History Main / CosmeticCatastrophe

* Happens in the ''Anime/CowboyBebop'' manga in which someone, upon meeting Ed, responds with "You're a girl, aren't you?! I'm going to make you pretty!" Not too long after, we see Ed's face covered in make-up who asks "Is [[ThirdPersonPerson Ed]] pretty?" It's . . . not pretty.

* Eureka in ''Anime/EurekaSeven'' goes through this to cover some recent scars. It does not go well. Talho helped straighten it out, then she's never seen with it again.

-->'''Ash and Brock:''' What happened to her face? ''(Desperately suppressing their laughter)''\\

-->'''Kimmy''': This is great. For once, I am one step ahead of ''{{Music/Madonna}}''. And the best part of this is, my mother is going to freak out. Thanks, Deej.
-->*Kimmy and D.J. hug*
-->'''D.J.''': (awkwardly) Happy to help.

* A variant of this occurs in the ''{{Anime/Pokemon}}'' episode "[[Recap/PokemonS1E28PokemonFashionFlash Pokemon Fashion Flash]]". Team Rocket run a fake beauty salon for Pokemon. Ash and Misty get into an argument about the importance of fashion. Eventually, Ash jokingly dares 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.

* One challenge in ''FanFic/TotalDramaLegacy'' requires all the remaining campers to do their own makeup and assemble two outfits to wear on the runway. However, Storm, being a {{Tomboy}} [[HasTwoDaddies raised by two men]], has no idea how to apply makeup, and ends up looking ridiculous.

Related to (subtrope of?) UncannyValleyMakeup. See InelegantBlubbering for another catastrophe involving cosmetics. Often stems from FemininityFailure. Compare BeAWhoreToGetYourMan, which also may be about a girl who is uncomfortable with things like makeup but chooses to try it anyway.

* ''Literature/CanYouSeeMe'': In ''All the Pieces of Me'', Tally follows one of Lucy's make-up tutorials in an attempt to look cool. But when she get to school the next day, the other girls laugh at her, telling her she looks like a clown, or a little kid who raided her mum's room, and tell her to wash it off before anyone else notices. Tally can't tell what she did wrong no matter how hard she studies her reflection, but she scrubs her face with paper towels until she's sure all the make-up is gone.

* A variant of this occurs in the ''{{Anime/Pokemon}}'' episode "[[Recap/PokemonS1E28PokemonFashionFlashPokemon Fashion Flash]]". Team Rocket run a fake beauty salon for Pokemon. Ash and Misty get into an argument about the importance of fashion. Eventually, Ash jokingly dares 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.

* A variant of this occurs in the ''{{Anime/Pokemon}}'' episode "Pokemon Fashion Flash". Team Rocket run a fake beauty salon for Pokemon. Ash and Misty get into an argument about the importance of fashion. Eventually, Ash jokingly dares 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.

* ''Webcomic/CursedPrincessClub'': When the Pastel Kingdom princess sisters go to the Plaid Kingdom for Prince Lance's birthday, they're given makeovers and plaid-patterned outfits by the local maids for the occasion. [[PrincessClassic Maria and Lorena]] turn out fine, but [[FaceOfAThug Gwendolyn]] proves more of a challenge for the maids, resulting in her getting a tacky outfit, frizzled hair, and way too much white makeup and eyeshadow. Maria and Lorena freak out because they initially mistake her for the [[MonsterClown "vampire clown"]] that scared them back at the amusement park haunted house...but once they recognize Gwen underneath, they [[BigSisterInstinct get mad]] at the maids for doing such a terrible job and step in to fix things.

* ''Webcomic/CursedPrincessClub'': When the Pastel Kingdom princess sisters go to the the Plaid Kingdom for Prince Lance's birthday, they're given makeovers and plaid-patterned outfits by the local maids for the occasion. [[PrincessClassic Maria and Lorena]] turn out fine, but [[FaceOfAThug Gwendolyn]] proves more of a challenge for the maids, resulting in her getting a tacky outfit, frizzled hair, and way too much white makeup and eyeshadow. Maria and Lorena freak out because they initially mistake her for the [[MonsterClown "vampire clown"]] that scared them back at the amusement park haunted house...but once they recognize Gwen underneath, they [[BigSisterInstinct get mad]] at the maids for doing such a terrible job and step in to fix things.

