The right makeup on a woman can do a great deal to improve her sex appeal from a guy's perspective. While men don't tend to take the same interest in a woman's eyeliner as they do in say their miniskirts, we do tend to still decide who we're most attracted too based on their facial beauty rather than their body, and makeup can make a big difference to this. Just try it and see for yourself - go to a club with no makeup on and see how many men chat you up compared to a normal night with your face fully made up. Some smoky eyeliner and shimmering lip gloss can make you look like a cover model and put you from a 5 to a 10 by most men's estimations, even if they aren't sure why.
That said though, for makeup to have this effect you do need to have the right makeup, and getting it wrong can actually have quite the opposite effect for most guys and be a real turn off. Here are some of the biggest mistakes to avoid if you don't want to make guys cringe.
Gloopy Eyelashes
I have a theory that some aspects of a woman's appearance are for the benefit of men, while others are for the benefit of her or other women. Take for instance a frilly dress - women love it but men aren't all that interested, whereas a tightly fitted short skirt is much more up our alley.
Mascara is kind of the 'frilly dress' of makeup. Women get a big kick out of giving themselves huge 'lashes' but actually most men find them off putting rather than attractive. Smokey eye shadow and eye liner yes, but huge peacock feathers for eyelids no. Worst of all though, is getting this wrong and putting on too much mascara so that your eyelashes gloop together. Don't believe me? Ask Chandler from Friends who stopped dating a woman based entirely on her gloopy mascara in one episode...
'Shotgun Makeup'
Shotgun makeup means essentially overdoing it and crossing the fine line between 'model-esque' makeup and 'prostitute' makeup. If you are going to use bright colours and thick layers then make sure you keep this to one feature. Red lipstick is great, but it means you need to tone down the eye shadow or vice versa. Otherwise you'll just look like a clown...
Orange Skin
Caking on foundation is never a good look, especially if it means your face protrudes an extra inch. When this foundation is also orange though, you just end up looking ridiculous ad not exactly classy.
Transferable Makeup
Another problem for guys is when your makeup is transferable. In other words, if your face is in danger of coming off on anything you touch then not only will you look like you're melting within a few hours, but guys will also be afraid to go anywhere near you. We want to kiss your red lips yes, but not wear your lipstick...
