Karoline Leavitt's Blocky Eyebrows Era Needs To End Now

Donald Trump's press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, is guilty of caking her makeup and stuffing her lips with too much filler — all classic indicators of the so-called Republican makeup trend that's become prevalent among MAGA stars. You know what else she's guilty of? Having eyebrow blindness! Eyebrows are supposed to look natural and work with, not against, your facial features, but those like Leavitt who follow this makeup trend tend to overfill theirs. As makeup artist Amber Reneé told Nicki Swift when discussing Fox News host Ainsley Earhardt's eyebrow fail, "Eyebrows have so much power in a look," adding, "[W]hen they're done right, they can lift the face, make the eyes pop, and even give someone a more youthful, fresh appearance." Conversely, "when they're even slightly off (like too arched, too dark, too blocky, etc.), it can subtly throw the whole face off balance."

Fortunately, Leavitt has made some progress with her eyebrows. In contrast to how she wore them years ago, when the Trump loyalist liked them dark and extra bushy, she has switched to a more natural shade and learned to use brow gel more sparingly. But alas, her eyebrows still tend to look harsh in some photos. For instance, at a White House press briefing in February 2026 (below left), you can see the lines tracing the lower side of her brows that failed to blend properly (not to mention bruising on her lips from what seems to be recent filler injections — yikes). 

Alex Wong & Alex Wong/Getty

Similarly, at a press briefing in January 2026 (above right), Leavitt also went a little heavy-handed with her pencil, resulting in thick, blocky, and unnatural-looking eyebrows — a classic high school makeup mistake. 

To avoid having harsh-looking eyebrows, Tonya Crooks, a celebrity brow artist who's worked with the likes of Kim Kardashian and Megan Fox, says to go easy on the pencil and blend until they look soft and natural. "Being too heavy-handed is a sure-fire way to create blocky, painted on brows that never look natural and often appear as if the brows have been [colored] in," she told Elle. Instead, you want to use soft, feathery strokes to mimic your eyebrows' natural hair growth. For filling them in, you may choose between a brow pencil, gel, pen, or pomade. If you do decide to use a pencil, make sure to sharpen it for clean, precise strokes. (As Crooks exclaimed, "You need precision to achieve good brows!")

Of course, it's also important to use the correct makeup shade. With Karoline Leavitt, her eyebrows looked a lot less harsh when she started matching her eyebrow color to her natural hair. "An issue with a lot of brow products on the market is that they are too warm, and eyebrows are inherently cool-toned," Crooks explained. Her tip? "Try matching the [colors] of your brows to the roots of your hair and make sure you choose a brow pencil with a cool undertone."

As seen above, Leavitt's makeup improved significantly after she switched from a dark eyebrow color to a lighter shade. She also stopped overfilling her eyebrows and learned how to blend properly. These are all very small adjustments, but as Amber Reneé put it, "It's wild how much of a difference brows can make!" Indeed!