Neutral eyeshadow shades look good on everyone, and always make for a good everyday look. But what if you want to really enhance your eye color? What shades should you wear then? We’ll help you find he best eyeshadow for your eye color!
You might intuitively know which colors look on you, but you may not know why. But there is an entire color theory behind why that is. We’re all familiar with the color wheel, but do you know how it comes into play when it comes to eyeshadow? It’s actually much more simple than you think.
All you really need to do is pick the color that is opposite of your eye color and that’s the color that will best complement your eyes. So, if you look at the wheel below, you’ll see that the opposite of green is purple/violet. So, if you follow that logic, purple eyeshadows will look best on green/hazel eyes (and we agree).
If you want a softer or more monochromatic look, pick an eyeshadow shade that matches your eye color, but in a different hue.
The Best Eyeshadow for Your Eye Color
We both were curious about what were the most common eye colors in the United States. We found a survey through healthline.com that showed the following percentages:
- 45% of people with brown eyes
- 27% with blue eyes
- 18% with hazel eyes
- 9% with green eyes
- 1% with eyes of another color
Read on to learn the best eyeshadow for YOUR eye color.
**This post contains affiliate links and we will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on our links. Amazon prices are as of 3/8/23.
Brown Eyes
People with brown eyes can wear almost any eyeshadow color, and it will be complimentary. But, the cooler shades you choose will help to bring out your eye color even more.
Easy
A super simple way to bring out any flecks in your beautiful brown eyes is with a shimmery champagne color. Either as a wash all over the lid, or even just in the inner corners.
Bolder
Although brown eyes can wear pretty much any color and look great, if you want to really make your eyes stand out, try blues and purples! Doesn’t have to be really over the top, but regardless of light or dark brown eyes, they’re going to stand out.
Blue Eyes
This is where I (Jen) fall! My eyes aren’t a bright piercing blue, but a little bit of a darker blue (sometimes bordering on hazel!).
To compliment blue eyes, the best colors fall in the warm, orange tones. I know orange can sound intimidating, but it’s definitely doable!
Easy
You might already be doing this, but an easy way to wear orange tones is to wear more warm neutral shades. Think rust-tones, or even the colors of the sunset! Do your everyday makeup like you normally do, but the shift to a warm-toned palette can make a big difference!
Bolder
If you want to take it up a notch and make your eyes pop, really lean into orange shades! A bright matte orange will be really bold, where a shimmery shade might be a little bit more wearable!
The Best Eyeshadow for Your Eye Color: Hazel Eyes
This is me (Dianne). It was interesting to me to learn that only 18% of people in the U.S. have hazel eyes. It’s a little more rare than I thought.
As you may already know, there are two types of hazel eyes. One has brown as the dominant color and the other has green as the dominant color. In all cases, hazel eyes will have a combination of green and brown, it’s just a matter of which one is dominant.
My eyes fall in the “mostly green” hazel. But with all hazel eyes, they can really look different depending on the lighting and, of course, makeup. So, as we mentioned above, hazel eyes, especially with a lot of green look great in purple hues.
Red/pinks/burgundy shadows also look good with hazel eyes. I play around with pinks too but if I really want my eyes to pop, I will use the purple shadows.
If your hazel eyes are more brown, then you can also look at the colors recommended for brown eyes as Jen described above.
Easy
My absolute favorite palette for pinks and purples is Revolution Beauty’s Colour Book 04. It has pretty much every shade of pink and purple you would want. It has each shade in both shimmer and matte and it’s only $20! I used three colors from this palette for these photos.
I also really like the first palette below, Dose of Colors Marvelous Mauves. It’s a little more pink than purple.
Bolder
Here are some additional options for additional pop!
One additional personal recommendation. When I want to wear a brown/neutral shadow, I usually wear one that I call a “pinky-brown” hue for my hazel eyes. Here are some options in those shades.
Green Eyes
The recommendations for green eyes are very similar to hazel eyes, especially green-dominant hazel eyes. But because the direct opposite on the color wheel for green is red, you can add more darker pinks and burgundy shades for green eyes.
So, what do you think? Were you already wearing the “right” eyeshadow for your eye color or did you learn something new? Let us know in the comments below. If you liked this article, you may also enjoy our recent post on “How to Pick the Best Lipstick for Your Skin Tone”.
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