Will you wear a color or product that's not 100% flattering on you?
Will you wear a color or product that’s not 100% flattering on you? Why/why not?
Of course, as I test a great many products that are less than 100% flattering on me but no doubt unflattering, period on me. I won’t necessarily opt for something that looks completely wrong on me, but if I really like the color, texture, or whatever, I will wear it even if isn’t my best color. If I just did that, I’d probably be wearing like two colors and where’s the fun in that? Sometimes you can take a color that on its own wouldn’t be your best and pair it with other shades or tones that help make it look more flattering on you. Same with products like shimmery blushes – sometimes I’m willing to take slightly emphasized pores for a pretty finish.
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I’ve been trying to do this lately. Things that lean too red or orange (copper, lots of warm purples) sometimes give me that dreaded “I have an eye disease!” look, so I’m trying really hard to find ways to make those colors work for me.
For eyeshadows i wear just about every color, same with blush. When it comes to lips though thats when i have trouble choosing shades, i always think everything is unflattering when really its just out of my comfort zone. Im trying to get over this by making myself wear these shades more often to get used to the look, i just bought viva glam nicki which is now the brightest shade i own lol
Absolutely. While I steer clear from shades that make me look like death–pastels are hands down the worst offenders–I will wear not-so-flattering shades–oranges and greens are quite challenging–and try to pull them off, sure! A couple of tricks I use to pull them off: wear clothes in the same colour family or use the offending colour as an eyeshadow crease colour or simply pair with other colour products that are more flattering.
I would think with your eye color oranges *would* be flattering, at least on the eyes. Is your skintone in the “neutral-warm” range, as well?
My skintone is neutral and thanks to some professional makeup palettes, I’ve confirmed this. To confuse matters, I used to frequently be thrown into the warm category by SA’s and consequently had a drawer full of lousy foundation matches and other cosmetics and couldn’t figure out why foundations would seem to ‘turn’ on me. Overly yellow or orange formulations are truly horrible against my skin with yellow based making me look green and orange based making me look like a bad version of suntan barbie from the neck up. To compound the problem further, my skin on my face is one or two shades darker and slightly warmer than my body which is more pink. Years of riding in a sand ring on horseback did a number, particularly on the lower portion of my face . I was always wearing a hat/helmet, but the reflection off the surface would tan me from eyes down while my show shirts and jacket kept the rest of me covered . Anyhow, no, orange is sadly not my friend and I do like the colour a lot. I can wear pink corals and even pull off orange corals with a bit of red in them., but orange itself manages to wash me out. I look completely wan and pallid. i tend to look good in white, navy blue, bright pinks, purples, burgandies and turquoise. Green is also very selective and I can pull off true khaki and a bluegreen pistachio colour with the rest making me myself look green. I seem to be a hybrid of traditional Fall and Winter palettes, but cannot wear all the colours of either. Oh, and last, one of my old hairdressers from way back used to dye my hair warm reds all the time and now when I see the pictures, I seriously want to hurt him. My current hairdresser uses only neutral or cool tones in my hair formulations. Naturally I have ash brown hair.
I know the feeling, LOL. My hair is naturally a deep auburn, and warmer in tone, so although my skin is the epitome of neutral. SAs would *always* tell me I was “warm”, which wouldn’t have been *too* bad if my eyes weren’t so cool-toned (genetics just went a bit haywire, LOL), although with my natural hair color, I could pull off bronzes & coppers. I’m of Greek & Irish descent, so although I’m on the paler side, I tan the moment I walk outside, even *with* SPF 50, so my face & neck are a few shades darker & won’t fade completely.
Have you tried orange with navy or aubergine? I recently bought the Kat von D Ladybird palette, and I thought I would *never* wear the russet/orange shade, and when I mentioned it to the SA, she suggested I try it with the navy & aubergine shades in the palette, and to my surprise, both actually turned out well.
Thanks for suggestions, I’ll give them a go! I was eyeballing the same Kat V D palette and thought exactly the same thing. I think I will put this one on my wishlist for my next Sephora haul. Goofy damn genetics..I’m Brit and German backgrounds so what a helluva combo! LoL
I tryed, but I couldn’t, I am a very yellow nc20, and when I wear colors like st. Germain or viva glam nicky 2, I look more yellow, so I have to stick to my warm tones.
These days I’ve been trying out different looks I see on Youtube, and sometimes I go out of my comfort zone with colors (for example blue on my eyes), because I’ve found sometimes I end up liking a look I would have thought would be wrong on me. Sometimes I wear a look that I am experimenting with makeup and I feel like in the end I don’t like it, but I leave the house in it anyway, and I get compliments! So you never know. I don’t want to get stuck in a rut, only wearing certain colors. Also, with clothing I’ve heard if the color isn’t too close to your face you can wear just about anything.
I’ll “bend” the rules a bit when it comes to eye products, although I do have brown eyes, so I can get by with alot. However, since my eyes are so dark, I tend to stay away from pastels.
Lip & cheeks are another story. I tend to stick to shades of blush that are actually shades I would blush. For lips, I stay away from shades that are too warm, or very bright.
There are things that are actually “flattering” in terms of my skintone/coloring, but they clash with my overall aesthetic. At the same time, there are shades that wouldn’t be as flattering if I wore different clothes.
In all honesty, practically all my makeup is high end, and I´m very selective of what I buy at higher price points, so the colors are more then likely either very flattering or look at least nice on me. I don´t wear colors that look garish or horrible on me, simply because I feel uncomfortable that way, even if that means being a little boring, however I wear statement colors all the time much more than neutrals, but those statement colors are as flattering as can be. According to SAs and MUAs everything is flattering on me because I´m white, however they don´t take into account that I have warm undertones, which means many things really don´t suit me, everything would suit me only IF I had neutral undertones. I am a little bit more adventurous with nail polish though 🙂 .
