Erika Kirk Looks Nearly Unrecognizable With Barely-There Makeup in Rare Unearthed Photo From Months Before Husband Charlie Was Murdered

Erika Kirk has become known for her glamorous beauty looks, as since the assassination of her husband, Charlie Kirk, last fall, she's made numerous public appearances while wearing a full face of makeup.

But in a photo from March 2025, just six months before Charlie was murdered, she displayed a much more toned-down look that might make some do a double take.

In the picture posted on Instagram by speaker and author Elena Cardone, Erika wore much less makeup than the public is used to seeing.

The mother-of-two didn't appear to be sporting any eyeshadow, liner or fake eyelashes, as she typically does these days. She also didn't seem to have any lipstick on.

Instead, the conservative activist seemingly just wore face makeup to even out her skin tone, mascara and filled in her brows a bit. As for her blonde mane, it looked as if she straightened it herself. Recently, it's clear she has it professionally done by a hair stylist.

Erika has faced harsh backlash in the months since her husband was shot dead in the neck in September 2025, as she's made countless public appearances and looked overly polished while doing so.

In December 2025, she was criticized for wearing a lacy black pantsuit during a sit-down on Megyn Kelly's show, as many deemed the sultry outfit "inappropriate" for a grieving widow.

One social media user quipped, "She’s in mourning… The lace pantsuit phase of mourning."

Similarly, many on the internet questioned her ensemble at an October 2025 Turning Point USA event at the University of Mississippi, where she sported curve-hugging leather pants with a white shirt emblazoned with the word "Freedom."

"Erika Kirk wearing tight leather pants at the recent Turning Point event. Is this how a grieving widow dresses? Very strange,” one user remarked. Another echoed the sentiment, writing, "Nothing screams mourning like tight leather pants."

It was at the same October event that she shared an intense onstage hug with Vice President J.D. Vance that went viral.

The moment rubbed many the wrong way, as she wrapped her hand around his head during their embrace and held on for a little too long. However, she subsequently responded to the negative comments by insisting that her "love language is touch."

"Anyone whom I have hugged, that I have touched the back of your head when I hug you, I always say, 'God bless you,'" she expressed of the moment in an interview, dismissing romance rumors between the two.