How to wear eye shadow, no matter what your eye colour

by Meghan Foley

: An artist colour wheel is the perfect guide to determining which eye shadows will make your eyes pop

Playing around with makeup can be a lot fun. Especially testing out different types of eye shadows. A problem though, many women face or have faced during their lifetime, is not being able to choose a suitable colour and apply it properly. This usually results with the makeup not highlighting your best features, but hiding them instead, behind what could easily be mistaken for a black eye.

With some helpful tips from some of North America’s top makeup artists, Madly Juicy readers will be experimenting with colours and wearing their eye shadows confidently.

There are multiple ways to wear eye shadow, it all depends on how dramatic or soft you want your eyes to look. “If you want your eye colour to pop, wear an opposite colour eye shadow,” says Tara Baker, Clinique’s Regional Educational Executive. She suggests using an artists’ colour wheel as a reference in choosing opposing colours.

For example, red, pink and plum eye shadow really pops green eyes. Whereas, orange, gold, copper and brown eye shadow tones will bring out a blue eye. If you think of brown as orange on a colour wheel, blues and plums will really pop the brown eye colour. Finally, Hazel eyes, because of all the undertones, have a variety of options. “Whatever colour you want to stand out, look opposite on colour wheel,” says Baker. “They (people with hazel eyes) can really play around with a lot of colours to make their eyes pop.”

: Highlighting the brows and lids with a light colour really allow for the deep purple tones to pop from the crease

Women shouldn’t feel restrained to only wear the colours that make their eyes pop. “Nowadays there are no set rules with makeup and colour,” says Grace Lee, Maybeline New York’s lead Makeup Artist. “[However], sometimes makeup can be tweaked with varying intensity and placement.”

To further this idea, if someone with blue eyes wants to wear purple eye shadow, Baker suggests small accents of this desired colour. “More smoky, neutral eye with more taupes and brown shades with a pop of colour of plum in the center of lid or accent in the corner,” she says will complement blue eyes nicely. Another alternative, Lee suggests, is to wear the purple on the eyelid for that pop of colour. “A more complimentary neutral colour can be worn as eyeliner or in the crease to break the colour up a bit.”

For a soft and subtle look, created with eye shadow, Baker mentions the monochromatic look. This is a way to complement an eye colour by wearing the same or similar colour eye shadow.

However whether the look is dramatic or subtle all depends on how the makeup is applied. “The drama of a look can really depend on the depth of colour you use,” says Baker. “More pigment and more depth means more drama.” A deeper liner will also help to create a dramatic look.

When it comes to applying the makeup Baker says to highlight the lids and brows by keeping the lighter colours in those areas. “Deeper contour colours should be applied to the corner of the eyelid and up into the crease, making a triangle shape.” The only exception to the rule is for wide eyes, their dark shades should be applied the opposite way.

Lee says any colour you want to show off looks great when placed on the lower lid. “Just remember not to blend up past your crease and into your eyebrow, unless you want a very dramatic look.” For high intensity, apply the shadow with a firmer brush and for a soft wash of colour, use a soft bristle brush to blend.

Next time you’re choosing which eye shadow to wear take into consideration whether you want a dramatic or monochromatic look. The colour wheel will be your best tool in deciding which shades will pop your eye colour, but don’t think of the opposing colours as a hard rule. Play around and figure out for yourself what works for you.