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How did you gain the confidence to wear bold looks in public?


How did you gain the confidence to wear bold looks in public? Share your tips/experiences!

First, just wear it around the house! Once you start seeing your reflection with stronger/bolder/more colorful makeup on, you’ll get more used to seeing yourself that way. You can work your way up to public forays by wearing bolder looks when you visit friends or have them over.

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Camille Avatar

i dont wear bold looks in terms of makeup, but i do with clothing i wear super bohemian things and in high school everyone is about looking the same kind of. but i have the confidence to wear it becuase just think that its what you like versus caring about if other people like it or not. so if you feel good wearing it, wear it!!

Pawsha Avatar

Just decided one day that I was going to wear makeup the way I wanted to and no longer wear what everyone else thought I should. Now I wear what ever my mood feels and I just go with it. I put it on for me not for the public or anyone else. It took awhile to come out of that shell I was in, that’s for sure. It’s a nice feeling.

Ana Avatar

LOL I never even thought that people were “afraid” to wear colourful looks! My first ever eyeshadows were black, blue and purple 😉 ..I just think that neutral looks are kinda boring and they’re not as visible! So why bother wasting an hour putting them on? :S

Veronica Avatar

I did something similar. If you’re going to go bold, I think you have to make sure it’s done right. I’ll practice it in a mirror several times, figuring out how I want to wear it, before I go out in public with it.

Coincidentally, it’s my family who tends to be the most critical of my more dramatic looks. I tend to get more compliments from strangers!

Ashley Avatar

Exactly! Out of the blue I will wear a colorful look and my family always says that it is too much, yet get compliments from my friends and stangers! I shouldn’t care what my family thinks…I can wear colorful looks if I want to!:)

paran0idhuman0id Avatar

i believe that if you _really_ like something, to the point that you associate it with a part of your soul, and cannot imagine yourself without it, you’ll overcome your fears and get the confidence to do it… 😉

Mora Avatar

i just did it.
i love bold and colorful makeup, hair and clothing.
you just have to get used to the fact, that people are looking at you.
but this isn’t a bad thing. many of my friends told me, that they wish they were as confident as i am, to wear such stuff.

Yazmin Avatar

i didnt wear makeup at all, and then it felt like an overnight transformation, i think youtube helped me there, knowing that hundreds of people probably wear this out. why should i be shy about it. and then after getting compliments i started wearing it more. getting better at it on the way

Amy Avatar

I started off makeup with wearing colorful/bold looks xD that’s how I got interested in it in the first place.
I never do natural makeup cuz I don’t feel like I need makeup to look “pretty” and I’m not independent on it. So whenever I do wear makeup it’s out of the artisticness inside of me and turns out very bold and colorful

Romina Avatar

I needed some confidence to wear bold colours on my lips (on the eyes I use them every day). I hesitated to wear dark berry lipsticks, eventually I did and I am confident with that. I even got a total black lipstick and I have worn in in public.
First, I wear them while at home, then going out (at night) with close people, not collegues or just people I happen to know, and for the black lip, I’d chosen a place to go that would match the look. I wouldn’t go to an elegant restaurant or the local bar. I did it twice and now I have no hesitation at all!

snm Avatar

by starting with the extreme:) I was a traditional goth kid when I was in my teens.now I am 22,although I am still into the subculture and a true goth at heart,I am wearing more fashionable and usual clothes,but still prefer dark colors.I love my bold lippies more than anything and I think it is all about the attitude and the balance between clothes,make up and hair.if you are new to bold make up/clothes,the best thing to do is to go step by step and not looking overdone.for example leaving your glamorous necklace and earrings at home,letting your hair to be in its natural shape would help your make up to seem less bold.

Vicky Avatar

I was taking one step at a time, making my looks a little bolder every now and then, and when I got confidence with the look I had I tried making it a little more bold. I have to say I dont wear really bold looks often though.

Florence Avatar

I started to wear neutral colors/natural makeup. Once I get the hang of the techniques, I try to incorporate other colors (start by using one bright or non-neutral colors). Like you said, I test the looks at home and wear it for several hours then I got used to it and became more confident wearing bolder looks in public.

Lauryn Avatar

Wow. this is a tough one.. Because there are BOLD looks, and there are BOLD CLOWN looks.. There is a difference. Today, I’m wearing a bold look with blue black. My best advise is practice and wear what is appropriate for your skin tone, then you can pull off anything. However, start small, maybe a bold look for you is winged black liner..practice on application and wear it around the house.. then try it out one night..

Perfect your look and application, make sure the colors work for YOU and then, ROCK IT!

Fey Avatar

Redefine beauty for yourself. Think of models–they’re not girl-next-door sort of pretty. Something about their faces are memorable, unique, and maybe even ugly to some people. And it makes them stand out. Think of yourself as a model: you have the power to make people look at your bold look out of curiosity or admiration. You have the power to command people’s minds, and they are not consciously aware of it. You are bringing something new to the world when you wear a bold look, so rock it and remember you are your definition of beauty!

