If a Good Friend's Makeup is Unflattering, Do You Tell Her?

[cno64]

Quote:

Originally Posted by LMD84 i told her if she's in a run powder doesnt take as much blending. she listened and now her cheeks look lovely!

You should consider a career in diplomacy!

Instead of telling your friend, "Those clown spots look godawful; you're an embarrassment! Don't you know how to put on blush?" you made it clear that you were assuming that she *does* know how to put on blush, but was merely too pressed for time to be able to blend it as well as she'd like to.
Good advice on achieving a polished look in the minimum amount of time is something we can all appreciate!
When a friend of mine consistently wears an unflattering color and/or application, I typically say nothing, but when she wears a different look that *is* flattering, I compliment her to the skies, hoping that will give her a hint.

 

[cno64]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sharkbytes My mother, too, gets the bold-faced truth from me, and it's appreciated.

My mother and I, also, are brutally honest with each other.
When she tells me that something looks "awful," and I flinch, she always says, "Well, you ASKED!"
And I truly do prefer to hear the unvarnished truth, rather than being allowed to blithely go around looking like a fright.

I know my mother is not being nasty; she's just trying to help me look my best, which she knows is important to me.

 

[n_c]

If she's a really a good friend like bf, yes i would. I have, my bf appreciates when i tell her something is off and i'd like her to do the same.

 

[enigmaticpheo]

I'm with the general consensus; if it's a best friend then I'll just out and out say it in a tactful way. E.g., "I like the color, but it doesn't do enough for you. Maybe try putting a neutral sheer color over it?" If it's someone I'm not really close to I'll shut my mouth unless it is, like everyone else said, something really obvious like lipstick on the teeth or serious mascara migration. I hate it when people don't tell me if I have eyeliner under my eye or something--it's much more polite to TELL the person than to let them walk around like that! D:

 

[Gadook]

It really depends on how close that friend is to me. I would want my close friends to tell me if I was operating a major punk show with my liner, but I wouldn't appreciate it if it was someone i'm not completely comfortable with.

 

[susannef]

Hmm this is a tough one... Sometimes Ill ask her like "Do you want me to do your m/u just for fun?" If she likes it better then her usual stuff Ill explain how she can emulate it herself. But honestly if someones m/u is well applied it just comes down to personal preference and Ill keep my mouth shut.

 

[Frosting]

None of my other female friends wear much makeup, so it isn't really an issue. If they asked for help or advice I would be happy to offer it, but otherwise I'd probably mind my own business.

 

[MissResha]

i saw a chick on the metro on monday with hot pink lipstick and BLACK lip liner.

i wanted to cry.

but to answer teh question, yea i'll say something. esp if i know that person is attempting to be "cute", but failing miserably.

 

[Mizz.Coppertone]

I have some1 in my family who wears chola style makeup and it's pretty fake looking. She does her lipliner dark purple and her lipstick/gloss a very pale frosty pink, always wears matte brown shadow and fills her brows in dark. I can admit I love lipliner but she just wears it way too thick. Shes done it that way forever and I guess it's just her thing. Nobody ever tells her, we all just make lil comments behind her back because we don't want to upset her. You can tell she likes it, so we let her be lol.

 

[User49]

I would, if it was rrrrrrrrrreeeeeeally annoying, say something. As a make up artist you just feel this little itch sometimes, that you just want to sit someone down and look at there features and enhance them. I had a friend who INSISTED on using benetint blusher (like three coats) with Dallas bronzer on top (like three coats!) and she had these round bright cheeks, and i always thought it was a bit much, but after saying can i have a go at your make up, she took the brush out of my hand and said i love the look but I just need to put more blusher on. She clearly liked her cheeks to be the feature. So i suppose each to his own. If they want help, they'll ask. And not everyone is that worried about make up. But I know what you mean!

 

[Blushbaby]

I've told a friend when one of her falsies has been half hanging off her face. Everybody else had let her walk around for lord knows how with it swinging to high heaven.

I've also let a friend know when her foundation hasn't been blended into her jawline properly.

It's all about being tactful.

I'd expect my friends (if nobody else) to tell me if I was having a makeup malfunction too.

 

[Lauren1981]

theres a fine line between what's unflattering and what is an opinion
if it's something like she didn't blend anything while wearing 4 colors then yes, i will STRONGLY suggest that she blend it in. or something like if she's got on pounds of foundation and/or lipgloss/stick.
but anything else, probably not.
my mom thinks black eyeliner is unflattering but i like it. but that is her opinion. doesn't necessarily mean it's unflattering

 

[L1LMAMAJ]

My answer would be no. I am too afraid of offending people. I don't want her to think that I think that I'm better than her. Especially if she's a close friend. Most of my friends don't wear much makeup or any at all. My best friend wears makeup and sometimes I don't like her makeup but I don't say anything. I'll compliment her if I like it but if I don't, I don't say anything.

 

[BEA2LS]

i wouldn't unless, like mentioned it was something that could be easily fixed - running mascara, etc. i remember when i was in high school, i used to put a highlighter in the inner corner of my lower lashline. it was really sutble but 90 times a day people would tell me about like it was a mistake. so i stopped doing it, but the crazy thing is i loved the way it looked!

 

[cno64]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BEA2LS i remember when i was in high school, i used to put a highlighter in the inner corner of my lower lashline. it was really sutble but 90 times a day people would tell me about like it was a mistake. so i stopped doing it, but the crazy thing is i loved the way it looked!

It's easy for me to say, but I think you should have kept right on wearing your highlighter just the way you were wearing it, since *you* liked it.
That kind of thing can be VERY annoying, though.
When I was in my 20s, and hadn't discovered MAC, I bought all drugstore makeup, including red lipsticks, which would invariably go pink on me.
I got soo tired of my so-called friends taking it upon themselves to bellow at me in a very condescending tone, "WHY are yew wearin' PANK lipstick with a RED dress?"
I would reply, "It isn't pink, it's red; you need to find some preschooler to teach you about colors!"
Then *I* would be in trouble for being "rude."
It doesn't matter; now not only do I have many [MAC] red lipsticks that look gorgeously red on me, my entire makeup collection is the envy of everyone I know, and I'm constantly asked for advice.

Back to topic: I think that if you think you *must* make a comment to someone about her makeup, you should keep in mind that positive feedback is almost always more helpful in the long run. Being nasty is almost guaranteed to cause resentment, and the recipient is likely to just tune you out.
If a friend wears an unflattering color/technique, and asks your opinion, you can always say something like, "Well, I like suchandsuch better on you; it looks really fantastic!"
She may still ignore you, but at least you won't have hurt her feelings.
For example, my best friend told me that she likes Dubonnet better on me than Ruby Woo, and my opinion is just the opposite.
So I just shrugged and thought, "Well, I like Ruby Woo better; if she loves Dubonnet so much, she can buy some for herself!"
She eventually did, and rarely wears it, but I still wear my Ruby Woo frequently, and we're both happy.

 

[Ruby_Woo]

Honestly, I don't. I don't say anything unless they ask me for advice or help or the ask me my opinion. Other than that, I keep it to myself.

Yeah I'll be staring at it, and cringing inside, but its not my face or my business. If they wanted help, they would ask me, if they don't I wont offer it because that would imply me thinking their makeup looks bad.

 

[BEA2LS]

nowadays i never would have changed my make-up because of others comments- in fact i still do that with some eye looks sometimes.
but i was stupid back than lol