Dare to Wear: Yellow Eye Shadow, Nail Polish

July 14th, 2008 by Trisha

At first thought, you may not even realize how much yellow makeup you really wear. It may be some nice yellow/gold nail polish, or a yellow highlight on your lids.

In fact, yellow is used in a lot of makeup. They add specks of yellow and gold to lipsticks, lotions, lip glosses, you name it. But why is yellow so sought after? It’s just a color, right?

As you may remember, I’ve been talking about color for the past few weeks and about how color effects mood and emotion. I did red and green. And now comes yellow.

What we think of when we see the color yellow:

Happiness
Bright
Sunshine
Glow
Warmth

Objects associated with the color yellow:

Lemons
The sun
Yellow yield stop lights
Urine (gross but true)

Judging by those lists, you can get a good idea of what people might feel if they see you wearing yellow makeup. For instance, if you have yellow eye shadow on, like in the picture I borrowed at the top of the post, people may think you’re easy going and happy. They’ll feel warmer to you.

In this way, yellow is a really good color to wear when you want to make friends (which should be always). It gives a good first impression to the people around you.

And after all, it’s always about the first impression. Perhaps.

While yellow works with most situations (except for maybe a funeral or some goth rock music concert), there are situations where it’s almost a crime not to wear yellow eye shadow or nail polish.

You should wear yellow makeup when…

You’re attending an outdoor concert. Planning on spending your day hunkered down on the ground with a group of friends as you listen to your favorite bands? This is a good time to go yellow. Since you’ll be out in the sunshine, it’ll be like you’re matching the sun when you choose your look.
You’re out for a picnic date. I love picnics! They have a nice blend of relaxation, nature, and food. If you’re planning a date this way, yellow is good because it’s friendly and appropriate. Bold red lipstick wouldn’t match this date, but yellow nail polish would.
You’re off to the beach. While blue would be appropriate in that it would match the water, yellow is good because of the sunshine and your own bright mood. People will see you shining with beauty from a mile away! Don’t forget the sunscreen.

Yellow is all about happiness. It instills a warmth and contentment in whoever views it. If that’s the kind of message you want to give, then you should definitely wear yellow makeup.

Both yellow eye shadow and yellow nail polish is great. Heck, you’ll find yellow shimmer in many of your other makeup products. If you do, you should wear that yellow specked lip gloss with a yellow eye shadow look. It’ll bring it all together!