Sheena F Avatar

i started sporting the bright bold looks just because i was inspired by blogs and vlogs of people with my similar skin tone (i’m an NC20). i thought, hey–if they can pull it off, why can’t i?

what really pushed me over the edge too was this one instance when i went to a MAC makeup counter and wanted to buy steamy e/s. this one pro artist said, “are you sure you want to get this? it might not work with your skin tone.” and i proudly said: yes, i am buying it and i can make it work!

i think every now and then, it’s nice to step out of my comfort zone of neutrals and earthy tones and rock a “chrome yellow-lucky green-electric eel” look.

Rosie Sparkle Avatar

This is a pretty funny question to me. I have really terrible self-confidence, but I always wear bold colors. It’s not ridiculous hide-your-face stuff, but I’m usually the one at a wedding in neon pink tights and tennis shoes. I guess I don’t view it as a confidence issue at all. I just really love colors. And it’s not like people don’t know you’re wearing makeup. Why not have fun with it?

miriam Avatar

Teenage years and early twenties, my only makeup was eyeliner and lipstick. I didn’t know how to apply eyeshadow until youtube came around and I started watching videos and by that time I was in my very late 20’s. I basically took the plunge head first and bought the most vivid blue eyeshadow I could find. I had some trouble blending at first, but practiced my little fingers off and eventually got the placement right and decided it was time to go out with a full on blue look. I don’t remember feeling like I had to have confidence to wear a bold look, it never really crossed my mind until you asked the question. But now that I think back on it, I didn’t care. I felt I was behind in makeup skills and needed to catch up fast and learn. No matter what time of day, whether i’m home doing dishes, or going grocery shopping, I’ll wear a fun bold look. What’s the worst that’s going to happen? Get a compliment or two from strangers. It took me a long time to get my blending skills down and learning color theory, once I got it, I went to town on my peepers and showed them off.

Tina Avatar

Love your website! Can you please let me know what makeup you are wearing in the pic captioned “I say”. all the colors and foind is perfect – just the look I have been searching for. Pls advise and thank you so much

kharanya Avatar

I just stopped looking at other people’s faces when they took in my makeup and did as I pleased! lol

Once my husband doesn’t tell me that he’d embarrassed to be out with me (aka punched in the face eyes look I get with reddish-toned eyeshadows) it’s all good. People don’t really wear much more than natural look makeup here, but I love colour and don’t care for the natural look much, it makes me look washed out.

I don’t overapply colour or use too-pigmented shadows, so I get away with bright colours 🙂

Chris Avatar

It’s never been a big issue for me, because I’ve always liked crazy avant garde things. But for someone who really wants to wear bold makeup, do it. If you don’t, you’ll end up wishing you had. And if anyone gives you a look or doesn’t like it, just remember that it’s not their face to worry about.

M. Avatar

I’ve always had a lot of self-confidence, so it wouldn’t even occur to me not to wear a bold look out in public. I don’t wear makeup around the house, and frequently don’t wear it outside the house either, so there’s not much point in buying loud makeup otherwise.

Meg Avatar

My friends always encourage me to wear bold makeup since they do the same! we all love bright colors and know quite much about makeup… 😀

Keerthi Avatar

I love this question! 🙂
I was a very boring teenager, never experimented or anything so now, in my twenties I’m all for going bold till I can :))

Lark Avatar

Well extreme look is relative. Anything goes in a night club; On the street you’d better own it before you step out in it. And that’s a problem in the land of freeways, very little street fashion.
Twenty five years ago I dyed my hair K&B purple. I mean a serious strip and tone job with a great cut and kept it meticulously Done. Wore mostly purple meticulously kept clothes. It was a Thing, like American South meets Vivienne Westwood; It was also a hit in a struggling small city- except with certain nasty people who I didn’t care about.
Being a model of Southern Respectability with purple hair is a conundrum. But it worked. And I dont remember deciding, just doing. I served as jury foreman. With purple hair.
Which is owning it. If you don’t think about it and aren’t worried it’ll work.

Did you all know Brit Punk was designed by Vivienne Westwood? She had an S&M shop with the guy credited with putting together the Sex Pistols and her hand is all over the whole style! Bondage pants and colored hair and what a lot of people mistake for goth is Westwood designed or styled for a mob of quite educated kids with no future in sight. All the spikes and studs are worn wrong now but I digress. Although all that Hot Topic you used to wear was cheap copies of desecrated early Westwood. Political symbolism, Ducks.
An extreme look comes from somewhere. Know the statement you’re making.

Wren Avatar

I tried on deep, bright purple lipstick at a makeup counter in the mall once. I wanted it for a special occasion, and ended up buying it. But when I went to wipe it off before going back out into the mall, I looked in the mirror and suddenly just didn’t want to. I wanted to wear it. So I did the rest of my shopping with deep, dark, intense purple lips.

So I guess I sort of leaped into the pool rather than easing in inch by inch. It was a weird transition, but it worked for me for some reason. I never really wore anything bold before that. Now, I tend to skip the bold stuff when I go to work, but in my personal life, I’ve been wearing dark lips and bright eyes on a fairly regular basis ever since. I just had to wear it once to get over my fear.

tania Avatar

I go to art school. I’ve seen everything. Lol. A bold look is completely the norm. Outside of art school, I just have fun with it 🙂

I would definitely say start small though…. for those who aren’t used to bold makeup.

tamara Avatar

i LOVE bold makeup. i really do and dont think i’ll ever out grow it, i hope to be one of those glamorous 60 year old’s with the stunning red lips and a martini in hand

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