Erika Kirk's Leathery AmFest 2025 Makeup Gives Karoline Leavitt Vibes

Erika Kirk's cakey makeup at AmericaFest 2025 in Phoenix did her skin no favors. It was the first time the annual Turning Point USA event was held after Charlie Kirk's death, and Erika spoke on her husband's behalf. "What I'm inspired by is the fact that Charlie and I, again, will go wherever we need to go, but so will you. That's why you guys are here," she told the crowd of conservatives, per Fox News. For the awards show, the former Miss Arizona rocked an ostentatious ensemble as she sported a shimmering gold jacket and pants combo with a tight-fitting black top underneath. Not only did Erika go overboard with her choice of attire, but she also overshot the mark with her makeup. Close-up shots of her speaking at AmFest showed that Erika's choice of skin may have fooled viewers at a distance, but her face had a leathery quality on closer inspection. It appeared that Erika employed the same makeup method as Karoline Leavitt had for her Vanity Fair photoshoot, which went viral days earlier.

Olivier Touron / AFP via Getty Images)

The publication took to Instagram on December 16 to share snaps of a photoshoot they did with Team Trump. For the first slide of the post, Vanity Fair opted for an extreme zoom-in on Leavitt's face, which not only exposed what appeared to be puncture marks from lip injections around her mouth, but also how porous her skin looked. Similar to Erika at AmFest, the White House press secretary's caked-on beauty products made her look aged. Naturally, the unflattering close-up led to Leavitt being roasted online. "Maybe she is as old as her husband after all," one X user joked. 

Afterwards, an aesthetician revealed what makeup missteps gave Leavitt and Kirk's skin that leathery quality.

On the heels of Karoline Leavitt receiving online backlash for her disastrous Vanity Fair pics, aesthetician Victoria Moessner explained why women such as Leavitt — and Erika Kirk at AmericaFest — were choosing the wrong bronzer. "This much matte when your skin doesn't need it will emphasize every single piece of texture that you have on your face and make it more obvious," Moessner wrote in a Facebook post that featured Donald Trump's press secretary's viral close-up.

Only days before Leavitt's VF makeup mishap and her own bronzer blunder at AmFest, Kirk drew shady comparisons for her makeup during a CBS interview. On December 13, the network aired a town hall-style sitdown between the Turning Point USA CEO and CBS editor-in-chief, Bari Weiss. Unlike her public appearances at awards shows, Kirk wore a muted black outfit, but decided to turn up her makeup a few decibels. She had heavily shaded-in eyebrows and went strong on the eye makeup, along with plenty of blush on her cheeks. The beauty product — coupled with some comical wide-eye reactions — amplified Kirk's features. That led to multiple X users comparing her look to Tiffany Valentine from "Bride of Chucky."

Both her CBS and AmFest looks may have been unflattering, but those were toned down compared to Kirk's cakey makeup at the Fox Nation Patriot Awards in November. For that right-leaning awards event, the former beauty queen donned a glittery green gown that made her easy to see from the back of the crowd. Those in the nosebleeds could also make out Kirk's makeup as she not only applied a thick layer of bronzer, but also went heavy on the eyeshadow and mascara.