One question women are always asking me, as a professional makeup artist is: what color eye shadow is best for me? I notice that many women find it hard to pick the right colors and that they have no idea how to determine what colors are best for them. When you go to a department store the sales women will advise you only the newest latest colors that they need to sell, even if these colors don’t suit you very well. So below I will give some tips that hopefully will help you to choose the right colors yourself.
Of course the most important thing is to find a look that you are comfortable with. One that makes you feel beautiful and that suits your personality. So the first question I ask my clients is always: what kind of look do you prefer for yourself: a bold make up look with darker or brighter colors or a more natural, toned down look? After that is clear I have an idea what to look for and I start looking at the color of their skin, eyes and hair in order to determine what will be the best eye shadow colors for them. Unfortunately I cannot do this over the internet, but I can give you some general guidelines that you can use to make the color of your eyes pop out and sparkle more:
For Blue eyes: You may choose purplish and lavender-like colors that will accent the gray blue of your eyes more. For instance: Earth’s beauty Lavender Dust or Amethyst and Meisha Deep Orchid. These kind of shades are beautiful with both dark and light hair, but be careful with these shades if you have dark under eye circles or deep set eyes, then these colors may be too gray for you. In that case go for a fresh shade of pink, peach or a warmer medium brown. Combine purplish and lavender eye shadows with a pearly highlight for the best effect. For example Earth’s beauty Eye shadow Pearl or Meisha Midnight Frost.
If you want to really bring out the blue in your eyes: Choose rust brown or coppery eye shadow colors as they will make your eyes look bluer. If you like more dramatic effect, you can go for smokey eyes with darker browns or you can use a lighter brown/copper color on your eyelid and a darker brown color for the crease. Combine brown eye shadow with a golden or pearl highlighter.
Smokey eyes with a medium or darker brown eye shadow work really well with light eyes. The contrast between the eye shadow and eye color can really make your eyes sparkle.
If you have very light hair, fair skin and blue or gray-blue eyes and you like a natural, daytime look, go for cooler colors like taupe, grayish browns, grey or pink.
For Green eyes: Violet and purple will emphasize the green of your eyes and can really make them sparkle. One of my favorites (I have green eyes myself!) is Meisha Deep Orchid. If your skin has a pinkish, cooler undertone and rosy cheeks, it is best to stick with cooler purplish colors and combine them with a pearly highlighter. For example Earth’s beauty Eye shadow Pearl or Meisha Midnight Frost.
If you have a warm, olive skin tone and green eyes, you can choose warmer color eye shadow colors such as violet, mustard or peachy colors. You may combine these with a darker chocolate brown or taupe for more depth. Combine with a golden highlight like Earth’s Beauty eye shadow Sunlight or Meisha Sun Glow.
For Hazel eyes:You can’t go wrong with neutral beige and medium browns. If you want something different to make your hazel eyes pop, try fresh green like Meisha Secret Garden or Earth’s Beauty Aquamarine. For a fun look you can also try pinkish colors like Meisha wild Iris, Pink Cloud or Earth’s Beauty Rose Qartz. For a stunning effect you can even combine pink and brown colors and finish with a pearly or golden highlight.
For Brown eyes: If you have dark hair and brown eyes, eggplant or darker violet shades are really flattering for you. For example Earth’s Beauty Eye shadow Earthy Plum. Combine this color with a golden or pearly highlight to finish the look. If you want to emphasize the brown of your eyes, you can try blue eye shadow. You can try lighter blue for a more modest look (Meisha Falling rain) or, if you like a bold eye shadow look, you can go for darker blues like Meisha Midnight Surf and Earth’s beauty Midnight blue. Combine blues with a pearly highlight for best effect. If you want to play it safe you can also use brown and coppery tones like Earth’s Beauty Copper and Meisha Copper Earth. Either combined with a pearly or golden highlight for best results.
About Saskia: I am a professional Makeup artist from Amsterdam, the Netherlands (Europe). I have over 20 years of experience and among my clients are many celebrities, models, artists and musicians (for example lady Gaga and Tom cruise). I prefer natural make up above regular commercial brands (both for my own health, my clients health and the environment) and Earth’s Beauty and Meisha are by far my favorite 100% natural brands. I love the colors and I love the way the make-up feels on the skin (light and natural, not heavy and pore clogging).