* ''Webcomic/CursedPrincessClub'': When the Pastel Kingdom princess sisters go to the the Plaid Kingdom for Prince Lance's birthday, they're given makeovers and plaid-patterned outfits by the local maids for the occasion. [[PrincessClassic Maria and Lorena]] turn out fine, but [[FaceOfAThug Gwendolyn]] proves more of a challenge for the maids, resulting in her getting a tacky outfit, frizzled hair, and way too much makeup. Maria and Lorena freak out because they initially mistake her for the [[MonsterClown "vampire clown"]] that scared them back at the amusement park haunted house...but once they recognize Gwen underneath, they [[BigSisterInstinct get mad]] at the maids for doing such a terrible job and step in to fix things.

* ''Webcomic/CursedPrincessClub'': When the Pastel Kingdom princesses go to the the Plaid Kingdom for Prince Lance's birthday, they're given makeovers and plaid-patterned outfits for the occasion. Maria and Lorena turn out fine, but [[FaceOfAThug Gwendolyn]] proves more of a challenge for the maids, resulting in her getting a tacky outfit, frizzled hair, and way too much makeup. Maria and Lorena freak out because they initially mistake her for the [[MonsterClown "vampire clown"]] that scared them back at the amusement park haunted house...but once they recognize Gwen underneath, they [[BigSisterInstinct get mad]] at the maids for doing such a terrible job and step in to fix things.

* Happens in the ''Anime/CowboyBebop'' manga in which someone, upon meeting Ed responds with "You're a girl, aren't you?! I'm going to make you pretty!" Not too long after, we see Ed's face covered in make-up who asks "Is [[ThirdPersonPerson Ed]] pretty?" It's . . . not pretty.

* In one book of ''Literature/TheBabysittersClub'', Mallory, while in California and away from her parents, basically blew all her money on makeup 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.

* Happens in ''Manga/GreatTeacherOnizuka'' where Azusa, in order to impress the title character, decides to apply makeup. She overdoes it and she looked like a Ganguro girl. It got worse when the next day, the day before they are going for the school vacation in Okinawa, her face is too white with makeup.

This can happen to older characters too. It's a good way of pointing out the [[HollywoodGeek geeky/awkward]] or {{Tomboy}}ish girl; either she won't wear make-up at all, or she'll stick with a single look, unlike her more popular or practical colleagues. Expect [[HilarityEnsues hilarity to ensue]] if she decides [[BeautifulAllAlong it's time for a change]].

* A ''Manga/DetectiveConan'' OVA has Ai Haibara waking up at Ayumi's house after a sleepover. Ayumi then gets the idea to wear some of her mother's make-up before going out to the store. Ai ([[OlderThanTheyLook being an adult in a child's body]]) puts on a decent amount, while Ayumi (being a little girl who has never worn make-up before) puts on so much that she ends up looking like a clown. Luckily, Ai offers to help her out afterward.

* ''ComicStrip/ThePerryBibleFellowship'' points out [[http://pbfcomics.com/comics/the-other-girls/ one more inconvenient aspect]] of vampirism.

* A few episodes of ''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy'' feature this. The Eds suffer it in "Quick Shot Ed", Plank in "Know it All Ed", and May in "Ed Overboard".
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' has Leela attempting to do her own eyeshadow and lipstick when her one eye is temporarily blinded. When she gets a second prosthetic eye, she again has trouble with eyeshadow, although Amy is on hand to help her out.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Daria}}'':
** Jane suffers the hair-dying variety in the episode "Dye! Dye! My Darling". It's a subversion considering that Jane basically expected, at least subconsciously, Daria to screw it up in order to pick a fight with her, practically forcing Daria to do it despite her protestations that she was going to screw it up.
** Also in "Of Human Bonding", the Fashion Club stays overnight at the Morgendorffers and they decide to give Helen a makeover. The end result leaves Helen looking rather clownish.

* In the sequel series ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'', the {{Tomboy}}-ish main character has absolutely no interest in make-up. In one episode she is faced with... DUN DUN DUN, a powder room. Sinister music plays as she suspiciously picks up the puff, only for powder to explode all over her face.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': In the episode where Homer tries to become an inventor like Thomas Edison, one of his inventions is the "makeup gun", a double-barreled shotgun loaded with blush, eyeliner, lipstick, etc. It works about as well as you would expect.
-->'''Marge:''' Homer! You've got it set on "whore"!

