Do other people's opinions on your makeup influence you?
Do other people’s opinions on your makeup influence you? If so, to what degree? If not, what do you say?
If I know I’m going to a family function or to my parents’ all day long, I don’t make a big to-do with makeup. My parents are totally supportive of the blog, and so they wouldn’t have a problem if I showed up in full, dramatic makeup, but I know they like me better au natural.
Thanks to Jayna for today’s question! Have a question idea? Submit yours here.
It really depends on the person offering the advice. Someone who has really horrible makeup application? No, their opinion means very little. Someone who does their own makeup very well? I take what they say to heart. A douchey guy who seems to make it his mission to insult me once a day at work, every day, and unfortunately recently got seated right across from me? No, his opinion means less than Spongebob’s to me.
Totally agree with you… Response to an opinion depends on the person having it… usually….
No…not one bit…but other peoples opinion about makeup does inflence what I buy.
That is so true; someone elses opinion or a great ad or look in a magazine is enough for me to go buy it all. Unfortunately, I’m cut off with buying any more cosmetics for who knows how long ever since I bought all of Armani’s Eyes to Kill shadows because my husband thinks I must be nuts! However, I do hate it when I’m all made up for some affair that I have to go to and that someone who asked me about everything I wear shows up looking like my ‘twin’. Same with perfume, I’ll tell someone and then everyone ends up smelling like me; now I say as little as possible. I don’t mean to be crabby about it but hey, get your own look kind of feeling. My sister says I should be flattered and feel complimented not annoyed but it’s weird when everyone looks or smells like you.
Christine, what you said about your family is so beautiful. You are very lucky to have such a wonderful supportive family.
My mum likes me au natural as well. One thing she has always told me is that I do my make-up beautifully, even though I don’t need it. Well, YEA, I do need it! I mean, I’m usually natural for daily wear with a pop of colour here and there and a lot more dramatic for an evening out or a special event.
Yes and no about other people’s opinions on my makeup and if it influences me. Most of the comments I get are either I do my make-up nicely (as I said above I’m natural most of the time), I have nice brows (I fill them in), my eyebrows are too much (I can tend to over-fill) and I wear a nice dark lip. I don’t mind comments on my make-up, it boosts my self-esteem. Those that want to give their negative opinions, I usually smile and walk on. I’m not perfect, I’ll never be perfect but when I walk out the house I want people to see me for who I am and not the make-up I throw on 🙂
I was fully prepared to say “no, no way,” then I read your answer. if I’m going to be around my grandparents, I definitely make sure to wear a more natural look, solely because my grandfather has no problem with making rude comments if I wear anything other than neutral colors.
By personal taste, I love makeup that’s very neutral, classy and understated, with a touch of drama every now and then, so I don’t have a problem regarding self-consciousness with bright colours, etc, on my face, but I don’t really like it when people say that makeup is “shallow” or “bitchy” or a “waste of time/just to impress men”, etc. I think that’s a really false generalisation usually based on other people’s problems with people who have been mean to them personally.
I also do feel a little self-conscious at the idea of wearing makeup around certain family members who are very thrifty, and would see makeup as an “indulgence” and “glamorous” – I don’t like the idea of it affecting their perception of who I am, just because I like to present myself well and look my best.
Apart from that, no, I don’t think it changes my taste in makeup, though I would feel self-conscious being around people who were disapproving of it, if that makes sense.
yes! sometimes i’ll form an opinion on something and never think i’ll like it but i’ll see someone i like use it or talk about it and all the sudden i changed my mind!
Somewhat. There are situations involving circumstances or people where keeping things toned down is the more tenable option, such as a first date. (Or having a sister who is very blunt and opinionated about appearance and dress. :P) On the other hand, I take full advantage of the fact that I work night shift in a hospital with consistent staff to get away with wearings things like MAC’s Potent Fig to work – something that I’m sure wouldn’t fly for a lot of people here.
My mother’s comment that light blue eyeshadow is awful has led me to dislike it. I don’t think my family’s attitudes have had a huge impact, I’ve always had a bit more interest in cosmetics than my mother sister or closest cousin. But I guess to some extent their tastes have rubbed off on me.
