Tutorial Tuesday: Makeup 101, Lesson 1

Makeup 101: Choosing Shades for Eye Color

 DISCLAIMER: Makeup is a form of self expression. If you don't like what I suggest, do your own thing! Be your own kind of beautiful, and own it!

Welcome to the first in a mini-series I’m calling Makeup 101. Most makeup novices want to know which shades to choose to suit their skintone, eye color, hair color, etc. For me, makeup is about highlighting the best, not disguising what we don’t like. In this series of posts I’m going to help you show off what you love about your individual beauty!

Most people will say that their eyes are their favorite facial feature, so let’s start there. There are a million blog/website posts about “how to make eye color pop,” but I’ve learned from experience that those suggestions are not always accurate. The only thing that I do agree with is the fact that you should always COMPLEMENT your eye color, not match it.  Also, fun tidbit: did you know that your eye look isn’t the only thing that can complement your eyes? Lip color can too!

The nifty little chart you see above is a color wheel, which you can find in almost any art class.  If you choose your basic eye color (obviously apart from brown, which you won’t find) go directly across the wheel to the same ring, you’ll find the complementary color. That’s the color you need to use, or a color with that type of tint. Now most eye colors have another color in the iris, it’s usually not just brown, or blue, or green.  So when I suggest colors below, I’ll add other colors you can use depending on what other color you see in your eyes.  When it comes to lip color, I’m just going to suggest shades for the main eye color.

Brown Eyes

Eye Look

Those with brown eyes are lucky, because there are really no wrong moves here.  My suggestion however, is to use deep jewel tones. Think amethyst, emerald, and sapphire. 

If you have reddish brown eyes, go for emerald.

If you have dark brown (almost black) eyes, go for sapphire.

If you have some green flecks, go with a rich garnet color.

If you have gold flecks, go for amethyst.

Lips

If you want to use one of the above colors, go with a soft nude.  If you want to skip it and just throw on a bold lip color, choose a bright berry.

Blue Eyes

Eye Look

The broad advice given to those with blue eyes is to use warm earth tones. But if you look at the color wheel, the complement to blue is really orange.  So copper, peach and rust colors look amazing on blue eyes.

If you have blue with some gray, use a pretty cool taupe color. It’s the perfect mix of warm and ashy.

If you have blue with some green, use a more reddish brown.

Lips

If you’re wearing an intense eye look, use a pretty peachy nude color. If you just want a bright lip, go for a bold coral.

Green Eyes

Eye Look

The advice traditionally given to those with green eyes is to use purples, but I think that depends on what other colors are in your eyes. If you look at the color wheel, the opposite of green is actually red. But that would look bat crap crazy, so we’ll use a color with a reddish tone. Mine, for instance, are green with different hued green flecks, so I love using berry shades rather than purple.

If you have yellow or gold flecks, go for the purples.

If you have gray flecks, use some purplish-taupe.

Lips

For a subtle color, use some pinky nude lip color. For a bold look, go for a brighter reddish pink.

Hazel Eyes

Eye Look

Now here is where it gets tricky, because for some reason, no one seems to know what hazel really looks like. When I think hazel, I think a yellowish tint to any of the other colors.

If your eyes are yellowish amber, use a purple color.

If your eyes are yellowish gray, use a purple-taupe color.

If there’s some green in them, use some berry tones.

Lips

For a subtle look, use a mauve color. For a bright look, go for a pretty plum color.

Take these tips for a test run and let me know how it goes!