* Happens in ''WesternAnimation/PixelPinkie'' when Pinkie (who is a genie) uses her powers to perform a makeover on Nina and Anni. They actually wanted a ''house'' makeover.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Dogstar}}'': Happens when Gran decides to help Gemma 'look pretty' for the opening of the Dogstar museum in the first episode of series 2. Gemma wastes no time in wiping off the make-up as soon as she is out of sight of Gran.

* In the 1935 ''WesternAnimation/{{Popeye}}'' cartoon, "For Better or Worser", both Popeye and Bluto have been fighting to take Olive to get married. Prior to meeting up with them both, she put on an excessive amount of makeup and false eyelashes. Neither of them saw what she looked like because she was also wearing a veil the whole time. As they were both fighting to take her to the Justice of the Peace, she ended up getting banged up along the way and by the end of the cartoon, Popeye finally lifts the veil to find that Olive is looking pretty ghastly, causing him to head for the hills.

%% Image restored per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1516777841062945900
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* Shortly after joining UsefulNotes/TheShinsengumi in ''Manga/PeacemakerKurogane'', Tetsunosuke gets jealous at Yamazaki Susumu, who does his spying work crossdressed as a beautiful woman. Tetsunosuke grabs a spare kimono and borrows Susumu's makeup box, ending up looking more like a Kabuki clown than a lady, to the horror of innocent bystanders.

* A variant of this occurs in the ''{{Anime/Pokemon}}'' episode "Pokemon Fashion Flash". Team Rocket run a fake beauty salon for Pokemon. Ash and Misty get into an argument about the importance of fashion. Eventually, Ash jokingly dares 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.

* Happens in ''Manga/GreatTeacherOnizuka'' where Azusa, in order to impress the title character, decides to apply makeup. She overdoes it and she looked like a Ganguro girl. It got worse when the next day, the day before they are going for the school vacation in Okinawa, her face is too white with makeup.
* Happens in the ''Anime/CowboyBebop'' manga in which someone, upon meeting Ed responds with "You're a girl, aren't you?! I'm going to make you pretty!" Not too long after, we see Ed's face covered in make-up who asks "Is [[ThirdPersonPerson Ed]] pretty?" It's . . . not pretty.
* A ''Manga/DetectiveConan'' OVA has Ai Haibara waking up at Ayumi's house after a sleepover. Ayumi then gets the idea to wear some of her mother's make-up before going out to the store. Ai ([[OlderThanTheyLook being an adult in a child's body]]) puts on a decent amount, while Ayumi (being a little girl who has never worn make-up before) puts on so much that she ends up looking like a clown. Luckily, Ai offers to help her out afterward.
* Happens in ''Anime/TheNoozles'' when Sandy tries to put on her mother's makeup in an attempt to try and make herself look pretty. When her mom walks in on her and sees her, she can't stop laughing, much to Sandy's embarrassment.
* In chapter 11 of ''[[Manga/MissKobayashisDragonMaid Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid: Kanna's Daily Life]]'', Kanna and Saikawa try playing with some of Kobayashi's makeup. Given that they're both children, Kanna ends up smudging it and looking vaguely like a kabuki actor. Then she applies some to Fafnir in a ThisMeansWarpaint moment and the end result resembles a clown (though neither of them is familiar enough with Earth culture to realize that he looks ridiculous).
* Miko tries putting on makeup for the first time when she attends Tsubame's Christmas party in ''Manga/KaguyaSamaLoveIsWar'', putting on far too much blush and lipstick. While she doesn't look bad per se, Onodera advised her to take it off by the time the party started.
* In ''Manga/DrStone'', Kohaku's first attempt at putting on makeup ultimately ends with her resembling ''Film/TheDarkKnight'' version of The Joker. On one hand, she ''did'' grow up in a stone age society with no previous access to modern cosmetics, but on the other hand [[OneOfTheBoys previous events]] indicate that it probably wouldn't have turned out much better even if she was familiar with them.

* In the 1999 movie ''The Other Sister'', Creator/JulietteLewis (playing a mentally challenged girl) gets a cheap makeover in a mall. Unfortunately, she has to find out that it covers just half of her face.
* A non-visual example in ''Film/PaperMoon''. Addie puts on some of her dead mother's perfume in an attempt to seem more grown-up but having never used perfume before she practically bathes in it. She's pleased when Moses obviously notices the smell but becomes less pleased when he cracks open the windscreen in the car to get ''rid'' of the smell.

