What's the perfect eyeshadow for your eye colour?

1/12/11

What's the perfect eyeshadow for your eye colour?

Green with envy
Depending on the time of day, green eyes can either look a little yellow or blue. Make your eyes look their greenest by applying "intense purples and pinks with lighter shades as a highlight," says Vanessa Jarman, freelance makeup artist. Go for lavender, burgundy or amethyst shadows. The fresh colour will artfully grab attention and make once-greenish eyes look as brilliant as emeralds. To make eyes look even brighter, Jarman suggests dusting silver or white highlighter on the inner corners and below the bottom lash line.

Baby blues
Pale peepers, particularly blue ones, are easily influenced by the colours you wear and changes in light. "Lightcoloured eyes have less pigment on the irises to block the sun's rays from the retina," says Jarman. In short, manipulating blue eyes is child's play. Nothing makes blue more intense than sweeping copper, ochre or a toasty brown hue across your lids. The yellow and blue combination packs a dramatic punch because blue is opposite to yellow on the colour wheel. Jarman's number 1 trick to make blues look true is to use dark black eyeliner. "Every blue eye loves a black water line," she says.

Brown-eyed girl
Unlike green and blue, brown isn't found on the colour wheel, which allows for some shadow play when choosing your shade du jour. Since the options are so vast, Jarman suggests taking your skin tone into consideration when picking a flattering shade. Accentuate brown eyes that have a warmer tinge with deep tones of chocolate, gold and mauve. If you have dark brown eyes, go for icy tones: Cooler colours, such as gunmetal, pewter and white, will really make them pop.

Univerally flattering makeup colours
These eye shadow shades work wonders with most eye colours:
• Cool silver
• Charcoal
• Taupe
• Champagne

Stay, don't stray
To prime or not to prime, that is the question. Face primers are now common lingo in beauty jargon. But do we need a whole new breed for our eyes? When we asked the pros, we got a unanimous, "Yes!" "Eye primers are very important," says Jarman. "They act as a barrier between oily lids and makeup, saving shadow from creasing." They give you the best results, making shadow colours appear more intense. If you're out of primer, Jarman suggests using liquid foundation or concealer as an alternative.