Where did the "never wear blue eye shadow" rule come from? For all of my adult life, I've been avoiding it, but without really understanding why. Now I'm seeing it everywhere.

I love the opportunity to comment on the "no blue eye shadow" rule as a phenomenon of how vulnerable we are to fashion's whims. That is, if enough people tell us something is "beautiful," or "bad," we're more than likely to be influenced. If only we could remember to revel in our own unique identity and wear whatever colors we like.

That said, here's my theory: The "rule" came about as a backlash to the '60s and '70s überfeminine pastel blue eye shadows — which then morphed into the disco-loving '80s, when clearer, more vibrant blues reigned. That's three decades of blue, y'all! The way I see it, an influential beauty editor, together with a bevy of high-powered makeup artist friends (who had visited one disco too many) got together and decided to put an end to blue shadow forever, simply because they were tired of it.