Ten Makeup Rules Made To Be Broken!

by BR Tabatha

What's the similarity between cooking and applying makeup? When you first start you ought to follow the rules. Following the rules in cooking means you get to understand how flavours blend together, and how textures work to enjoy the mouth feel of a meal. Meanwhile, fllowing the rules in the makeup world means you get a good understanding of what your skin can handle, what colours suit you, what looks work versus which really don't. But much like cooking, once you've got the basics down, you can start to experiment. So what makeup rules are made to be broken? 

Is It Really A Crime Not To Prime?

If you've been around here long enough, you'll know that at one time the Beauty Review Crew were all about the priming. We couldn't imagine skipping that step in our makeup routine. These days? If we're in a hurry, or only popping on makeup for a few hours, we'll skip the step and just apply a rich, hydrating moisturiser as our face base.

Go Bold

How often do we hear that if you've going to go bold you should only do so in one spot - on your eyes or on your lips. Bah humbug to that. A bold eye and a bold lip together can be beautiful. Make it monochromatic or shake it up with a clash of colours.

Bronze It Up

Beauty beginners will often stick to bronzing up their cheek area for a simple sun-kissed look, but should you apply bronzer elsewhere? Absolutely! While I'd avoid a shimmery bronze along the jaw line because that's an area you're most likely wanting to see recede rather than draw attention to, bronzer on the top of your forehead, dusted across your nose and even around your temples can be gorgeous.

Shucks, I'm Blushing!

'Smile. See those fleshy pads? Those are the apples of your cheeks. That's where you put blush.' Or not.

The thing is blush is best when it's applied to suit your face shape, which means while the apples of your cheeks is usually a safe place to put it, sometimes you might want to go higher up towards your temples, or closer to your ears. Blush is also super cute dusted on the bridge of the nose, and one that's red in tone can look great on the top of your forehead as well as across the bridge of your nose to give you that 'spent a day on the slopes' slightly sunburned look.

Mix It Up!

Got a foundation that's not quite the right tone? Don't be afraid to mix in a different shade to custom make a shade. Got a foundation that's a bit thick? Add a little drop of oil or a blob of moisturiser to sheer it out. The worst that can happen? It doesn't look great, in which case you can wash it off.

The Perfect Match

Speaking of creating a foundation to suit your skin tone, traditionally when choosing the 'right' shade you match it to the skin along your jawline. However, you don't have to. If you're a self-tan fan, then you could be better off matching your foundation to the colour of your body.

Make It Metallic

I don't know who said you can't wear metallic eyeshadow during the day, but they're wrong. I wear metallic eyeshadow every single day and the makeup police have yet to lock me up and throw away the key.

Shimmer And Shine

Think you're too oily to wear highlighter? Pfft. Dust the sparkly pretties upon the tops of your cheekbones, on the areas above your brows, on your Cupid's bow, or even on the tip of your nose. If it gives you a case of the happies, do it! And if you're worried about your oil coming through then use mattifying products, and carry blotting papers to catch any excess that might crop up through the day. Shine bright my crazy diamonds!

Go Off Road With Contour

When learning to contour it's a good idea to work with the shape of your face to emphasise the areas you love. However, there's nothing wrong with shaking things up and trying out different contours for face shapes other than you own. Makeup is an art, and the peaks and valleys of our face is our canvas.

Buck The Trends!

Are muted colours all the rage? Rage against them by going uber colourful. Is the trend to go bold? Neutral it up. Even better? Ignore the trends. You do you. And that, my darlings, is the one makeup rule I follow no matter what. You do you. Or in my case, I'll do me.

So, are you a makeup-wearing rebel? What rules do you love to break? Or do you stick to the tried and true? And, if so, are you now tempted to walk on the wild side? Get chatting below!