Time-tested tips for making your blues bluer and greens greener, from The New Beauty Secrets by Laura Mercier
Don't Be Afraid of Color
The majority of women stick to neutrals when it comes to their eye makeup, but you should give color a chance from time to time. It's a great mood enhancer. I know psychiatrists sometimes tell their patients to stop wearing black because it has a way of drowning you emotionally and sapping your energy. Think about why you reach for a certain red blouse or blue sweater. It might seem arbitrary, but perhaps your psyche needs the calming effects of a specific hue or the energizing effects of a particular shade. Consider that the next time thoughts of violet eyeshadow or forest green liner pop up in your mind. Maybe you should trust yourself and give them a try. Follow your instincts! There is always a way to wear color -- whether light, pale, or muted -- that won't be intimidating.
Intensify Your Eye Color
There are simple ways to make your natural eye color really dazzle. As you probably know, certain colors complement and enhance other colors. The same theory works with eye makeup and your iris (the colored part of your eye). You can make your eyes bluer, greens greener, and so on. I've found that the following basic color combinations work the best:
Brown Eyes
Try: Use eyeshadow or liner in gray, black, navy blue, neutral chocolate brown, or chocolate brown with a hint of red, pink-brown, gray-brown, burgundy, or eggplant. You also can use paler or medium versions of these shades as eyeshadow, as well as light mauve, light pink and peach. You can use gold shadow if your skin tone is not too sallow or yellow.
Avoid: If you have brown eyes and olive skin, skip neutral browns like khakis, taupes, and yellow-browns. They won't make your eyes look alive and will only emphasize the yellow in your skin.
Blue Eyes
Try: Use eyeshadow in fleshy pink, brown-pink, beige-pink, peachy-pink, muted mauve, grays, light dusty blues, turquoise washed, black, or all browns. Use eyeliner in gray, black, brown, navy blue, bronze-gold, or dark purple.
Avoid: If you have pink-toned skin, stay away from shadows that are pure pink. By all means, don't use strong pinks such as fuchsia, or you'll end up resembling a bunny rabbit. If you have pure blue eyes that tend not to change color, you should avoid green eyeshadow and liner. Avoid blues that are too strong because they can overwhelm your eye color.
Green or Hazel Eyes
Try: Shadows in peach, light pink, muted pink, mauve, green, bronze-green, gray-green, brown-green, khaki, caramel, gold, any green mixed with gold, and all browns and grays. If your complexion is very olive and your dark circles too yellow-brown and deep, stick to the cool colors like navy blues, slate grays, mauve-grays, bright mauves, pinks, black, or eggplants. Use liner in navy, deep purple, black, gray, gold, or brown.
Avoid: Don't use any green that's not subtle. You don't want to wear bright, vivid greens because they will overwhelm your eye color. If you want to try a bright color such as teal or turquoise, make sure to apply as a subtle wash so it brightens the eye area without overwhelming your eye color.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Laura Mercier, the author of The New Beauty Secrets: Your Ultimate Guide to a Flawless Face (Copyright © 2006 by Gurwitch Products, LLC), is one of the most renowned beauty authorities in the world today. Her 20-year career as a makeup artist has brought her from Provence, Paris, and points around the globe to red carpets, photo studios, and movie sets. Laura's work has appeared on the covers of Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, Allure, Elle, W, and other magazines, plus countless advertisements, album covers, movie posters, and more. Laura Mercier Cosmetics, her beauty brand, has enjoyed great success since 1996.
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