The 4 Biggest Beauty Mistakes & How to Avoid Them
Wearing white to a wedding, sandals with socks, denim on denim… Most of us know that these are big fashion “don’ts” and we all probably avoid them with ease. However, I see so many girls who have a killer outfits yet commit some cardinal beauty crimes that make them look trashy when they could look spectacular.
Here are the four biggest mistakes you can make, beauty-wise, and how to avoid them:
1. Roots
Although I have dark brown hair, I’d always dreamed of going blonde. This dream of mine quickly evaporated the day I sat behind a particular girl in American Government class. The ends of her hair were a beautiful butter color, but the top-half of her hair was the exact same chocolate shade as mine! She wasn’t trying to make a statement; She just hadn’t gone to a colorist in a few months. Not only do roots just plain look bad, they also (to me) signify laziness and a lack of personal care.
Avoid this by: Well, for one thing, if you’re away at school and don’t have a good colorist in your area, hold off on drastically changing your color! If you’re lucky enough to have a good hairdresser close by, make sure to go in as often as you see your natural color peeking through the top of your head, which is different for all of us. Don’t have the time/resources to do this? Then Clariol Nice ‘n Easy Root Touch-up ($6 at most drugstores) will be your saving grace!
2. Orange Skin
I applaud all of you who have a from-the-bottle tan instead of a skin-damaging natural tan. That being said, there is almost NOTHING worse than orange skin. You probably see girls around campus daily who sport this unattractive shade all over their arms, legs and face.
Avoid this by: If you do decide to fake tan from the bottle, make sure to use a product that will not turn you orange! My personal favorite is St. Tropez Self-Tan Bronzing Lotion ($40 for 8 fl. oz at Sephora) because it delivers a perfect brown color that’s never tangerine or streaky. Also, make sure to exfoliate before you apply any kind of tanning lotion! I’d also avoid Mystic Tan, as I’ve never seen that look good on any of my friends.
3. Foundation Line
Picture this: you’re at a party, talking to your hostess friend, and realize that there’s something wrong with her face. After five minutes of intently studying her eyeliner, shadow and blush, you realize that her face is about 2 shades lighter than her body. Right where her jaw meets her neck, there is a literal line that separates her skin into two different colors. This mistake is something a lot of girls make unknowingly and, luckily, is easy to fix.
Avoid this by: Next time you’re at MAC or CVS picking up new foundation, consider buying your shade AND one shade lighter and/or darker. Think about it: depending on your weekly activities, your skin might be darker or lighter than that day you went to Sephora and bought the perfect color. By mixing your usual foundation with the next shade darker/lighter, you’re guaranteeing perfect coverage that matches your exact skin tone.
4. Too Much Makeup
I’m all for experimenting with make-up, and, since we’re in college, we can all try out pink glittery eyeshadow or bright red lipstick – why not? But some girls take the “I’m-only-young-once” thing to heart and go all out at once. Girls who do this are, as Cher in Clueless says, “Monets.” As in, they look good from far away but look like a hot mess when you get up close.
Avoid this by: Focusing on one feature! Whether it’s your eyes, lips, skin… Well, that’s up to you. Don’t pair a dramatic eye with a bold lip a la Christina Aguilera above (who really is gorgeous without all that makeup). Instead, rock a nude lip with dark eyes or less eyeshadow with a bold lip and let your natural beauty shine through.
What do you guys think?
What do you guys think? What do you think are the biggest beauty mistakes? And how do you avoid the mistakes I listed above? Let me know in the comments!
Posted on on November 25, 2009 / Filed Under: Beauty & Hair / Tags: Beauty, foundation line, hair color, How To, mistake, mistakes, orange skin, roots, self tanner, Tips
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Allison
I made the mistake of dying my mouse-brown hair very light blonde, without taking into account the fact that I couldn’t afford to get an all-over touch up every month. Finally I saved up the money to get some highlights to blend it all together, but ohhh my gosh it was embarrassing for a while.
Miriam
I Totally agree on all of them
I love your blog so much guys.
Katherine
“I applaud all of you who have a from-the-bottle tan instead of a skin-damaging natural tan.”
No offense, but this part could be considered a bit racist… My “natural tan” comes from my genes and I love my olive complexion. Some of us don’t have to slather oil on our bodies and bake in the sun to achieve that tanned look. I can bask in the rays for 10 minutes (long enough to get my dose of Vitamin D) and have a nicer-looking skin color than any of my friends who use sprays or other artificial means.
S.
lol “monets”. brilliant reference.
Jess
HAha Love this post. I use to be the one with too much make up on and the foundation not matching. Thank god I learned how to put make up on. :)
P.S.
@Katherine, I’m not trying to attack you so please don’t feel like I am. I just want to know, why would that be racist?
I think she was just saying, many women are tanning with the sun and tanning beds, and that can be very damaging. I don’t think she was saying that a natural tan is skin damaging. I have friends who are pretty tan naturally yet, they continue to go to tanning bed to get a darker tan.
