Do you feel (or are you) restricted as to what kind of makeup you can wear? What is the restriction? Work, school, comfort-level?
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Although there are no rules at school, I do feel like bright and bold eye makeup puts me a bit too much in the spotlight, so I don’t do it often! I also feel like others don’t take me as seriously.
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When I was in college, I didn’t wear bold colors. My make-up was pretty light. I still don’t really ever wear bold colors.
At work the atomosphere is pretty conservative, not too surprising at a law firm. I wear neutral/nude colors. I feel if I did wear colors that are bright/bold it would be looked down on since we received an email last month restating the dress code. I also feel I would not be taken seriously. We have casual fridays in which we can wear jeans but I still keep my make-up the same.
I wish I was more comfortable wearing bold colors but I’m not yet. I don’t really like it if it looks very obvious that I have a ton of make-up on. Or the look that I see women with in which it looks like you can glide a finger across their face & have tons of foundation on your finger. I’m trying to get into wearing redish color lipstick but I haven’t made it there yet.
I cannot wear makeup at all at work. I usually bend the rule a bit and wear foundation and a tiny bit of mascara, but I know I shouldn’t.
I go to engineering school, thus most people i must impress (boss + professors + reps from firms) are all old conservative men who wouldnt take me seriously if i was expressively made up and coiffed. while there’s pressure to be well groomed and neat as in most fields; i save the interesting stuff for situations with less professional pressure.
I’m a practicing engineer and I felt like this when I was younger. Now that I’m a little older, I focus on looking polished but also feel I have more freedom. If I want to wear a bold color, I do it subtly with neutrals to balance it out. For example, today I did a neutral eye with Orb, Expensive Pink, Style Snob, and Buckwheat but on my lips I”m wearing Girl About Town for a bright pop of pink. I find I can wear almost any color as long as I coordinate with the right neutrals to keep it from being overwhelming.
im in grad school so pretty much anyting went the past year. when the weather got warmer, i stopped wearing make up daily. not only is it uncomfortable in the heat, the derm meds that im on make it extra unpleasant. applying my eye primer stings now. with internship coming up, bold and crazy looks are out. i have to be toned down and reserved as to not offend clients.
I teach school and some days I don’t even feel like putting on makeup. When I do, it’s usually a neutral look. In the past, I have worn something to go with what I was wearing like maybe purple, green, or even teal. I always blended them with a brown instead of black so that I didn’t look like I was going out afterwards. I try to stay away from the lime greens and electric blues. I don’t think anything will be said, but I like to keep a professional look. I have noticed that other teacher are starting to step out of the box.
I’m a teacher too and though we do not have a specific dresscode, we are to follow professional dress. I’m one of the younger teachers so I definitely want to be taken seriously by my collegues. I do neutrals and neutral greens but haven’t been brave enough to even try purples. My favorite shades are neutral so I’m never disappointed.
Since I work corporate I have to be somewhat conservative with my makeup. Though typically I tend to not wear any or just eyeliner/mascara. On Fridays we have casual day and I can wear whatever I like though I don’t go too bright because it’s a bit ostentatious.
My restriction is age. I feel that I can’t wear the same make-up anymore as when I was 20. As you get over 35, bright, bold colors or too much glitter just doesn’t look flattering anymore. I’ve noticed that I look better in soft neutrals like beige/pink/peach that give me a subtle healthy glow.
I tend to do a minimal face most of the days I go to school (hello, 7 o’ clock?!), meaning foundation, powder, mascara and blush. If I do find myself exceptionally bright and sunny, I’ll go for a more outspoken look but nothing too bold (pastel pink, muted grey, browns…).
I avoid bold looks because (like Christine) I feel it draws attention too much and people don’t take me seriously (especially the teachers; they’ve sort of associated make up with ignorance and talking loudly during class).
When I’m out with friends, I’ll jazz up my daytime look by adding shimmer, more blush or a bolder colour. And of course, things get really smokey for a night out on the town… 🙂
Yes!!! I’m a stay-at-home for the most part, and it’s been the same routine forever. There’s not a lot of choice when you’re going to the park or practice! But I’m also a make-up artist, so I can really play it up when I’m with clients and if course when I go out with my husband, which is rare. I wish I had more chances to wear different looks/colors. Sometimes after the kids are in bed, I’ll make myself up only to wash it all off and call it a night. My husband thinks I’m crazy!
