High-Definition Photos Of Jenny McCarthy's Cakey Makeup Are Jarring

As a celebrity in the public spotlight, Jenny McCarthy tries to maintain a camera-ready look. Besides being unafraid to go heavy with the makeup, McCarthy — a former Playboy Playmate who first appeared in the magazine in the '90s — keeps a youthful appearance through an extensive body care routine. Speaking to Extra in May 2025, she explained how she continued to look stunning in her 50s: "Working out like crazy, infrared sauna, red light, carnivore diet." She has also not shied away from some cosmetic procedures. "Botox I'm okay with; fillers I stopped a long time ago because people started looking like chipmunks," McCarthy added.

The TV host's relationship with beauty products extended beyond personal use, as she also owns the Formless Beauty makeup line. In June 2023, the brand expanded into eyeshadows. "Bronze tones are such a go-to," she told People at the time. As we'll discuss later, bronze is a makeup color that McCarthy has leaned into heavily over the years. While promoting her makeup line, McCarthy also stressed the importance of finding beauty within instead of with over-reliance on beauty products, which is a commendable message, but not one she has always seemed to follow.

In April 2021, McCarthy showed fans what she looked like without makeup, posting a video to social media that started with her makeup-free face before cutting to her in full camera-ready makeup as she prepared to host "The Masked Singer." There was a bright sheen to her bronzer-covered skin, though, and it was incredible to consider just how much cakey makeup she uses to transform herself. Looking at high-definition photos from other events reveals that this is actually common practice for McCarthy.

Jenny McCarthy opted for a gold and green look at the Fox Winter TCA Party in January 2020, sporting a body-hugging green dress with golden blonde hair. Not only was her hair bright, but so was McCarthy's face, which was caked thick with bronzer for the event. Unfortunately, the coloring of her forehead virtually blended with her stark blonde locks. She went light with pink lip gloss, too, further blurring everything together and making her heavy eyeliner stand out in contrast to her bronze face.

Married couple Jenny McCarthy and Donnie Wahlberg walked the red carpet together at the iHeart Radio Music Awards in March 2025. They both wore eye-catching ensembles, with Wahlberg sporting a baby blue suit and McCarthy flaunting her curves in a gold-colored metallic mesh dress. While the outfit was great, she chose to pair it with wet-looking hair for some reason, and slathered on so much makeup that her face looked photoshopped. McCarthy was covered in a matte bronzer that smoothed out her face, and applied ample blush on her cheeks. The effect knocked years off her look, but also gave her skin a two-tone appearance, with dark reds and multiple light spots in her complexion. 

For the 2019 Emmy Awards, Jenny McCarthy had her hair pinned in a modern beehive look and sported a chunky oval link gold chain necklace. The accessory nearly matched her hair color, while the former MTV star's complexion was a few hues darker. Blemishes were concealed with a thick layer of bronzer, but the bright lights of the red carpet gave a porous look to McCarthy's forehead. She shot a few sultry looks at the camera, which exaggerated her darkened arched brows, and she batted her eyelash extensions that had mascara glopped on them.

Jenny McCarthy looked weirdly doll-like when she shot promo photos for her eponymous SiriusXM show in November 2019. The former Playboy Playmate wore a black sweater that highlighted her fair-skinned look, and her short, curled hair provided a clear shot of McCarthy's makeup-covered face. The cover-up was liberally applied and kept her wrinkles hidden, but also made McCarthy look synthetic. Her wispy eyelashes and heavily darkened eyebrows only further accentuated her chalky skin tone. McCarthy also added blush to her cheeks and contoured the foundation on her forehead for a darker shade, which helped a bit but only added thicker layers of makeup.

At the Season 2 premiere of "The Masked Singer" in September 2019, Jenny McCarthy wore a light pink dress, but the blending of her ensemble was an issue. Her hair was bleached into oblivion, and it had a bright white look. The formerly controversial reality TV star was sufficiently caked in bronzer, giving her skin a hue somewhere between the pink outfit and her white locks. She also opted for spider eyelash extensions covered in thick mascara, and the dark eye makeup stood out in contrast to the tone of her caked skin and its unnatural luster.

While appearing on an episode of "Good Night New York" in early January 2026, Jenny McCarthy sported a black sequin dress with a white shirt collar. McCarthy's face was unsurprisingly covered in makeup for her segment appearance, but this time it wasn't the layered-on bronzer that stood out. Her skin was smoothed out with a thick concealer, but she had an overwhelming amount of blush that reddened not only her cheeks but the upper parts of her temples as well. The red skin tone was even more obvious when she struck a few of her signature goofy faces for the camera.

Jenny McCarthy took in the February 2024 NBA All-Star Game in Indianapolis, choosing a casual look with a tight-fitting black top and a short leather mini skirt. However, it was her purple satin varsity jacket that appeared to dictate her makeup choices. McCarthy's skin looked blemish-free as she piled on the bronzer, but the over-application also aged her several years. Her contoured cheeks were so dark that they almost matched the jacket, which, alongside her heavy purple eyeshadow, made her caked-on aesthetic look even more unnatural.