Lipstick – Love it or Loathe it?

Two perspectives and both from men aged over 60!

'Get that muck off your face!'

'I love lipstick; I love the way it makes women look’
 

Both men have obviously been heavily influenced by their upbringing; the former from a hard working, frugal background with little time or money for ‘frivolous’ luxuries, the other brought up by his mother and aunts in a post-war environment where a little bit of lipstick was seen as important, an almost critical boost to self-confidence!   My own Grandmother told me how she was ‘told’ to take off her lipstick if she wanted to be taken out again. 

Our upbringing has a lot to answer for.  There’s nothing we can do to change it, however, we can reinterpret it and choose whether to listen to the ‘lessons’ or not. 

Economists have widely recognised the ‘lipstick effect’ as an early warning to a recession arriving.   When circumstances are tight, women spurn expensive new dresses and shoes in favour of more modest retail therapy, such as cosmetics.

In fact, the following article goes deeper and looks at the connection between the psychology of mating and consumer behaviour.  When times get tough, recessionary cues consistently increase women’s desire for products which increase their attractiveness…. albeit in this context, to mates, however attractiveness is equally important when making friends, securing jobs, making sales, giving and receiving customer service in its many forms.

At House of Colour, we know that the right colour lipstick makes your eyes appear brighter, distinguishes your facial features more clearly, and helps you to look fresh and vibrant.

The neighbour’s baby smiling at her before its own mother, gave me a clear example of how lipstick defines, making our facial features easier to see.  I wonder if the same is true for lip-readers or partially sighted people when trying to distinguish our facial movements. 

 

Our Colour Class  teaches you techniques to build on the empowering aspects of your upbringing, while gently dropping those less empowering ‘lessons’! 

 

 

Feeling comfortable with your lipstick can be one of the biggest challenges for our female customers and their partners!  It takes 21 times to create a habit, therefore wearing a new lipstick in your colour every day for 3 weeks will enable  you and everyone around you to get used to it;  It is only at this point that we can judge a look objectively.

It’s not whether you want to look good, but do you have the courage to?

Be brave, enjoy the result; it’s worth it!

Colour, Appearance is Perception

From the age of 2 my son might request a ‘Toby chocolate’.  What he’s asking for may bemuse anyone else but it’s crystal clear when you live here.  Toby, a lesser known friend of Thomas the Tank Engine, resides in one of the sheds alongside his pals on this mug and we’ve fallen into a pattern of only serving hot (tepid) chocolate in it! 

How many ‘grown-ups’ are stressed by children requesting a certain colour beaker, getting upset when their drink is delivered in something else?   And yet, we do it. 

It won’t surprise you to know that there has been some research into this very subject:

As the article says, ‘Lovers of hot chocolate may say that ingredients are the key to a truly satisfying drink’.  Apparently this is not entirely true, researchers have revealed that using an orange-coloured cup is the best way to enjoy the beverage!’

Their findings could explain why we prefer to drink tea or coffee from our favourite mug.

From a selection of 57 volunteers, using 4 possible different coloured plastic mugs, researchers found that people said hot chocolate tasted better when served in an orange or cream coloured cup than in a red or white one.

From my personal selection of more than 20 mugs, yet again I reach for one of my 2 or 3 favourites.   It does make me feel, almost imperceptibly, better drinking out of one of ‘my’ mugs, than the children’s Thomas mug, car mug or the chipped one.  It is also a combination of shape with appearance – it has to look right AND feel right when I hold it. 

 

 

In fact, head over to the internet and type in ‘hug mug’ and a whole range of options come up, which you can just imagine drinking out of!

The wisdom of children is so often overlooked or discounted but maybe we should apply this learning to our wardrobes.  Taking more notice of how our clothes make us look and feel, the impact they have on our experience and mood, might help us to pay more attention to establishing, using and developing a wardrobe of clothes that supports us as individuals.

 

Break the rules knowingly!

There is much talk about whether etiquette is outmoded, whether rules still stand and if they should be followed, broken or ignored. 

Within reason, it’s subjective. You’re completely free to do what you want, providing you are prepared to face any potential consequences.  As the adage says, ‘you can take a horse to water but you can't make it drink’; rules are often there to help, support and guide us, to make us feel comfortable so that we know both what to expect and what is expected of us.  They provide a structure for society to work and flow smoothly.

True, some rules may no longer appear to be relevant but many still hold.  Remembering that rebellion is against something specific, break the rules knowingly!  Most people like having guidance about how to dress, says Andrew Groves, who heads the University of Westminster's fashion department, "We all like to think we're individuals but rules give people a certain security when it comes to fashion."

In this article by BBC news magazine, they comment on whether there are still rules about what you wear?  

I absolutely agree with the comments about white socks,  it brings back memories of socialising in the 80s when grey drainpipes, white socks and loafers were de rigeur on the disco dance floors around the UK!

The length of a man’s tie when tied – absolutely critical – too short is reminiscent of a young school boy look while too long just looks sloppy - regardless of public opinion and current fashions.  

Clashing prints may look ‘edgy’ but that’s only appropriate if your personality, occupation or preferably both (being well matched) are ‘edgy’.  Personally, it’s not the impression I would choose to create but it’s a free world - you can make your own choice!

They discuss earrings in men - all body piercings go into to a similar box – choose what and whether to wear anything with caution if you’re concerned about how you are received.  Otherwise, refer to my closing comment.

As for colour and pattern mixing, given that there are an infinite number of blues and greens, in shade, depth and hue, it would be difficult to prescribe through rules which colours can and can’t be worn together.   It’s about harmonising, complementing and contrasting colours from the same season in order to create an effect which is easier on the eye.  If your colouring is Spring, (warm and bright), Kettlewell have recently produced a fantastic print which demonstrates this beautifully.  Frequently, clients would have a strong negative reaction to colours that weren’t in their palette, thus colour combining can rarely be objective.  The images below are all taken from the current Kettlewell collection, you will probably be drawn to the colours in one image below more than another based on your personal preference.

And jewellery?  Mixed metals in the same piece can look great on some people but as with anything, what suits your colouring is not affected by fashion.

So what of rules? Of course you can wear what you want, but when you know what is required of you e.g. a uniform, or what works to help you look your best, why would you want to wear anything else?