15 Signs You're Wearing Too Much Makeup

Since the early days of Cleopatra, makeup was used to bring out a woman's best features and enhance her femininity and natural beauty. In other words, makeup exists to make women look beautiful. Over time, the kind of makeup that has been offered to women have varied in color, style, and quantity. Back in the 1960s, the bold red lip was considered sexy, thanks to the likes of Marilyn Monroe. When punk rock was all the rage in the 1980s, makeup became more theatrical, with lots of eyeshadow, bright blush on, and neon pink lipstick.

Today, cosmetics are much subtler. The school of thought when it comes to makeup nowadays is to look like you're not wearing any. Unless you're on stage wearing costume makeup, it should look as natural and well-balanced as possible. If you're wearing dark eye makeup, go for a nude shade of lipstick and neutral-colored blush on. If you choose a dark shade of lipstick, go easy on the eye makeup. Here are some indications that you're laying it on too thick.

15 People Don't Recognize You Without Makeup

The number one sure sign that you have way too much stuff on your face is when people don't even recognize you without your makeup on. This case applies to those who, as soon as they wake up and wash the sleep off their faces, put on their makeup even before they change out of their sleepwear. And this is even if they're not going out for the day. Then the only time they remove all that stuff from their faces is right before they fall into bed at night. In other words, nobody sees them without makeup, maybe not even people who live with them.

14 You're Forever Retouching

Throughout the day, it's normal for makeup to start fading, especially if the weather is warm and you're outdoors and start to sweat a little. It's perfectly fine to head to the restroom a couple of times a day to do that occasional retouch. One run through of face powder, re-applying lipstick, and adding one brush of mascara would do the trick on both occasions. But retouching every other hour and staying in the restroom longer than you're at your work desk? Too much.

13 People Have Called You A Clown

One of the worst things to be called by people is a clown, especially if you're not intending to look like one. But yes, if you're being compared to Ronald McDonald or Pennywise the demon clown, then you've definitely gone over the top with your makeup. It's about balance really. For example, if you're going for heavy eyeshadow (particularly of the rainbow-colored variety), you might want to tone down on the bright red lipstick, hot pink blush on, and cakey foundation.

12 There Are Makeup Smudges On Your Clothes

When you put on makeup in the morning, you can actually put it on either before or after you dress up. If you apply it before donning your clothes for the day, make sure the top you're wearing is button-down. Because if you pull it over your head, your make up will surely stain the collar, especially if you've laid on the makeup pretty thick. Another setback that wearing too much makeup can do to your clothes is when you sneeze or cough and have to cover your mouth with your arm. Next thing you know, there's a lipstick smear or bronzer stain on your sleeve.

11 There Are White Circles Around Your Eyes From Too Much Primer

One of the best ways to cover up eye bags as well as enhance the eyes is applying primer around the eyes prior to putting on your eyeshadow, eyeliner, and mascara. The problem is, some people go overboard with the primer. Yes, it's able to effectively cover up those bags and dark circles, but if you put too much, you'll end up looking like you have white rings around your eyes. This is not the most attractive sight and doesn't do anything to enhance your eye makeup.

10 You Wear Neon Eye Shadow

Many may argue vehemently that colored eyeshadow should be left in the 1980s where it belongs. Remember the days when people would wear hot pink eye shadow to match their hot pink nail polish and hot pink tops? Fashion may not be that boisterous these days, but there are still those who pile on that neon onto their eyelids. Word to the wise? Keep it subtle. Keep it barely there. Or better yet, skip the bright eyeshadow all together.

9 Your Makeup Routine Makes You Late For Work

There are those who are able to get ready for work in 30 minutes tops. That already includes a quick shower, dressing up, styling your hair, and putting on makeup. But if it takes you 30 whole minutes or more just to put on makeup, it either means you're putting on too much or you keep doing it wrong and have to keep removing and re-applying the stuff. So it's either you wake up much earlier to give you that time to tend to your makeup; or better yet, lessen the amount you put so that you can use that time to sleep in a little bit longer.

8 Removing Your Makeup Takes You Over 15 Minutes

On the flip side, if it takes you just as long to put on your makeup as it does to remove it, then it means you're wearing too much. It usually takes around five minutes to remove makeup from your entire face, using makeup remover gel for the face, then maybe a special eye makeup removal cream for the stuff around your eyes. But if it takes you over 15 minutes to go through those two steps, it means you put on a little too much, since you have to go through so many layers just to get your face completely makeup-free.

7 Your Pillowcase Is Dirty

There are some who are too tired or maybe too drunk to remove their makeup at night, so they just fall into bed and go to dreamland straight away. Of course, they suffer the consequences the next morning. Day-old makeup not just ruins your complexion. It can soil your beddings too. If you see smears and stains on your pillowcases, it doesn't just mean you fell asleep with your makeup on; it can also mean you hit the sack with too much of it on.

6 No One Can Remember Seeing You Without Makeup

If for your friends and family, your standard look is a face almost always fully made up, be warned that this may work to your disadvantage. Because not every setting requires you to be wearing makeup. For instance, if you take a trip to the beach or hit the gym or the pool, you'll look ridiculous wearing makeup, so you'll have no choice but to not wear any. And if they do a double take when they see you because they don't recognize you under your usual makeup caked on, then that's definitely a bad thing.

5 Your Eyebrows Look Like They Were Painted Onto Your Face

While most people tend to go overboard with smoky eyes and dark blush on, too much bronzer, and bright red lipstick, there are those who put way too much emphasis on another part of the face that can sometimes be neglected: the eyebrows. Having nicely shaped eyebrows with a light touch of eyebrow pencil brushed into them is fine. But there are those who use the eyebrow pencil with too much gusto, darkening the brows so much, that they look painted on and oh-so-fake.

4 In Photos, Your Face Is Whiter Than The Rest Of Your Body

To determine if you're wearing too much makeup, take a selfie with the flash on after you've put the makeup on. Better yet, have someone take a full body photo of you so you can see if your overall appearance would pass muster. If the photo shows that your face is much whiter than your neck, chest, and arms, it's more than likely that you put on way too much foundation. That, and the foundation you're wearing doesn't match your skin tone.

3 Your Mascara Gets Clumpy

There's absolutely nothing wrong with wearing false eyelashes, putting on eyelash extenders or laying on the mascara, especially if you're not blessed with naturally long and thick lashes. In fact, it's absolutely encouraged to improvise on the eyelashes to enhance the eyes. But there's a danger to putting on too much mascara and it gets visibly obvious when it's overkill. The mascara gets clumpy and you end up looking like someone out of a horror film.

2 You Have Racoon Eyes

Another one of the many downsides to wearing too much eye makeup is running the risk of getting racoon eyes. For those not in the know, when people call you racoon eyes, it means your eye makeup has smudged pitifully under your eyes, making you look like you have major eye bags. This happens either when you've cried, when you fall asleep with your makeup on, or when you put on too much mascara or eyeliner on the lower rim of your eyes.

1 There Are Lipstick Stains On Your Teeth

Many women count as some of their most embarrassing experiences when they're caught with lipstick stains on their teeth. This can happen for several reasons. One, the lipstick is too dark. Two, the lipstick is too thick. Or three, they keep biting their lower lip or licking their lips, causing the lipstick to transfer to their teeth. One has to be extra careful when wearing a bold-colored lipstick. It easily smears and stains and wearing too much of it can definitely rattle one's confidence.