* [[Literature/ConfessionsOfGeorgiaNicolson Georgia Nicolson]], the [[CuteClumsyGirl Cute Clumsy]] LovableAlphaBitch 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.
* ''Literature/TheStoryOfTracyBeaker'' has an example with an on-the-money illustration by Nick Sharratt. However, Tracy 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 realize why people are laughing...
* Letty Chubb in the ''Literature/TeenageWorrier'' book series had several of these. She has dyed her hair orange, ruined her mother's expensive ballgown by stepping on the hem while wearing heels, broken out in a rash because of her allergy to perfume, and more.
* The Creator/RobertAHeinlein book ''Literature/PodkayneOfMars'' 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 cross-dressing until his girlfriend (who finds him most attractive as a girl) teaches him the proper technique.

* In the short story ''Liar!'' by Creator/IsaacAsimov, the cold and harsh robopsychologist Susan Calvin is led to believe that a man she has a crush on feels the same way about her, so she begins wearing makeup to draw his attention; her inexpert efforts are less than subtle, and she doesn't get a positive reaction.
* In ''[[Literature/LegacyOfTheAldenata Hell's Faire]]'', the thirteen-year-old Cally O'Neal attempts to make her self up like Music/BritneySpears does, but the end result winds up as "raccoon eyes", and Papa O'Neal afraid that if she's seen by others like that he'd be accused of child abuse. Fortunately for Cally some of the visitors to the farm where she and Papa live are much better at applying makeup and fix the problem.

* Creator/MaraWilson talks about this in [[Literature/WhereAmINowTrueStoriesOfGirlhoodAndAccidentalFame her autobiography]], and the result was putting eye shadow on her eyebrows. A fellow classmate saw this and told her "eye shadow goes on your ''eyes''". Mara called the girl a bitch and got "I'm a bitch who knows how to put on eye shadow" as a response.

* On ''Series/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.
* There was a small early arc in ''Series/YoSoyBettyLaFea'' where Betty tries a makeover by buying a new dress and trying a new hairdo and makeup. Unfortunately, she doesn't have any fashion sense and let herself in the hands of the saleswoman and the hairdresser, who are as clueless as she is. Predictably, it fails horribly, prompting the rest of the cast to say that she looked ''worse'' than her usual self. Later, (after the [[BeautifulAllAlong proper makeover]]) this experience becomes an inspiration, and she capitalizes it into a program to create salesgirls with fashion knowledge, so they can act as consultants for the clients and they can get a better experience (and clothing that suit them).

* An episode of ''Series/{{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 one episode of ''Series/DadsArmy'', 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. Meanwhile, Hodges tries to disguise himself as an old man so he will not be sent to the Home Guard. HilarityEnsues all around.
* An episode of ''Series/MalcolmInTheMiddle'' has Lois getting a trashy makeover from a girl at work and she ends up being mistaken for a hooker. Hal loves it though.
* In ''Series/TwoOfAKind'' Ashley gets an ink stain on her cheek a few days before class pictures are being taken and Carrie attempts to cover it up with makeup. The result is a completely white face, over-rouged cheeks, and clown lipstick.
--> '''Ashley:''' Oh my God, I look like Grandma.