I tend to avoid nudes and really pale lip colors that wash me out, but aside from that I don’t even think about it. I just wear what I like.
my makeup looks are split into two categories:
-those that are flattering, because who can deny that they wouldn’t want to enhance their own looks using makeup….especially for casual day wear, or for work, or a date, or a more formal event, etc
-those that are more experimental, because makeup is art. as a teacher, i try to seize weekends and summer vacation as opportunities to play around with looks that are more adventurous and perhaps trendy. i am not trying to attract anyone or woo my boyfriend with these looks…they’re more for me. i find it to be a real confidence booster to pull off these more adventurous looks because they send a message to the world that says “i am not wearing makeup to convince you that i am pretty” but rather “i am comfortable enough in my own skin and embrace my unique features and i just want to play with color and texture”
I wear makeup along these same lines..neutrals for work and anything goes on the weekends. I don’t own any pastel colours or wear grey because those colours just don’t appeal to me, and it wouldn’t matter if they were flattering or not, although I doubt they would be. Lip colours pretty much stay within my comfort zone and I’m fine with that as I love playing up my eyes.
No way! Years of experience have taught me what colors and makeup looks are best for me. I don’t do trends unless they work with my coloring and features.
If I really REALLY LOVE a product or color I will MAKE it suit me. 🙂 I honestly think that in most cases you have to combine it differently or use it in another way to look good on you. Some colors that you think that don’t suit you are maybe only a little bit out of your comfort zone, but actually look amazing!
I am very fair with very cool undertones which means that anything the least bit warm falls into the category of not 100% flattering on me. However, I love lots of different colors and enjoy trying some trends now and then. It’s pushed me to find ways to make “tough” colors work which has helped me become better overall at applying makeup.
Yes! I wear all colors as eye shadow, even ones that would look like death if I tried to wear clothes that color (Yellow, Melon, Orange). I love trying new, more extreme looks and find that in small pops, they make fine shadow colors. The only colors I use rarely to never are neutrals. I just don’t think I look good without my ‘Glamazon’ war paint.
I’m having problems with that, It is a hard to get a lipstick without trying it first, test on the hand is quite different of what it looks on the face. Still trying to find that flattering shade.
I have had my fair share of colors or “looks” that definitely did not suit me. As I have gotten a bit older (ahem), I have learned to be more selective and think before I buy. It is the impulse purchase that usually turns out to be so unflattering. I do try to stay within the limits of what now looks best on me. Sometimes, it is fun to just experiment ….especially with eyeshadows. Shimmer no longer works for me, but I am up for a little cheek shimmer now and then.
I mix and layer to find the correct combinations for my skin. That being said, if something doesn’t work in a combo or alone, it’s history.
Absolutely! Eye colors can be paired and blended with other colors to complement them or tone them down. I love using bright orange and pink eyeshadow when it’s paired with browns and neutrals. I haven’t figured out how to use light blues yet…I just feel like I walked straight out of the 90’s when I try.
I tend to not be as adventurous with lip colors. I’ve definitely stepped out of my comfort zone recently, but some colors just overwhelm my pale skin, no matter what other colors I use on my face.
I am fair-skinned with very low contrast coloring so I look ridiculous in very dark or very bright colors. Knowing that, I just don’t wear them. Would not be comfortable wearing them. (Can’t wear nude-tone lipsticks either, interestingly.) Other than that I can play around with a range of mid-tone eye colors (tend to stick with neutral eyeshadow and have fun with eyeliner) and warm-to-cool shades of lipstick and blush, as long as they are muted. No black eyeliner or mascara! It’s just too much.
All the time. I am fortunate in that I can wear just about every color except the true death color for me which is dark chocolate brown. I still wear it though with gold, beige or black. Though my hair is lighter my eyes are almost black which makes almost anything go if you pair it right.
I wouldn’t wear anything unflattering but might wear something mediocre if I didn’t have time to change my make up.
Quite often, as long as it doesn’t wash me out or leave me jaundiced. I have a few warmer toned blushes, lip shades, and eyeshadows that I usually offset with cooler-toned shades so they don’t overwhelm my face – and in general, my summer skin tone is more neutral than my winter, so I have more “breathing room” where shade selection is concerned.
The one area I don’t mess around with is foundation. In the summer, my skin is more neutral-cool, so I can get away with face products that run warmer, but as soon as fall/winter hits, I have to switch to something strongly cool-toned. I’m just too fair at an NW10 – anything that doesn’t match my undertone pulls yellow or orange and makes me look ill. (I’m currently in thrall with MAC’s new Mineralize Skinfinish foundation, and I’m crushed that its lightest shade is an NC15. I can get away with it now in the summer months, but by winter, it’ll be unwearable. ;-;)
Absolutely! Sometimes inadvisably – I’m rather dark and have always been told pastel shadows wouldn’t work too well on me, but there are weeks where I’d wear nothing but, just because!
Absolutely not. I return items if I can…if not, I try to give it to someone who might love it. If not, it goes straight in the garbage can.
Depends on the occasion and what my priorities are. Sometimes, my top priority is not about looking my best or what flatters me most. For example, I’ll wear a color/product/look to show my support for something or just bc I love it, etc. However, at work, I definitely wear products/colors that look flattering on me. I feel that’s more professional for my particular job–and being professional is a priority during work.
I have the problem that I don’t really see what’s flattering on me or not. It’s becomming a real issue because I don’t want to go out looking like a fool. So if I get a compliment for something, I’ll be sure to wear that again and again and again… Gets boring, lol.