GRWM: My Royal Icing Disaster Story (And What It Taught Me About Cookie Decorating)

GRWM: My Royal Icing Disaster Story (And What It Taught Me About Cookie Decorating)

Because believe it or not, makeup and cookie decorating have more in common than you think.

Just like you wouldn’t skip foundation before applying the rest of your makeup, you can’t skip getting your royal icing consistency right before decorating cookies. That lesson? I learned it the hard way.

So today, while I’m blending foundation and getting ready, I’m sharing the story of the day my royal icing completely had other plans — and what it taught me about building the right foundation, both in beauty and baking.

When Royal Icing Has Other Plans

I had everything ready:

• Perfectly baked sugar cookies
• Colors mixed beautifully
• Piping bags filled
• Cookie decorating kit for each students

But the moment I started setting up the students stations and taking out the 50 pastry bags,  I knew something wasn’t right.

The icing was separated, and not the kind of separation that normally happens when I prepare the icing for my classes, it was so much more! 

The royal icing consistency is key for cookie decorators and when you are teaching how to decorate cookies with it, it HAS to be on pointe! But, this time and the trial and error that I have done before did not cooperate with me, sadly. That was the beginning of my royal icing disaster.

The Real Problem: Icing Consistency

Here’s what I learned (and what I now teach in my cookie decorating tutorials):

Your icing consistency is your foundation.

Just like when you apply foundation before makeup — if the base isn’t right, everything else becomes harder to fix. The same thing happens with decorated cookies.

When your royal icing is:

• Too thick → it won’t self-level, and you’ll see bumps.
• Too thin → it floods over edges and loses shape.
• Inconsistent between colors → the design won’t look clean.

That day, my base consistency was  way off — and that small detail changed everything.

How I Saved the Cookies

In the video below you can listen on what I did to "fix" the icing and what went wrong.... I learned a lesson and so did my students. 

When this things happen specially when you are teaching the more important thing is to  stay calm and try to work as a team to make things work.

Because cookie decorating is as much about patience as it is about technique.

Why I’m Grateful for That Disaster

That “fail” changed the way I will be preparing for my future classes . approach royal icing forever.

A royal icing disaster isn’t really a failure. It’s feedback.

If You’re Struggling With Royal Icing…

You are not alone.

Every experienced cookie decorator has had that moment where icing didn’t cooperate. What matters is learning how to adjust, not aiming for perfection from the beginning.

Because sometimes the best decorating lessons come from the messy moments.

In my GRWM video, I walk you through this story while I do my Nina Park inspired everyday makeup and share the products I like to use for sensitive eyes and mature skin! 

Cookie decorating  and make up isn’t about flawless results every time. It’s about understanding your tools, mastering techniques, icing and learning and making it your way every time. 

If you want to see the full Makeup tutorial hear the full story, watch the video and decorate along with me.

We’re learning together