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Do you feel restricted by so-called makeup "rules"?
Not really! I always remember that makeup washes off, so there’s no harm in breaking the rules and seeing how it goes!
— Christine
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Nope. I am well past the age where “they” (whoever “they” are – I’d like to meet “they” and have a little chat with them) say a woman shouldn’t wear frosted eyeshadows. To hell with that – shimmery and pearly shadows are my favourites because, like a moist and dewy skin, I think they make us over 40 types actually look brighter and fresher than matte products which can look just as dull and dry on the eyes as they can on the face. I do like to look sort of within the “natural” range, though. For me, personally, blue lipstick or green-tinged highlighter on my face are things I prefer not to wear. And for work, I tend to stay away from things like peacock blue/green liner under my lower lashes or bright shadows on my lids (ABH Venice, for example) although I will happily wear those colours in my “off” hours. But since most of the women I work with wear little to no makeup, those brighter colours at work do stand out and make me feel a bit self-conscious. So it’s just more comfortable for me but in my own time, I will wear whatever takes my fancy.
Somebody at some point came out with whatever makeup book and then it was taken out of context and passed off as gossip. It isn’t shimmery or sheeny eyeshadows you aren’t suppose to wear after a certain age. It’s straight up glitter. They glitter should be left to 20 something and younger. But of course do as you please. It’s your face, your makeup, your money ya know?
I do things like put shimmer in the crease of my eyes all the time… then I started hearing that you’re not supposed to do that? Oh well! I like it.
I usually just wear what I like, so the rules that restrict me are only the ones I apply subconsciously.
If we’re talking about make-up rules like “don’t wear a bold lipstick with smokey eyes” or “no glitter if you’re over 30” absolutely not, I’d wear what I want.
But if we’re talking more about basic decency rules like “No blackface/brownface/yellowface” or “no culturally appropriative make-up”, then yeah, I do my best to follow those.
Oy – so “they” have now lowered that magic age from 40 to 30??? “They” can get stuffed! As for bold lip/smoky eye, I think that looks better and more balanced than a strong or smoky eye with a nude or “nothing” lip so that’s another rule I probably break all the time.
Mariella, you made me laugh out loud. I love both of your responses.
Yeah, I’ll wear glitter and shimmery eyeshadow until I’m in my 90s if I want to, and bold lipstick too! That ridiculous “rule” is just an example of ageism.
but I’d really like to know – just out of curiosity – who made this decree. I mean, we’ve all heard it but I wonder who dreamed it up and why it’s become sort of written in stone (along with other nonsense like wearing white after Labour Day, etc.)
I think it is make up artists. If they do a gradient look from the dark in the crease to the light under the brow, then it makes sense to apply a matte transition shade to imitate the shade in the crease, but it is only for this particular look.
But which makeup artist(s)??? Was it Way Bandy way back in the 70’s? Maybe it was Pablo Mazoni, who used to be makeup artist for Elizabeth Arden? I’m as old as the Ark and I’ve been interested in makeup from the days when I helped Mrs. Noah tend the animals (and I mean no disrespect to anyone who holds the Bible sacred) but while I’ve heard it repeated often enough, I have never heard it with an attribution to an actual person…..just “they”. I want to know just who made this “rule” that has been passed along as though it was some sort of law. I mean, I know that Hubert de Givenchy once said that a woman of true style only has 3 fragrances (and they’re meant to be her signature). I don’t entirely agree with them (though there was a time, when I was young and stupid, that I did live by this so called “rule”). But the “no frosty shadows after 40” (or 30) is repeated so often and I’d just like to know the stick-in-the-mud who originated it.
HI!
Curious, what’s ““culturally appropriative make-up”? Never heard of it. (Seriously.)
I was at first, but then seeing more and more of how people broke these “rules” on Instagram and YouTube, I felt a lot less restricted. It all washes off at the end of the day, so who cares how you do your makeup or what colors you use?
Not anymore. When I was first getting back into makeup, I didn’t understand anything about the color wheel, textures, placement, technique and finishes. I understand better than I used to now and I wear what I think is flattering, rules be damned. It seems like it’s anything goes now, anyway. I have no interest in trying to mask my age. I like the way I look and apply makeup to enhance it.
No, I wear what I like when I like. Admittedly, I tend to be more conservative — I’ve never been one for very bright colors and I don’t have the patience to work with say 4-5 eyeshadows in a single look. But as I age I care less and less about what others think, and I’m having more fun now with makeup than ever.
What “rules”? Nope, I don’t. I basically wear what I want, as long as it looks good on me. And certain things just don’t, ie; shiny eyeshadow on my browbone, cool-toned blue anything (except eyeliner!). But that’s just knowing my own personal limits due to the constraints of my own personal facial features and coloring, NOT “rules” imposed on me by others.
Well said!!!!