I do exactly the same before I take a bath! It’s just so much fun, right? 🙂
I think me being a 31 year-old, NW15/20 oily skinned, light grey blue-eyed blonde is the restriction: I can’t wear TOO a) bright b) glittery c) dark and d) warm colours. But I do like natural sophisticated makeup so it’s all good 🙂
Well I’m still young, and still in high school so I feel like I have a lot of freedom. I wear some pretty crazy colors to school, and try out new techniques during the week. Nobody minds, my friends (and even my teachers) compliment my makeup often. I feel very comfortable being bold.
I used to be more daring with my color choices when I was younger and in school. As I’ve gotten older and have a full time job I stick with neutrals or light pastels. I only do a bold look for fun on the weekend.
at work I wear no or minimal makeup, I’m not confortable with too much makeup usually anyway.
I don’t really “follow” restrictions. I’m not working yet so i have no straight rules to follow. Then, I just don’t give myself rules because I think make up is made to play with and that there should be no restrictions around it
Because I work in an office setting, I wear mostly neutral shades. Every now and then, I will wear soft washes of color like, lavender, orange, yellow, or a cranberry color(paired with brown to tone it down some). I haven’t attempted to wear blues or greens yet;although, I did do a vivid green look for St. Paddy’s day. =)
geez I wrote this long post and lost it..LOL..well to sum it up..I wish i was bord to wear those wild colors..but i am stuck in a natural phase which i love, since im a new mom and i just go to work..dont hang out much these days..but im not yet bold enough to do these bright colors…
Hello everybody!
I’m a fashionable young woman from Austria/Europe. Even tough I live in a (more or less) big City, wearing nice Makeup including Eyeshadow is NOT very often seen in the Streets.
The typical austrian woman wears a ponytail, a little bit of mascara and thats it.
As I prefer the whole package (including foundation, powder, blush, shadow, liner, lipstick), lots of people and also collegues at office look at me like I’m kind of exotic…
Yes and no. I am one of the more “fashionable” women in our company so I always have people watching what I am wearing. So that in itself is a little uncomfortable but because we are business casual you will see people wearing color to coordinate with their outfits but not like you would wear to a club.
My restriction to what makeup I wear is my oily skin. Because I can get so oily, I can’t wear cream blushes or highlighters — neither can I wear blush with any amount of shimmer (it would only bring attention to the shine and accentuate large pores). I do use the blot papers, etc — but I have to be very careful about what foundation, powder, and blush I can use.
very natural eye while i’m at work but going out I tend to stay away from teals & blues.
I remember in high school I was a lot bolder w/my makeup.. Now that I’m in college… I feel like its too much of a hassle to put a full look on- there are sooo many other things I have/want to do (i.e. SLEEP). Also, I think I’m just more comfortable in my own skin now where I feel that I don’t need the works on a day to day basis. But, I have a lot of friends that now wear more makeup than they did before whereas I toned it down a lot… Plus, like another commenter, I’m also an engineering student. In a male-dominated major/field it’s already hard to be taken seriously and the makeup doesn’t help much there at all.
I agree with Christine completely. I also work with kids so if you wear anything bright you always get “why are you dressed up like a clown” ;P So if I wear colors I tend to stick to one pop of color on the lid.
If anything, sometimes I feel restricted as to what brand of makeup I can wear to work. I have worked in cosmetics for the past 3 years, first as a counter manager for Origins, then as a part-timer for Clarins, and currently as a full-timer for Lancome. So I have to make sure even if everything I use is not Lancome, colors have to be pretty similar to something that we carry. Except for my Natural Flair Loose Beauty Powder from MAC, they can fire me for that one! 😉
They can fire you for that? Seriously? That stinks! Meanwhile, MAC artists use Ben Nye on their models and create a face chart with all MAC products. 😉
My job involves lots of heavy lifting and changes in temperature (hello freezer stocking!), but I also interact with the public, I tend just to wear mineral foundation, blush and mascara. Sometimes, I’ll put more on, but most of the time, the simple the better. Plus, even if the makeup wears off, it is natural so it doesn’t look bad – I’m lucky to have good skin.
