Jennifer Garner makes bold confession about ‘own worst advice’ in latest interview

Jennifer Garner has always been refreshingly down-to-earth, and her latest revelation proves she’s as relatable as ever. 

The 13 Going on 30 star opened up about her less-than-glamorous beauty moments during a candid chat on the Lipstick on the Rim podcast. 

Reflecting on the beauty advice—or lack thereof—that shaped her approach to makeup, Jennifer hilariously admitted that she was her “own worst beauty advice” in her early years.

“If you look at any pictures of me all the way through college, if I have makeup on, I wore my theater makeup. It was pancake makeup on my face. I [had] a white circle,” the Alias actress confessed to hosts Molly Sims and Emese Gormley, motioning around her face to show just how stark the contrast was. “It’s so bad! It’s so, so bad,” she added with a laugh.

Jennifer, 52, didn’t just stop at telling the story—she showed the evidence. On Nov. 24, she shared a clip of the podcast episode on Instagram, paired with a throwback photo that’s equal parts nostalgic and comical. 

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The snap featured a young Jennifer decked out in bright white pancake makeup, complete with a dramatic, ruffled period costume. The over-the-top look is a telltale sign of her days in theater, where pancake makeup is typically used to ensure performers’ faces are visible to the audience under bright stage lights. But as Jennifer joked, in regular lighting, the effect was far from glamorous.

Her journey into makeup may have started in the theater, but Jennifer revealed that her teenage years didn’t include much experimenting with beauty products. 

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Growing up, her parents didn’t allow her to wear makeup, so she had to get creative. In a 2019 interview with People, Jennifer admitted to sneaking makeup applications during homeroom. 

“I had a tackle box of stage makeup and so I thought that if I wanted to look pretty, I should wear that same makeup,” she shared at the time. “So I wore pancake makeup. I drew on blush. I basically looked like Raggedy Ann.”

© Raymond Hall

The memory of her youthful makeup mishaps is one she now laughs about, but Jennifer’s confession resonates with so many who have navigated the awkward early stages of beauty. 

It’s not just her teen years that make her relatable—Jennifer is the first to admit that even as an adult, she’s no expert when it comes to applying makeup. “Do I seem like someone who’s good at applying makeup?” she joked “I own the nicest brushes, and I own contouring things. If I used it, I would just look bruised.