Makeup Monday: Choosing The Right Eye Makeup For Your Eye Color

Photo Credit: Google Images

The eyes are one of the most prominent and expressive facial features you have so the right makeup is essential for enhancing their beauty. I have learned quite a few tips and tricks concerning eye makeup during my modeling career and I would like to share a few of them with you.


First things first, you will need to learn what color works best for you. Do not apply a color simply because it is your favorite or because it matches your outfit. An important rule of thumb is that the makeup should highlight the color of your eyes.

If your eyes are medium to dark brown then you can try green, violet or bronze colored eye shadows. You truly can wear almost any color of eye makeup if you have medium brown eyes. A purple or green eye shadow palette can work equally well for daytime. Experiment by pairing neutral shadow with metallic eyeliner in copper or bronze for evening.

If your eyes are light brown avoid black eyeliner, if you have light brown eyes, use dark brown or other colors instead. Apply a neutral shade of shadow on the lid, a darker hue of the same color in the crease, and then line your eyes in gold or green to reflect the flecks of color in your iris. If your eyes are so light they are hazel, try Champagne tones with violet, bronze or brown liner to define the eye.

If your eyes are dark blue, you can wear both dark and light shades, but if your eyes are light in color, choose a light shade so that the color of your eyes is not lost. The best color for blue eyes is pink. All shades of pink look good and bring out the blue color nicely. Apart from that gray, silver, lavender, taupe, reddish purple, violet and turquoise also do a good job of highlighting blue eyes. You can also try bronze and gold shades if your skin tone is darker. Mint green too, can be used if your eyes have a shade of green in them.

Hazel eyes are very unique in that they often changed their color, allowing them more freedom for makeup expression. While black is the most conventional choice for eyeliner color, women with hazel eyes can use different colors to help influence their current color. If you want your eyes to appear bluer, try lining your lids with purple, and if you want eyes to appear greener, try lining your eyes with taupe or brown. These are some of the best makeup tips for hazel eyes because you can affect the way others see your eye color without wearing colored contacts. You can also use white eyeliner on the lower lids in order to brighten your eyes. Purples, blues and gold’s are good color choices if you want to make your eyes stand out dramatically. The least flattering eye color for hazel eyes is blue-grey. This doesn’t mean you can’t use it, just try to use it as an accent color in conjunction with another color. Also add a highlighting powder around your eyes, but use sparingly, in order to draw more attention.

Once you have decided on the right shade for your eye color, follow the tips below during the application process.
Prep your eyes with concealer. It can be used to cover up under-eye circles or just the bluish discoloration just under your inner eye. To cover dark under eye circles, apply three dots of concealer under each eye. Start at the inner corner where skin tends to be darkest, then under the pupil and the third on the outer edge. Pat, never rub with your ring finger (this finger tends to have the softest pad) until the concealer disappears.

Apply eye shadow primer to your lids, it’s the secret to keeping your shadow in place for hours. If your eye shadow ends up a greasy pool in your crease, you should invest in a good eye shadow primer. Eye base will keep shadow in place through workouts, torrential rains and even a night's sleep.

Follow with eyeliner. You can use liquid liners or an eye pencil, but I prefer to use dark eye shadows as eyeliners. Wet a slanted brush and dip it in a dark eye shadow. Line your eyes as close to the upper lashes as possible from the inner corner to the outer corner. Follow with liner on bottom eyes, but only line from the middle of the eye out. Smudge the bottom line with a Q-tip or your finger. You don't want a prominent line. For a smoky eye, use a brush to pat in a dark eye shadow along the upper lid and below the lid. You don't want a stark line; instead you want to blend it so it's smudge-y. It's great to use a three-toned shadow and build from lids to brow when applying eye shadow. Allowing them to blend into each other like a rainbow is gorgeous. Start with a light color that almost matches your lid then sweep the color across the lid and up to your brow bone. Follow with a medium color across your lid only. Build on this with a darker color in the crease. Blend the colors well.

Brighten your eyes with a highlighter, but only the inside part of the eye. Putting a bit of your lightest eye shadow in the inner corner of your eye will brighten it significantly (this is the makeup artist's secret and I use this trick all the time). I usually dab a finger into my lightest eye shadow and then I press it into the inner corner of my eye where the upper lid meets the bottom lid. This totally makes eyes pop.

Next, you can highlight your brow bone. Take the same light eye shadow and dab it on your brow bone, concentrating on your mid-brow outward and then blend with your finger.

An eyelash curler is a must even if you already have long lashes. For added effect, you can heat the curler under a blow-dryer for a couple seconds. Test curler before applying to lashes because you could burn yourself.

The last step is mascara application. Place the wand of your mascara brush at the bottom of lashes and wiggle back and forth. Follow with another few sweeps of the wand. Apply to your bottom lashes as well.