't ''drown'' them, but do dump them in the river.)
** The DVD Commentary says that that was a makeover they got at the spa. When they did their makeup themselves in the previous episode, it's a lot more subtle and attractive. Go figure.

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Problem is, she's never used them before. She might even be specifically banned from using make-up/hair dye/curling tongs until she's "old enough" (most fictional mothers fail to see the irony of warning their daughter off cosmetics while they themselves keep a small boutique in the bathroom). So, she swipes some of her mum's make-up, sneakily buys some hair dye, and runs off to the bathroom for some makeover magic.

* In the 1999 movie ''The Other Sister'', Juliette Lewis (playing a mentally challenged girl) gets a cheap makeover in a mall. Unfortunately, she has to find out that it covers just half or her face.

* In ''AsToldByGinger'', the heroine and her two best friends try to make themselves look beautiful for the school photo, by stealing Lois' (Ginger's mother's) cosmetics. The results are typically disastrous. This is a good example of the "pot-kettle-black" scenario between mother and daughter: despite forbidding her child from using such things, Lois keeps an ''entire bathroom'' to herself to store her make-up in.

* Rare male example: In an early episode of BoyMeetsWorld, Cory tries to use a hair care product but fails to read the directions. After they manage to unstick the comb from his head, he tries and fails to slip through the whole day of school wearing a hat. At least he doesn't end up "bald as a cue ball", which is what Eric insists someone else who used the same product did.

[[AC:RealLife]]
* Almost a TruthInTelevision: This troper went to the prom without makeup because she tried putting it on herself and it looked awful. Admittedly, she didn't live with her mother at the time, and she ended up not caring. She also refused to wear heels.
** Also a near miss with this troper - she deliberately dyed her hair purple, and when her mother saw, she immediately launched into a lecture about "that's what happens when you mess around with beauty products you don't know how to use", assuming the dark violet colour was an accident.
** This troper's cousin and her daughter ran into this problem. The mother helped - but the mother was a very pale white woman, and the daughter has very pronounced African skin colors, the mother had no experience with that and as a consequence the poor girl looked ''awful''! Luckily a school friend with the necessary experience was located.
* This (male) troper had to [[BigDamnHeroes rescue his little sister from this at one point]].

** Which is then immediately and intentionally [[BrokenAesop ruined]] by Kat [[LampshadeHanging pointing out]] that Annie always wears makeup, prompting her to change the conversation immediately.

She'll put [[UncannyValleyMakeup so much lipstick on]] that she ends up looking like [[MonsterClown an evil clown]]. Eyeshadow and blusher will be laid on so thick that she resembles a Picasso masterpiece. She misreads the instructions on the hair dye and ends up with her scalp on fire...or magenta hair. As for her eyebrows...well, you don't know what you've got until they're gone. She might realize the disaster straight away, or, if the writers are [[{{Buttmonkey}} really cruel]], she might think she looks great right up until she walks into a room only to have everyone kill themselves laughing at her.

She'll put so much lipstick on that she ends up looking like [[MonsterClown an evil clown]]. Eyeshadow and blusher will be laid on so thick that she resembles a Picasso masterpiece. She misreads the instructions on the hair dye and ends up with her scalp on fire...or magenta hair. As for her eyebrows...well, you don't know what you've got until they're gone. She might realize the disaster straight away, or, if the writers are [[{{Buttmonkey}} really cruel]], she might think she looks great right up until she walks into a room only to have everyone kill themselves laughing at her.