Other people’s opinions influence me to a very, VERY small degree. The opinions of people close to me will always be more important than some total stranger or SA/MA. When it comes to matters of personal taste, though, no one’s opinion really matters except for mine. I wear what I like and what feels comfortable/appropriate for me in certain settings. Everyone has their own style and preferences, and I think that is something that should be respected. Constructive comments/criticism is cool with me when voiced in a polite manner. If someone I don’t know doesn’t like my style/preference in makeup, cool, I don’t care… I don’t see why people waste their time shooting dirty looks or making rude comments. It’s makeup, it’s really not that serious, lol. I remember one time I was wearing colorful eye makeup, and this girl wearing 10lbs of neutral-toned makeup told me my makeup wasn’t natural looking, and that only shades of brown were acceptable. LOL. I literally just sat there and laughed so hard for like three minutes straight.
Every person should wear what they like and feel comfortable wearing. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but the people that matter really shouldn’t and most likely aren’t going to care what makeup you’re wearing.
Lol!!!!! People are ridiculous. Like oh, I apologize, I didn’t realize my purple lipstick was keeping you from living a happy and fulfilling life, so sorry!
love this
No. Most of the feedback I get (which is fairly infrequent) is positive and I don’t think anyone who actually knows me would be foolish enough to say anything negative or derogatory to my face.
If a stranger or passing aquaintance said anything critical, I wouldn’t care to hear their opinion anyway and would politely tell them so, then invite them to mind their own business in future.
One of my unhappy memories is of when two of my ‘friends’ were sat on the train with me saying that people who took long with their makeup were wasting their time, that foundation looked bad, just basically slagging makeup off saying it made people look ugly – and I was there with full foundation on, right in front of them. It was so insensitive, I’m deeply insecure about my appearance and makeup really helps me. I really changed my opinion of them after that.
I wouldn’t judge someone who didn’t wear a scrap of makeup – why should I be judged because I wear a whole face of it?
I study English literature at university, and the extent to which women + makeup = profane, disgusting etc. (without going into detail on here) is shocking, and I really and truly feel that the misogynistic, archaic structures that underpin all social conditioning still exist as strongly as ever when it comes to feminine expression of identity and beauty.
In short, although I don’t wear dramatic makeup, I feel completely judged by strangers because I wear foundation, powder, eyemakeup and lipstick, however neutral the colours are. People still distrust makeup as artifice and it bothers me.
Wow, there’s a makeup opinion that just affected me. I never thought of it that way (negative views of makeup as misogynistic).
1. That was horrible of your friends.
2. This was a very cohesive argument, and actually makes me feel less embarrassed about how much makeup I wear.
3. Thank you!
Not at all ! I usually use ” ready-to-wear ” shades and colours, but I choose to wear a very deep red lipstick for example, I never ask anyone I just do it. It’s the same for fragrances !
it’ll influence me to wear less, but i’m usually pretty good at going for the natural look on my own too! no one as of yet has been able to influence me to step out of the box too much!
Totally but in a good way. I don’t wear heavy makeup to work as my skin not perfect (no ones is) but i work with a small group that most go o natural.
I basically only bust out the full looks for events I’m going to. ^_^
I’m always influenced by others opinion :), i never wear loud makeup or extremely dramatic looks bcoz coworkers and even family dont approve of it.But public opinion has also helped a lot in helping me find out the best looks and colours for my face and colour…so im 3/4 part grateful for their help and 1/4 part exasperated when i cant experiment beyond my comfort zone in public.
Other opinions definitely influence me. I’ve bought a lot more makeup because I see something I like on a blog. And if I read that something is crap, I’ll either skip or look at it with caution.
I wouldn’t stop wearing something just because someone said they didn’t like it, if I wanted to wear it. Before now my dad has looked at me like I’m a crazy person when I’ve been wearing more full on make up for a night out, but I wouldn’t change it because I love a good smoky eye for the evening. But on the other hand, if I get compliments on something I’m using from my fiance (yes he does notice these things!) or my mum/ sister/ friend, it does tend to make me wear it more. I sort of take that as meaning I must suit it.
Not at all! I always read those “guys like women better without makeup” well screw them, I don’t need a man! I am a hairdresser so I don’t really need to be work appropriate with my makeup and honestly the only persons opinion that matters is yourself!
No
No. I wear whatever I feel like. If those people are family, sometimes I wear the the makeup that person likes to let him/her know that I care about him/her.
