What beauty 'wisdom' do you think is rubbish?

[MarieFromStMoritz]

Mine are:

Do not shave the same day as applying fake tan
Why? I always shave about half an hour before applying fake tan. If you shave the day before, then you will have a lovely tan - but stubbly legs.

Apply blusher to the apple of your cheeks
Unless you are under 30, applying blusher to the apples of your cheeks can make your face look flat and your cheeks sunken. It is much more flattering to apply blusher to your cheekbones then blend inwards.

Wait for mascara to dry before applying second coat
Why? I never wait and never have problems.

Applying eye liner all around your eyes makes them appear bigger
This is from Bobbi Brown and it's rubbish, IMO. If you want your eyes to appear bigger, then do not apply liner to the inner corners. Instead, apply from 1/3 in going outwards, getting thicker as you go along.

Never apply lip liner to outside your natural lip line
I always go outside my natural lip line. It makes my lips look plumper, especially when I apply it well into the corners. Add a generous coat of lip gloss and almost anyone can have luscious lips.

What are yours?

That acrylic nails are in any way attractive or classy. Yuk.

That shaving makes the hair grow back thicker and darker.

Your body doesn't have the ability to compensate for shaving by growing thicker hairs. Men who shave every day do not end up with thicker darker stubble (what would they look like after 20 years of daily face shaving?). I'll concede that it may appear a little coarser due to cutting it at an angle - but it isn't actually thicker or darker. Once you've shaved once doing it again and again should make no difference to the appearance.

haha had forgotten 'by the time you are thirsty it is too late'

Pentapedtides might work but not in the concentrations allowed in cosmetics, it's a con

The bit about moisturisers making wrinkles is about applying them at night.

Second the water bit, though. Were we all under-performing and being wrinkly by not drinking all the time back in the day?

No. Labourers drank ale and ladies stayed out of the sun.

Ooh eyeliner all around the eye - only works on some people! For many it will make your eyes look smaller and piggy. Try Marlene Dietrich style and just apply eyeliner and mascara to the top, leaving the bottom bear.

I too dry up like a moulting snake if my face gets wet so I just use make up wipes at night, before a bit of Bio Oil. In fact I find a quarter of a make up wipe ripped off is plenty for one face.

I don't think you need to drink loads of water, but certainly an indicator of being dehydrated is that your skin loses some of elasticity - hence why my doctor will pinch the skin on the back of ds's hand (to see if it 'pings' back as quickly) if I'm worried he's dehydrated after a bad stomach upset.

Chocolate etc does not give you spots

When I was late teens/early twenties I had terrible acne. Eventually I got referred to see a consultant dermatologist who congratulated me on following a low fat diet so well for so long, but actually food does not affect your skin!! I'd avoided chocolate for YEARS thinking it would make my skin worse!

Agree with most of this, though no experience of fake tan or lipliner. I read an excellent article in an Observer sunday magazine as a young teenager and followed it to good effect all my life. Rule 1 Protect skin from its deadliest enemy - the sun! Rule 2 - make up is a protective barrier so is good for your skin Rule 3 - most skin care products are a waste of money - a bit of liquid parafin goes a long way and is cheap. Oh and the art of make up is about light and shade. Use highlighter to bring forward and blusher to fade back. So highlighter on the cheekbones and blusher shading just below them makes them stand out - try it! This 'apples of the cheeks' rubbish has always incensed me as a way of getting girls to make themselves look ridiculous...

I love the comment about putting spot cover on before foundation- why destroy all the hard work by putting foundation on afterwards. I only use bit of spot cover now- at 45 foundation just makes me look older. No17 blemish concealer very good!

The water thing - I used to work in an office where the younger members of staff were completely obsessed with knocking back water all day. They were never parted from their plastic bottle and would open it, take a tiny swig, put the cap back on, type for 10 seconds, open it, take another tiny swig, top back on, type another line... and so on all bloody morning.

It really irritated me.

HOW does moisturiser at night make your skin wrinkle more? Also, surely you don't slap it on? I only use a tiny amount, enough to stop my skin being dry.

You grubby buggers not removing your make-up before bed.

Someone told me recently that greasy hair roots can be caused by not trimming the ends regularly enough. In other words, your roots produce more oil to compensate for the dry ends. WTF??? How could your roots possibly know what the ends are doing?

I wouldn't apply blusher under my cheekbones as I don't naturally blush there. I blush ON my cheeks, so that's where blusher goes.

Mamalazarou was that a hairdresser that told you about the roots/ends?

Lip balm, total con.

Since I stopped using it my lips have never been dry or cracked.