i don't think the makeup is supposed to always be appealing. drag makeup is offputting because it's exaggerations of female features. high arches, contoured cheeks, tiny noses, giant eyes, ect. i often consider it to be a humorous look on women. hence why their drag personas are usually catty, slutty, vain, ect. not very different from how they act out of drag tbh. as faggy as a lot of queens are, the majority them don't really want to be women. it's just a performance.
there are drag queens that don't go for the clown makeup, tho and look passable. fishy queens, for example are supposed to be passable. ironically, tumblr got their panties in a twist over the term fishy, because it makes fun of vaginal odors. lmfao
i think it's an art form, and the thing with art is that not everyone is gonna like it. i, personally, love crazy drag makeup. i think there's a certain skill to it. one of my favorite drag queens has the most hideous makeup, trixie mattel, but i get it. the personality is supposed to be like silicone barbie. she's a comedy queen.