Lifestyle

The 10 Beauty 'Rules' People Live By That We Need To Let Go Of

by Fernanda Calvo

For years, beauty lovers everywhere have been haunted by 'rules' that keep us from rocking certain makeup looks.

We're constantly preoccupied with the fear of being judged or made fun of for not following these beauty commandments, but have any of us stopped to think about who made up these rules up anyway?

Yes, I know some makeup artists are basically living gods and goddesses to us, but why must we let them dictate what we should or should not put on our faces?

It's time to debunk these myths and do whatever the heck we please when it comes to our beauty routines. Makeup is a form of expression after all, and it's time to start a makeup liberation movement (or at least not feel bad about wearing tons of glitter).

Here are 10 beauty "rules" we need to let go of immediately:

1.Thou shalt not wear bright, red lipstick (particularly if you're dark).

Smashbox

Women — particularly women of color — are terrified of rocking a bold, red lip. Some women believe they don't have the right skin tone for such a bright shade.

But whoever said darker women shouldn't wear bright red lipstick is a complete fool.

There's nothing sexier than a woman with red lipstick. Red lips are sensual and timeless, and they'll never be uncool. So NEVER be afraid of rocking red lipstick — it looks good on everyone!

2.Thou shalt not combine dramatic eyes and bold lips.

Urban Decay

Uh, no. If I want to go Cleopatra on my eyes and Marilyn Monroe on my lips, that's my God-given right.

Dramatic eyes look awesome with bold lips. Sophia Loren did it, and so did Liz Taylor. If they did it, so can we.

3.Thou shalt not leave your house without contouring the bejeezus out of your face.

Anastasia Beverly Hills

Let's talk about contouring. Yes, everyone is doing it, HOWEVER, some people literally fear leaving their houses without having contoured their face.

I get it. You want your face to be perfect. But can we just sit and chat about how perfect your face is already, without having contoured?

A few lines of makeup here and there to mask “imperfections” are fine, but when people start feeling like they have to full-on contour to go buy some groceries, well, that's where I draw the line.

Makeup is about expression. It's supposed to make you feel empowered, but not having makeup on should never make you feel any less beautiful than you already are.

We should all learn to appreciate our features just as they are. And hey, if we have some extra time, then we can contour, contour, CONTOUR.

4.Thou shalt not go around with eyebrows not on fleek.

Anastasia Beverly Hills

Eyebrows frame our faces. Some of us were born with amazing ones, and some of us were born with almost no eyebrows to show at all.

If you want to draw them in, fill them in, tattoo them on or do whatever you want to make your eyebrows more obvious, go for it.

But if you want to do absolutely nothing at all to your eyebrows, more power to you! Do you, feel good about it, and at the end of the day, who cares what all the magazines and vloggers have to say about it?

5. Thou shalt pick a hair color that goes with your skin tone.

All women go through this: We all get tired of the same old hair color, and we experiment.

Experimentation is awesome, and guess what? If you don't like your experiment, there are endless ways to correct it. And who's to say only certain colors look good on certain people?

I know every hair stylist who reads this will scream bloody murder, but it's true. Being extra pale and dyeing your hair black is just as awesome as being extra brown and dyeing your hair platinum.

There shouldn't be any rules for this, but we've been conditioned to think that there are. Experiment away, m'ladies!

6. Thou shalt not wear glitter.

Urban Decay

OK, so most people think glitter and anything shiny are only for 14 year olds. But, if you like it, there's no reason not to wear it!

With Coachella just around the corner, I personally feel like wearing glitter all the time. It's fun, it's cute and it makes you stand out.

7. Thou shalt not wear makeup if you're a dude.

If you think men can't wear makeup on a daily basis, let me just say, it's 2017, and you need to get over it.

8. Thou shalt not wear frosted lipstick, lip gloss that's too shiny or over-line your lips.

Urban Decay

If you like a frosted look, you should do a frosted look. If you like a wet look for your lips, go for it. If you like to line your lips like crazy, do it, sister!

Any "rule" that says otherwise is made up. And there's no need to follow it if doing this makes you feel beautiful.

9. Thou shalt not wear flower crowns, mermaid crowns or any over-the-top hair accessory.

At this point, I think you can guess what I'm going to say regarding hair accessories. It's your hair, and if you'd like to put a Christmas tree in it, you shouldn't let anyone stop you.

10. Thou shalt only get a French manicure or red nails because any other color looks trashy.

Nails Inc.

With the wide array of colors that exist, why stick to just one or two? Go crazy with your nail colors as often as you want to.

At the end of the day, anything you do beauty-wise is your choice and your choice only. So if there's something you've wanted to add to your beauty routine that people have warned you against (for superficial reasons), do it anyway.

You'll rock it no matter what.