Yep. I’m studying to be a pharmacist so I’m restricted in makeup, choice of clothing, hair style, and hair color. Boo.
I am a 41 y.o. who just started wearing eyeshadow this year. Middle aged woman crisis i guess…ha ha. I can’t believe i never wore it until now! I am having so much fun trying out new colors but do restrict myself from the bright bold colors. They are definately not me.
No, I buy and wear what I like. *shrugs*
Not really. I am 35 now and if I can’t wear stuff now, I don’t think I can ever will. So I am embracing everything and enjoy anything. lol
I used to have no fear of bold colors, but lately I realize that I look very clownish and Joan Crawford-y in bright colors. I tend to go for smokey eye makeup in understated versions of normally bright shades like violet, teal, bronze. When I do wear a bright eye (like MAC Bitter on lid with Newly Minted on outer lid and crease) I make sure it doesn’t go far at all above the crease, with less black liner than normal and natural cheeks and lips. 🙂
I wear bright colors sometimes, even to work. Makeup is so much fun for me and I really don’t care what other people think. My colleagues have worked with me long enough to know my work style and ethic where I don’t think I’d be judged by the makeup amount or colors I wear.
I’m a stay-at-home mum, so the only places I go to most days is school/nursery (taking and collecting children), playgroups, friends’ houses and the shops, but I still wear make up every day and my eye make up is almost always bright and colourful. I also always wear primer, powder, blush, lipstick/lipgloss. I have had many compliments on my looks, and noone has ever said anything on the contrary, so I just do what I want. I’m 33, so old yet, I don’t have to conform to some firm’s guidelines, and I love colours, so I enjoy wearing them on my eyes/face/lips too.
It’s funny actually, I wear a lot more colourful make up now than I did when I was in school/college, finally I am my own boss, lol.
I don’t feel too restricted in any situation. At school, I go completely nuts, because no one cares. I’m an English major, so I don’t have to hide my cooky self. I don’t think I could handle a job where I had to do that anyway. I work at a clothing retailer, so I am restricted a bit in what I wear there, but not with my makeup. I get compliments from managers and customers regarding my makeup on most days. If you consider hair color makeup, then I definitely feel restricted. I miss my hot pink hair. lol
I don’t follow the restrictions of makeup at any situation. Once in awhile, I’ll do a bright fun look but most of the time I wear neutrals since they are my everyday thing.
my school has a rule against distracting makeup and hair (though I can get away with pink hair for some reason…) and it seems that no one ventures in the world of makeup, so when i wear even winged eyeliner, it’s a big deal. I’ve tried wearing bold colors before, but that was even worse. so i just try to incorporate it somehow with my neutral looks.
for for work and school I usually just stick to any light taupey colour, since I like how it makes my eye colour pop. I don’t like wearing really heavy makeup though, just natural looking(:
i’ve never actually tried any “bold” looks, the most I did was wearing purples
When I was teaching I stuck to neutrals, but always had on foundation, mascara and a little gloss. When I worked at an internet company, they had a casual dress code so I did my makeup anyway I wanted, although I did curb a little of my goth type colors like Bing – too bold for even casual wear! Now, since I am a freelance writer and makeup artist I am my own boss and can do anything I darn well please! I love bold colors – especially red lips!
I’m 20, and I wish I had more occasions to wear bold red lipstick, or sophisticated makeup! I’m go to a engineering school as well, and I usually wear light foundation, lipgloss or a sheer lipstick. I do get crazy with nail polish, and wear whatever I want everytime!
I work at a call center and we don’t really have a dress code, so I wear whatever makeup I want. I always dress professional but sometimes I wear some fancy bright green eyeshadow.
Since I work as an MA I can pretty much do what I want as long as its not too far from the aesthetic of the brand. I am supposed to wear all Armani but sometimes I do slip in a little YSL and Lancome (at least they’re all owned by Loreal now) and of course the occasional MAC, because I love my Cockney l/s. Days that I don’t work I either go with very minimal makeup or if I’m going out, play with some fun new looks.
