Strong Eye and Lip Make-Up

Q: Is it true you should mix strong lipstick and eye makeup?
Full Question
I’ve heard that if you wear a strong lipstick colour, you shouldn’t do strong eye makeup and vice versa. Is this true?

Answer
With make-up, there really are no rules written in stone, but as trends change and the years pass, we learn that there can definitely be mishaps (i.e. think 80s make-up)!  What works with make-up on a daily basis is usually a combination of trends (what colours and styles are 'in'), personal preferences (what you feel best in) and situation (think audience appropriate, i.e. at the office vs. a night out on the town).

The focus on either strong lips/eyes theory is more like a preventative measure from having a modern make-up mishap. When we do a look that's too strong on both the lips and the eyes, it can look both dated and overpowering; modern make-up looks tend to focus on subtly enhancing beauty rather than masking one's self with make-up.  When both the eyes and lips are clashing with intense make-up, the attention suddenly becomes drawn toward the strong make-up rather than the face (and the person) it’s applied on!

My suggestion?  The bold looks may work on the runway, but for the realway, choose either the lips or the eyes to do a strong look…and the focus will remain on you rather than on your make-up!