Using Color Creatively

It’s no secret that I’m a big advocate of wearing makeup that is not only age-appropriate, but situation-appropriate as well – meaning toning down the glitter or the thick liner for school, work, family events, etc. This does not mean, however, that “appropriate” means “boring.” Personally, I cannot seem to get myself to stay away from color, no matter if I’m going to work or doing freelance makeup work, or even just hanging out with my family or friends on the weekends (yes, I hang out with my family. They are cool people. You will understand how cool your family is when you are older, I promise). Granted, I don’t wear as much as I would if I were going out with my girlfriends or having dinner with my boyfriend (ok, he’s my husband, but I want to sound cool and hip here!), but you’d be surprised at how you can still work a pop of color into your everyday makeup routine to ramp up your look without crossing over into “inappropriate” territory. I am going to pretend like the girl on the left is not Stefani Pratt cause I could seriously care less about her, her brother, her brother’s wife, or any of those crazy idiots on the Hills or whatever show that is about all those rich kids who are famous for doing nothing. HOWEVER. The addition of a swipe of blue eyeliner to the bottom water line really makes the blue of her eyes stand out, and it’s an unexpected addition of color that also adds interest. In Ashanti’s case, the blue looks beautiful against her darker skin tone and adds definition to the shape of her eye that you may not notice if her liner were just black or brown. A little color in the outside corner of the eyes is always fun, or I also like to take a thin angled brush and swipe some color under my bottom lash line – purples, blues, greens…just don’t apply too heavily. Eyeliner is not meant to be black or brown all the time! I know I’ve advised you to keep a neutral color palatte for school/work, and you should, BUT…a little punch of color never hurt anyone. That I know of.