I work for MAC so I can really wear whatever I want.. but most days I prefer neutrals or darker colours for my eyes, or bright lips. I used to love crazy bright eyeshadow colours but I don’t feel like I can pull them off like I did when I was in my teens or make them look as polished as I want.
I love black/vampy nail polish, either dark or bright red lipsticks and dark smokey eyes (not all at once!) However I do work in a fairly conservative male-dominated environment (especially at my level) so I have to be fairly conservative for work. Now that I’ve been here a few years though, I am starting to get a *bit* more bold. For example, in grad school I wore red lipstick on Fridays, which is something I’ve just recently started at work. Nothing too bright or too dark, but still a bit more bold than I normally wear the rest of the week. Sometimes I do a bolder eye (not always on purpose though!) When I have to meet with clients though all bets are off and I go for ultra conservative. Hey, at least I’m one of the few women at work that knows how to use concealer:) I hardly ever go out, but when I do, I focus on the eyes – easier than trying to maintain a bright red lipstick through dinner and drinks! I often put on bright red lipstick when I come home from work though. Just for me and my husband and I don’t care if it all comes off with dinner!
I’m 20 years old and at my job I must be in dress code. So I choose to have a little more fun with my shoes (sneakers mostly, because i can’t show any part of my foot) and my makeup. some love it, some hate it. in my opinion its the only way for me to be myself and let my personality show, and if someone doesn’t like it, then oh well! i don’t do it for them, i do it for me! 🙂 the only thing i don’t do for work is lips, because i don’t have a chance to reapply/ touch up when necessary!
I’m only restricted somewhat when I’m at work, because I need to look “professional” — which means my extremely gothic or super-bright and unconventional clubbing makeup need to stay at home during the week. But on the weekends, anything goes!
My limitations are;
ALL THE TIME: Sensitive skin/Eyes (limiting what brands/products i can use).
MON-FRIDAY: Work – Whilst I work in an office, the girls dress code is rather relaxed – ie, black pants and a shirt, or jumper etc. I tend to wear only netural colours (and that was only a few times a week), but then I decided that I have SO MUCH make up – I better make the most out of it, so today I am wearing a bold bronze look… and I’m going to wear my bright colours lightly.
Lots of other girls wear blues and green eyeshadows – it’s just their pigmentation is crap so they can wear them.
WEEKEND: Time is my limitation on weekends.
My bf is always saying I take too long to do my makeup on the weekend so I’ve stopped wearing bold colours because they take longer to do effectively.
Not at all!! I pretty much wear whatever I want to work. I have lots of tattoos and piercings and stop-sign red hair so when I walk in with orange eyeliner and hot pink and yellow eye shadow nobody really says anything. I wear my glitters and pigments to work as well as whatever color nail polish I want which is usually sparkly black or purple.
Not really. When I’m at church, I tend to do neutrals or neutrals with a bright eye shadow. I’m not working yet, but I think I’d go much the same way. If I’m out shopping or seeing my boyfriend, I will do something brighter or time consuming anyways.
I keep it VERY neutral for work, and I have a bit more freedom for uni, but I dont feel like I can wear bright colours on the eyes without feeling like Im trying too hard. That being said I love me some lipstain and gloss 🙂
These responses are interesting to read.
I’m a college student and I work in a bookstore on the weekends. During the week it depends on class times, but I do everything from minimal to bold. Work is slightly different. Our dress code is “business casual” but most of us dress comfy or cutesy, depending on age or mood. Most days I do cutesy and do my makeup to match. That can range from neutral to bold. I mostly stick to neutral, but have occasionally gone bold and I’ve found that I get the most compliments on bolder looks. People still seem to take me seriously, in spite of the bolder looks as well.
I think when I start working in an office, I’ll have to start off with neutrals. But I think once you become more established it’s ok to start getting bolder and more creative.
I LOVE MAKEUP AND I LOVE MAC BUT IM A EMT AND I CANNOT WEAR MAKEUP BECAUSE SOME PEOPLE OR PATIENTS I WORK ON MIGHT TAKE IT A LITTLE OFFENSIVELY PLUS SWEATING WITH MAKEUP ON EWWIE LOL
I LOVE BOLD BRIGHT COLORS IM NOT AFRAID TO WEAR ANYTHING