I love makeup, and now that I’m in my twenties I feel comfortable wearing pretty much anything, and no one’s opinions inffluence me anymore. Although when I wear a fuschia lip it does get tiring when every single coworker mentions it.
However, when I was 15 I wore electric aqua eyeliner at my cabin. My dad almost had a heart atatck from the look on his face, but didn’t say anything. When he left the room, my younger brother told me to “wash your face before you kill dad”. Ha ha!
wow fall collection info already ?? lol what about the summer collection … or is this summer going to be the ditto collection ?? Doesn’t seem very summery if it is
nah not usually! If Im really comfortable with what im wearing their opinion wouldn’t matter! Only if I wore something that I wasn’t too sure about (which is seldom) and they remarked about it then maybe it would affect me
Ironically the only time I made my make up simpler than usual was when I worked in a make up store. “you will scare the customers”
Ha!
It must’ve been a high end brand.
Not even a little bit XD Although this creepy customer at work once commented that I was so beautiful and didn’t need to wear so much makeup (I wasnt. Just a neon lip color.) So I now find it hilarious when he comes in and I’m wearing bright blue shadow or a neon lip 😉 Ha
Yes, very much so. My mom doesn’t know anything at all about makeup, but she’s always interested and amused by fun looks that I do (I don’t think she even owns a mascara). So I like doing something fun and bold with my family, and I go either completely natural or extremely neutral everywhere else. I don’t like it when other people stare at me so I hardly ever do something fun in public, but I can be relaxed and creative if I have a weekend with the fam. So it’s the same reasons but the opposite result as you Christine. 🙂
It depends.I can take constructive criticism, but not snotty comments.I can recall one time while I was in class when my female teacher asked me “How long do you take putting on your makeup?”, in front of my classmates, to which I replied “About 40 minutes”.Right away I hear some guy say “That’s too long”.Uh yeah didn’t really ask for your input.Some people can’t restrain from spewing their unnecessary comments.
I want to say that in regards to my makeup taste I prefer stained lips as opposed to nude lips.I noticed that guys/men pay more attention to me when I occasionally wear the nude lip, but I don’t really care too much to change my ways.You have to be able to feel comfortable in what you think.
No, not really. It depends on if the comment is about taste or not. If I wear something that isn’t to someone’s taste, that’s fine but it doesn’t mean I’ll change anything. If the comment is “wow, you look ill in that color” — well maybe I’ll take that into consideration.
What kind of makeup I wear is never influenced by other’s opinions. The only time I’ve felt uncomfortable about my makeup choices are if I show up to a place where most people aren’t wearing as much makeup as me, or where they’re wearing WAY MORE makeup than me – like at a casual hangout or a wedding. I wear a medium amount of makeup every day.
Other people’s comments and opinions don’t affect me at all. I know I like a pretty matte-looking and contoured flawless perfection, no undereye circles, and (rich, thick, and symmestrical) brows. If someone says my brows are too filled in, I tell him/her that I like that look. If someone says my face is too “perfect” and therefore obvious that I’m wearing foundation, I tell them thank you for complimenting me!
Now, if someone tells me that an area of my face is flaky, I will thank him/her and go into the bathroom and fix it as best as I can. I wouldn’t consider that as “influence” because it’s not so much an evaluate comment, but more of a helpful concern.
To an extent. I’m willing to listen to other’s opinions about my makeup, but at the end of the day, I wear what makes me happy. I am however cautious about wearing bright or dramatic makeup at work or church.
If someone that sees me often gives me a compliment out of the blue, I’ll probably be more likely to wear that look again, unless it’s something I already was thinking was fantastic. Especially if it’s a guy and it’s an interesting color, because it got their attention (most don’t really care too much about your makeup) and they didn’t think it was too much.
Absolutely it influences my decision on whether to buy product, especially if the person has the same or similar skin tone,skin type and think the same way about makeup that I do.
In regards to the colors I wear, sometimes. My mom likes a more toned down look but likes the use colors. She feels I go too dramatic sometimes in my daytime looks. I like use neutral colors but mostly I love using color in my makeup choices.
I think it depends on the situation and who it is and how I value the person’s view. But usually I like to do the “no makeup look” especially around family members, since nobody really wears makeup in the family. It would be awkward if I’m the only one wearing smokey eyes wouldn’t it…
As far as how I personally feel about makeup I don’t think it changes that much. Just because I don’t wear it doesn’t mean I don’t like it 🙂