I think they really shouldn’t be called “rules” at all, more like trends. For example, the trend these days is thick, shapely eyebrows, a few years ago it was thin eyebrows, who knows what it’ll be in a few more years. I think everyone should do what they feel looks good, suits their personality and interests. I hate so called rules like “women over 40 shouldn’t use shimmery eyeshadow”. I find them distasteful. My philosophy is: Wear whatever you like and use it in any way you like. It’s just makeup and it’s meant to be fun!
Rules as in use this product this way for optimal results…sure. I know not everything is meant for my skintone or my skin type nor does everything interest me. But I’ve reached the age where I buy what I like and do what I want. I’m ok not following the red lip trend. Red lips aren’t me and I’m ok that they never will no matter what anyone says about there’s a red for everyone. Maybe that’s true but I don’t want anything to do with it. That’s not to say I won’t step out of my box and try new things. Who knew I’d love every warm red, mustard , camel color eyeshadow that comes my way (well A LOT of them anyway)!
Not that long ago I would answer yes to that question. I bought into all the rules for older women, nothing too bright, no shimmer, always use mattes, etc.
I think that being a faithful follower of Temptalia helped me to see past these so called rules and make my own decisions about what I want to wear and when to wear it. True story-this past week I used my Sweet Peach matte palette to do my eyes and I really loved how my makeup looked that day. I even used that look in my “favorite looks” of the week comment. We met my brother, nephew and mother for dinner at the only restaurant in town (a little mom and pop place). About half way through dinner my brother paused, looked at me and said, “What happened? Did a crayon box explode on your face!” I told him he was just lucky I didn’t add some of my glitter to it, LOL.
Nope – you do what suits you best, which is why I don’t bronze, contour, highlight, use eyeliner (as much as I would like to) because it just doesn’t work on me.
Which is why I wear shimmery shades on my hooded eyes, even though the ‘rules’ say matte is best.
No, I don’t allow myself to be restricted by makeup rules. Some rules are helpful; other rules are ridiculous. And all rules are made to be broken! I love experimenting with makeup. As Christine says, you can always wash it off!
Good rules: I have small hooded eyes, so it really did help me to understand the concept of how to add depth to them, but once I learned those rules, I started coming up with new ways to add drama to my hooded eyes.
Bad rules: As far as what women should and shouldn’t do after reaching a certain age, that’s ridiculous! Glitter after 50? Go for it! Green shadow on green eyes? Yes, it can look great!
Nope. The only rules I follow are my own. I prefer shimmers to mattes for eyeshadow, matte blush and I finish my look with whatever lipstick I’m in the mood for. I do tend to wear more neutral colors, but that is what I think looks best on me. Along with Mariella I too wonder who “they” is/are. “They” seem a bit uptight to me and my family thinks I’m uptight, lol.
I started doing a search for “they”. Haven’t really found anything, but wanted to share a nice website that has a lot of makeup history… more than I can read tonight anyway. It’s called Glamour Daze. Thought someone else might enjoy it too.
Thanks for sharing that fun website, ShariP. I love the history of makeup section.
No, absolutely I don’t feel restricted by any makeup rules. I do follow a few rules, like….hmmmm, having a hard time thinking of any. Ah okay, here’s one I do try to avoid, wearing dark lipstick with dark eyeshadow. I have dark circles under my eyes and wear glasses, so even with very good concealer application, I tend to look older and meaner if I do an overly dark look. My test, if my son (7) says I look like a witch, then I know it’s too dark (because he really likes when I wear fun, colorful lipstick and eye colors.) LOL!
No, I don’t actually. I don’t want Picasso or Monet on my face, if it comes to colors and the application. Makeup is a great enchancer for me, not an outlet for my creativity (which is next to nothing), so the rules actually help.
I’m 58 and I wear pretty much what I like. However, by trial and error I have found what is most becoming to me and it has morphed over the years. I don’t use as much eyeliner as I once did because it’s tough to get it to go on smoothly but I still wear it just in a different form. Same with foundation, I use it more sparingly because it looks better that way. I don’t care for arbitrary “rules” though. Cosmetics have come a long way. I have always used a mix of matte and shimmer eye shadows and still do.
I do find that I take better care of my skin and I don’t feel like I have to cover my face with makeup as much as I once did. I am much paler than before and due to chronic illness sometimes I simply want to look healthy.
Since I don’t believe in most makeup rules in the first place, it’s hard to feel restricted by them. If I want to wear glitter or shimmer or brights or put on blue lipstick to go grocery shopping, that’s what I’ll do.
The only makeup rules I follow are the ones involving what is and isn’t appropriate for certain very specific occasions (funerals, job interviews, etc).
One rule that I break is matching colors to my skin undertone. I have cool leaning skin and recently tried a full face warm look. The contrast actually looked pretty nice! If shades are too cool, sometimes my pink skin makes them look even cooler, and that’s not always desirable.