5 Makeup Rules To Totally Ignore

1. Bronzers should be shimmery-  This was true in the 90's.  Now, not so much.  There is definitely a use for shimmery bronzers; they look great in the summer, they help boost your tan and they can draw eyes to the parts of your body you want to emphasize.  However, nowadays, matte is the new shimmer.  It's all about contouring and highlighting.  Using a shimmer to contour is disastrous to say the least.  You should look for a matte bronzer, 2 shades darker than your natural skin tone and use that to create a shadow to contour your skin and play down/up your features.

2. Red or dark lips are only for women with full, thick lips-  I used to take this rule as gospel.  You wouldn’t find a dark or red lipstick anywhere in my collection.  Then, I was introduced to Mac’s Ruby Woo.  At first I thought no way, this color is gorgeous but it will look weird on me…then I tried it.  I was instantly in love.   For weeks I wouldn’t go out without it in tow.  Then I started to branch out to darker berry colors, even venturing to go near colors that border on black.  The trick to really pulling off any of these looks is to make your lips look fuller.  Use lip liner to really accentuate the lips, and apply gloss in the center of your lips and shimmer right above them to really give that extra oomph.  Fellow thin-lipped girls do NOT be afraid to go bold in your lip colors!


                                        

3. Never wear dark eyeshadow during the day-  For certain jobs you may want to stick to this rule but overall, this is rapidly changing.  There are so many variations to the traditional "smokey eye" or "dark eyeshadow" look that it's easy to make it work during the day.  The key is to use lighter colors during the day, keep the crease simple and not too dark, and blend a lot!  Also, you can use a lighter color in the corners of your eyes to add some simplicity the look and a pop of lighter color.

                                           

4. Blue eyeshadow is so yesterday- Wrong, wrong, wrong.  Blue eyeshadow is everywhere.  You can play it up, play it down, have fun with it!  There are so many shades and hues it's not difficult to pick one that will flatter you without looking like you just walked out of an 80's party!  I love using blue eye shadow to create a smokey eye as it's such a subtle change from the traditional look and it looks great on every eye color!  You can also use lighter blues on your lids.  There are so many ways to make this work without looking like you’re trying to bring retro back.  The key to any look is confidence.  Wear a color you love and just rock it!


                                           

5.  Never do a bold eye with a dark lip-  This is easy to pull off if you do it right.  Use complimentary shades and don’t use anything too dark on the eyes.  You can make your eyes look bold using more neutral or muted colors and wear a bright lip with it.  If you’re really daring you can do a VERY blended smokey eye (although I’d probably steer clear of using black colors) with a bold lip.  This rule is so easy to break, if you think you look good so will others!

                                    

Makeup rules are so yesterday.  Now it’s all about experimenting and playing around with everything from bright colors to dark shades to everything in between.  Gone are the days of having to fit into a neat little box and follow a specific set of rules when applying makeup.  Just have fun with it!  Try something new, use a daring color, try a look you’d never dream of.  The key to pulling off any look no matter if it’s makeup, clothes, hair, you name it is confidence.  If you act like you’re the hottest girl in the room, people will believe you.  So go ahead and break some rules!

xo

Kelly