* Happens when Lila attempts a makeover on her friend Enid in the ''Series/CharlesInCharge'' episode "A Date with Enid".
* This is the result when Kiki performs a makeover on Alexia and Claireparker while they are asleep in the ''Series/{{Pixelface}}'' episode "Two Aethelwynnes".
* Lorena in ''Series/TheBrothersGarcia'' dons a lot of make-up at the start of the new school year against Sonia's wishes. The catastrophe comes when she must rush home and clean it off before dinner - she discovers it's waterproof.
* In ''Series/SadieJ'', Sadie deliberately inflicts one on herself in order to submit a review trashing her father's fiancee's beauty salon.
* In ''Series/SabrinaTheTeenageWitch'', a spell causes everyone's fear to multiply. Libby gets paranoid that she won't win the Spring Queen pageant so keeps applying more make-up. By the time Sabrina gets to the Forest of her Fears, Libby appears dressed as a clown.
** Also in the first episode, Sabrina inadvertently casts a spell that makes Libby unable to apply lipstick...to her lips. She keeps putting it on everywhere else.
* Delia Delfano is often a victim of this trope during the first season of ''Series/IDidntDoIt'', first when her mother forces her into beauty pageants in the episode "Fireman Freddy's Spaghetti Station." When Lindy and Jasmine see her turn around poorly made up, Lindy delivers the perfect sympathetic response.
--> '''Lindy:''' Oh, honey... Boo-Boo.
* From ''Series/{{Reba}}'': During the first season, Reba and Lori Ann have a makeover once. They end up having more makeup on their faces than they'd like.
-->'''Reba:''' Now we know why the makeovers were ''free''.\\
'''Lori Ann:''' My last car didn't have this much paint in it.
* One time it was used on ''Series/FamilyMatters'', and it had nothing to do with the idea that Laura was incompetent in applying the makeup. Rather, the blameworthy party was a mail-order scam that Laura had fallen for: She was supposed to be a salesgirl for the makeup, but when it arrived it was horribly defective.
* A sketch from "The Girls Room" of ''Series/TheAmandaShow'' has the girls getting ready for the prom. Debbie TheDitz was supposed to be getting a tan, and she shows up with a red sunburn from falling asleep at the salon.
* ''Series/FullHouse'':
** Feeling out of place during an embarrassing first day of junior high school, DJ and Kimmy decide to makeover themselves to look like the older girls in school, donning themselves (through much trial-and-error) in heavy makeup (of which Stephanie replies it looks cheap). Danny catches DJ before she can leave the house and they have a heartfelt talk, and Becky comes in and offers to help DJ do a more age-appropriate look, giving her the advice "the secret to wearing makeup is to make it look like you're not wearing any".
** In an episode later on, D.J. tries to give Kimmy a makeover, as, in D.J.'s own words, Kimmy can't afford anyone but her to do it. Too bad Danny's sister happens to visit with a pet monkey of her own, and the monkey adds more hair-dye solution than one would apply normally without anyone noticing (the monkey applies the extra dye while D.J. and Kimmy are having a beauty rest with slices of cucumber over their eyes and talking to each other, preventing them from seeing the monkey and drowning out what little sound the monkey makes in pouring the dye). The result is Kimmy having magenta EightiesHair, but, luckily for D.J., who believes that [[ItsAllMyFault she's solely responsible for Kimmy's bad hairdo]], Kimmy is ''thrilled'' by the outcome.
-->'''Kimmy''': This is great. For once, I am one step ahead of ''{{Music/Madonna}}''. And the best part of this is, my mother is going to freak out. Thanks, Deej.
-->*Kimmy and D.J. hug*
-->'''D.J.''': (awkwardly) Happy to help.
** The episode "Day of the Rhino" starts with D.J. deciding to get a hairdo, but she ends up going to the one that's... not very good, all so that Kimmy can get a free neck shave. The result is so bad that [[EvenTheDogIsAshamed their family dog runs away at the sight of her]], and Rebecca and Vicky have to step in to get D.J.'s hair back to its pre-"makeover" appearance.

* Makie of ''Manga/MahouSenseiNegima'', GenkiGirl that she is, tends to put on make-up a tad too enthusiastically whenever she tries to on her own.

* In ''Manga/DrStone'', Kohaku's first attempt at putting on makeup ultimately ends with her resembling ''Film/TheDarkKnight'' version of The Joker. On one hand, she ''did'' grow up in a stone age society with no previous access to modern cosmetics, but on the other hand [[{{Tomboy}} previous events]] indicate that it probably wouldn't have turned out much better even if she was familiar with them.

* Employed in the 1990 ''Comicbook/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 glamor shot. Her actual makeup consists of childish scrawling and a badly fitted wig.

* ''{{Film/Carrie 2002}}'' has a sequence where Carrie White is found in the mall trying on lipstick. It looks like a first attempt, and Sue helps her out. Her make-up is perfect by the time of the prom (and to be fair to Carrie, she is shown reading fashion magazines, so she may have gotten more tips from there).

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* ''{{WesternAnimation/Futurama}}'' has Leela attempting to do her own eyeshadow and lipstick when her one eye is temporarily blinded. When she gets a second prosthetic eye, she again has trouble with eyeshadow, although Amy is on hand to help her out.