The Best Eyeliner Color for Your Eyes
OK, so which eyeliner color is best for your eyes?
As a makeup artist, I am often asked this question. So
today, I’m going to help you find out which eyeliner to wear to rock your
eye color!
Let me first say that I don’t believe in any strict rules
for what you can and can’t wear. I believe that the most important thing is
that you feel confident in whatever makeup choices you make.
However, there are definitely certain shades of
eyeliner that will enhance your individual eye color more than others. Today
I’m going to share those choices with you. I hope these makeup tips will help
you find the best eyeliner color for your eyes.
To get started, let’s think about the basics of color theory,
and how that might relate to choosing eye liner colors. Below is a picture of
the traditional artists’ color wheel, which is a representation of how colors
appear in relation to each other.
The Color Wheel
Colors that lie directly near each other on the color wheel
(orange and red for example) are called analogous. When used together,
analogous colors create a combination of colors that are visually harmonious.
Complementary colors are those which lie opposite each other
on the color wheel (yellow and purple for example).
Pairing complementary colors together create the most
striking color combinations. This is because of the dramatic visual contrast of
the colors when placed next to each other.
Think of how dramatic red and green look together, orange
and blue, and so forth. Advertisers often use complementary colors for their
products to get your attention.
If you are thinking, this is great art theory and all, but
where are the makeup tips, then stick with me here…
Because here is the secret.
Makeup artists use color theory to work with your skin and
eye colors to bring more attention to your features and enhance them.
To apply color theory when choosing an eyeliner, first
establish where your eye color would lie on the color wheel. As our eyes have
many different colors within them, choose the most dominant color in your eye
to begin with.
Then find the opposite, complementary color on the color
wheel, and choose this as your eyeliner color.
Wearing a complementary eyeliner color will bring out the
color of your eyes more than other shades because of the striking visual
contrast.
The Best Eyeliner Color for Green Eyes
Here is a picture of
a model with green eyes wearing three different eyeliner colors:
In the first photo, the model is wearing black eyeliner.
Black eyeliner is dramatic because of its intensity, but it really does nothing
to enhance eye color
In the second photo I have added green eyeliner to the model
instead. There is nothing wrong with this choice, it’s just a softer look.
Wearing eyeliner near the same color as your eyes just blends in more.
To really enhance green eyes, we need to use the
complementary color of red. And since true red is not a very popular eyeliner
color, we choose an eyeliner from the same red-violet color family instead.
The third photo shows a wine-colored eyeliner on the model.
And because of its warm, red-violet undertone, the eyeliner provides the most
contrast to her eyes.
This enhances her eye color more than the first two choices.
Therefore, the best eyeliner color for green eyes is red violet.
The Best Eyeliner Color for Blue Eyes
Here is the same dynamic when working with blue eyes:
The first two photos are shown with the model wearing black
eyeliner and then blue eyeliner. The third is of the model wearing a warm brown
eyeliner.
As the complementary color for blue would be orange,
choosing a brown eyeliner with a warm orange-brown undertone will bring out her
blue eyes the most.
So, the best eyeliner color for blue eyes is warm brown.
The Best Eyeliner Color for Brown Eyes
To enhance brown eyes, we need to choose the closest
color to brown on the color wheel, which would be gold. To contrast gold, I
chose a violet eyeliner as the third color below, comparing with black and
brown eyeliners again:
As you can see, the violet eyeliner draws the most attention
to the model’s eye color. Because of this, the best eyeliner color for brown
eyes is violet.
The Best Eyeliner Color for Hazel Eyes
I saved hazel eyes for last because there are so many different
shades of hazel eyes. Some people have hazel green eyes, some hazel gold eyes
and so forth.
For hazel eyes, pick one of the colors in your eyes that
is either the most dominant, or one that you would like to enhance. Then,
you can use the tips above to bring out that color.
So, for example, if you have hazel green eyes, then you
would use a red-violet eyeliner to bring out the green. But if you want to
enhance the gold in your eyes, then you would choose a violet or blue eyeliner.
A great way to test out new eyeliner looks is by using the Marie
Claire Virtual Hairstyle and Makeup Makeover tool. I highly recommend this
program because you can upload your own picture to the site. Then you can try
out different makeup looks without having to purchase any cosmetics first.
This is just the beginning of an exploration into color
theory and how it applies to choosing your makeup colors. I hope these tips
give you a starting point and will help you find the best eyeliner color for
your eyes.