Reneé
Ah I realize I don’t do these mistakes :) I’ve always hated the roots and thats why I don’t ever dye my hair :) and others about make up I don’t do them cuz I love natural looks so I dont use orange powder and do too much make up Thank God haha :D nice post!
Tara
I think what Katherine meant was that it implied that anyone with ‘natural tan’ instead of ‘from the bottle tan’ had to have achieved it from tanning salons or baking forever in the sun. As someone coming from Tsimshian [native] background, I’ve run into a lot of people who assumed that I tan regularly at a salon to achieve my skin tone. Truth is I’ve never used one and never had to, I can tan even when its cloudy out.
As for beauty mistakes I’ve made, it’s definitely the roots one XD I dye my hair every 3-6ish months and tend to let the roots grow out in the in between coloring phases. Mostly to give my hair a bit of a break.
Kelsey
This is a great article! Whenever I see one of these mistakes I always cringe. The one that I hate the most is excessive make-up, instead of enhancing looks it simple looks overkill. Also, at my old high school all the girls had these terrible fake/orange tans in the winter in New England! It only looked bad in my opinion and also out of season.
Coco
The too much make up is such a big mistake I see so many girls do. It’s really unattractive to look like you have cake frosting all of your face.
alexandra
i used to be guilty of the makeup and roots one! i have since found salvation =)
Norah
I have to say, Im lucky enough to have a naturally tanned complexion based on genes :P although to be honest… i really dont like the tanned look… i mean some girls okay its clear that its because of their background when they look tanned in the middle of winter… but i always find it a little odd to see so many girls walking around campus as the snow falls looking like they spent the last month tanning in the tropics… it looks unnatural… and to be honest i dont understand why soo many pplz want the tanned look… I have always been jealous of people with a paler complexion and think its very pretty, elegant and eye catching when embraced.
I have to say though the biggest mistake and to this day I cant help but smile when i see it … is foundation thats way to dark. Its way more obvious than foundation that is to light and unlike a bottled tan… it looks like you have foundation caked on to your face. and yet sooooo many girls do it.
I say embrace your natural skin tone and find what works with it!
jojo
I love this post girls!
I especially agree with the make up one. I wear make up, but I don’t overdo it. I think it looks clown-ish if you take a picture and your make-up overpowers you … above all, I think it looks trashy.
I’ve also noticed that if I go out, I get hit on more when I’m wearing minimal make up … coincidence? I don’t know, but it’s happened more than once … who knows.
I think skin care is definitely more important than wearing make up, because if you have nice skin … you don’t really NEED much make up.
I don’t know if I’m just one of those natural girls, but I only ever cake my makeup on Halloween! I know other girls that wear more makeup than I do on Halloween on a regular basis, and that’s just sad!
Amber
Roots can be skunky on some people but it can’t always be helped.
I get my highlights done very thin so that they blend in and don’t look like pink hair on top of crap like in that picture.
just sayinn
Jaime
I really enjoyed this article. Those are some fashion mistakes I see made frequently around campus.
Madeleine Fahlbusch
I think this was very helpful and covered all of the biggest beauty mistakes that I see some people make on a daily basis. I think the mismatching foundation is a really big beauty mistake. I’m very lucky, I have very pale skin and it’s not because I never go outside or anything, I could be outdoors for five hours and not tan, I’ve self diagnosed myself tanorexic so all I have to do is pick out one of the lightest foundation colors and I’m good to go because my skin tone simply doesn’t change.
Maria
great article! and i absolutely agree with jojo! if you have nice skin, you don’t really need much make up. perhaps a little dose of lipgloss and eyeliner…
i’ve never done any of these mistakes, though. i love my hair color (black) and I’m fine with my skin color, and for the make up things.. well, i don’t own that much make up to overdo them! lol.
Kath
“I have always been jealous of people with a paler complexion and think its very pretty, elegant and eye catching when embraced.”
I love that you said that Norah! After years of being teased about my fair skin I’ve grown to love it. I also have very dark hair so I love to throw on some red lipstick and channel my inner Dita Von Teese.
Lauren M
I have a question about the St. Tropez Self-Tan Bronzing Lotion. How long does the color last? And how often do you have to apply it? Is it the kind where you build up the color over time, or do you have color right away?
juni
Well I believe using cosmetics is another mistake that people generally commit. You should use natural and gentle products on skin. Ayurvedic products are particularly good for skin. They are ready to use packed products like cosmetic ones and are safe. Try Chandra’s Ayurvedic collection. I bet you’ll definitely be benefited. http://www.veria.com/newsletter/chandra/chandra.html. Its its to buy and on a discounted price in the festival season. I regularly use its almond apricot face mask. It keeps my skin rejuvenated.
Erica
Roots is definently the biggest mistake I see on college girls. I’m not saying I’m always right on top of touching up my hair, but I don’t understand how some people can walk around with such obvious roots and not realise how bad it looks!!!
Ashley
this was extremely helpful..i died my hair blonde in 7th grade..and lets just say by the time i got back to the salon my hair was more brown than blonde..yikes.
but for Katherine..that CANNOT be considered racist..at all.
thats one of the dumbest things ive ever heard.