The Bohemian Barbie: August 2010

As a teenager - a few years before I started seriously learning about makeup, I had a makeup lesson at a spa as a birthday treat. I can't remember if I really picked up anything useful (Not that the beautician wasn't very good - just that I already knew quite a lot myself and the 'lesson' was more geared toward someone that didn't know the difference between a blush and a mascara!)

One thing I can remember though, is that she told me that I was very lucky to have blue eyes, because I could wear any eyeshadow colour I wanted - except blue or green. I remember wondering 'Well, WHY shouldn't I?' - I could understand why blue eyeshadow might not be the best idea with blue eyes. Just like you wouldn't wear a whole outfit of one colour, I could see how too much blue on blue might be overkill - but why not SOME blue, with another colour? Would I be breaking some kind of makeup law? Would everyone think I looked ridiculous even if I thought I looked ok? (As for why I couldn't wear green eye shadow with blue eyes - I still haven't worked that out!)

A long time has passed since then and I've learnt A LOT more about makeup - and I have even less idea about why there are so many 'rules' about what colours you can and can't wear together and with each eye colour. To be honest - if someone tells me I 'can't' or 'shouldn't' do something (and I can't understand any logical reason why not) then it makes me want to do it even more! (Even as I type I wondering if I'll try to do a look using only different shades of blue tomorrow just for the hell of it!).

As a makeup artist (and notorious beauty enthusiast amongst my friends) I get asked all the time what kind of look I would 'recommend' for them, or they show me a picture from a magazine and tell me they love the makeup but know they could never carry it off...Well, no, a lot of the time, (if its a very dramatic, editorial look) they probably couldn't, neither could I - in fact, if you saw the model in the photo walking down the street, wearing that makeup you would think she was insane! But there is absolutely no reason why you can't take that picture or look and use it as inspiration for a more 'wearable', 'toned down' version.

Basically, if you like it, try it! Its makeup, its ART! Play with it. As with all art - there are no do's and don'ts. Not everyone likes all art, we all have different tastes and we all have different styles. If something doesn't work and you don't like it...wash it off and start again!

Anyway...the reason I got to thinking about eyeshadow colours and eye colour was because someone asked me to do a look 'for brown eyes'. My first thought was 'Do any look you feel like. If you like it, what does it matter?' Then I started brain storming ideas and realised that actually, although there really are no 'Looks for Brown Eyes ONLY' or 'Looks for *insert your eye colour* Eyes ONLY' there are some things you can do to emphasise and intensify your eye colour by using complimentary colours. *Insert long-ass lesson about colour wheels that I can't be bothered to go into*

Any who...Ta da...A look to intensify brown eyes...