by Blake Herzog
The world of beauty is built on trends and rules, and with the rate things are changing today it can be almost reassuring to fall back on the bedrock rules that seem to hang on.
But if you’re searching for an exit ramp from the treadmill or simply wanting to shake things up a little, consider turning some of these no-nos into sparkling green lights! q
Natural eyebrows
The bias toward slender, arched eyebrows left many a woman feeling like she was sporting caterpillars on her face if she didn’t get them waxed, plucked, threaded or trimmed every couple of weeks.
Then around the time we started masking, the tide turned, and everyone was abruptly urged to thicken those brows via microblading or lamination.
But with few exceptions we’re born with the most flattering brows to frame our peepers, so maybe it’s time to go with the flow on this one.
Multiple facial foci
Most of us know the rule of thumb of picking one area of the face, generally the eyes or lips, to lavish with color and intensity.
Still, choosing complementary hues for our bold lips and smokey eyes can add up to a ravishingly dramatic presence that draws your face into a gorgeous whole.
Chipped nails
Artfully chipped nail polish has occasionally cycled into the edges of style over the last 15 years or so, courtesy of epochs like the Olsen twins’ grunge in 2008 and a Rhianna spread in Vogue Italia last year.
When your manicure starts to fray at the edges it’s not necessarily a cosmetic emergency. But once you’ve lost more than a quarter of any nail’s surface paint it’s pretty much game over.
Glitter overload
Glitter can be overdone, but it’s harder to achieve than you may assume. A dash of sparkle on your eyelids and a light-to-moderate dusting over the rest of your face and even decolletage can give you an infectiously bright vibe that accentuates your positives.
Shimmer after 40
“Shimmer” usually means eyeshadow made of smaller fragments that produce a more subtle effect; more of a shine than a sparkle.
Some so-called experts try to warn women age 40 and older away from this look on the grounds it will accentuate wrinkles.
If you lay down a matte base color before spreading on the shimmer, you’ll look as alluring as ever.
