Ten-hut! Members of the neutral eyeshadow makeup army, fall in, and salute the newest member of our ranks. Her codename: army green.
Also known as olive, who, I know, you may have seen around base last summer, but she’s also trained as a fully functional neutral, like agents beige, taupe and tan.
Let’s be real. Woman cannot live on brown shadow alone. At some point, even our favorite neutrals, as classic and timeless as they are, need refreshing, and the brass feels that army green eyeshadow is the new way to go.
My favorite army green finishes are satins and shimmers, but I think some of the mattes are beautiful too. But then, some of them (the mattes) also tend to fall a little flat, or end up being difficult to blend. I’m a mattes girl through and through, but gimme a satin or shimmery army green any day of the week.
The trick is finding the right finish for you. In my case, I like shimmers that don’t showcase my fine lines, and I don’t want a formula that’s going to give me any grief (also known as patchiness and fallout), because oy! — I already get enough of that from mah cat.
(Incidentally, he’s been so naughty lately! At night he scratches the stairs, noisily fiddles with cabinets and knocks things off shelves onto the floor.)
The army greens in the new $58 Hourglass Modernest Eyeshadow Palette in Color Field are so my jam.
One of seven new Hourglass powder eyeshadow quints coming this spring, Color Field has two army greens you need to get on yo’ lids LIKE RIGHT NOW.
The lighter one has golden pearl, and the darker one is richer and filled with flecks of micro golden glitter. Both are so completely forgiving on my lids that they make me feel like 29-year-old Karen, the wee lass she was… 🙂
Color Field also contains a matte beige (which is kind of like a powder eyeshadow version of MAC Painterly Paint Pot), a neutral shimmery gold, and a neutral mid-toned tan.
Last weekend Color Field and I had a blast. Picture a draped dress that effortlessly flows in all the right places, and these shadows are like that.
The shades fluidly transition into each other with hardly any fallout and last all day long with primer.
I’ve already made room in my Hourglass drawer for more of the seven Modernist palettes, which are available now online for VIB Rouge members, and soon to be available for errryone else.
The new Hourglass Modernist Eyeshadow Palettes ($58 US, $67 CAD)
- Coming soon (this month), en route to the Hourglass permanent line at Barneys New York stores, Bergdorf Goodman, Sephora, Space NK and hourglasscosmetics.com
- Seven completely new palettes, each with five powder eyeshadows in a coordinating mix of shimmers and mattes…
- Atmosphere: a cool neutral palette with a pale ivory, a pale pink, a taupe, an espresso and a charcoal
- Monochrome: a rosy palette with a warm ivory, a rosy nude, a peony pink, a light mauve and a dark chocolate
- Exposure: a plummy palette with a champagne, an aubergine, a bronze, a blackish violet and a lilac
- Graphite: a smokey palette with a warm ivory, a coppery gold, a deep brown, a gun metal and a silver
- Color Field: an olive palette with a warm ivory, a champagne, a taupe-ish brown, a golden army green and a dark army green (LOVE)
- Obscura: an earth-toned palette with a cream, a smokey brown, a rosy gold, a coffee and a cool bronze
- Infinity: a warm neutral palette with a warm ivory, a dusty rose, a bronzed mauve, a cool taupe and a dark cocoa
So what does one wear with army green eyeshadow?
Well, for starters, try pairing it with other earth-toned eyeshadows, perhaps like the brown shadows in the Hourglass Obscura palette.
For the makeup I’m wearing here, I mixed the brown and beige shades from Obscura, which is one of the other new Hourglass Modernist palettes, and swept them into the crease. Then I patted the army greens from Color Field on my lids.
Nudes or brights should work well on the lips because of army green’s awesome versatility.
A few lip ideas to try…
1. A matte neutral pinkish beige
2. A bright reddish coral
3. A bright hot pink
4. A pinkish coral
Army green also pairs well with gold jewelry, so if you’ve got a pretty pair of dangly gold chandeliers, bust those bad boys out! 🙂 The ones I’m wearing here are the Kinetic Tear Earrings by Alexis Bittar.
I picked them up to wear to the Emmys last August, and now they’re some of my staple pieces — dressy, but not stuffy. Lightweight, and not noisy or jangly, they go with everything from fancy red carpet dresses to white tees.
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
Eeeeeeeee my God Color Field is SO stunning on you! It is definitely on my wish list the second I saw the promo image. So glad to see it’s nicely pigmented and easy to work with! Thanks for the lip-pairing suggestions as well, Karen! Very excited about this one to say the least 🙂
Hi Sunny!
I have a feeling this is gonna be your jam. 🙂 Have a good week!
Karen, WHYY. I said I wouldn’t buy makeup all year, but Monochrome and Exposure are looking at me with puppy eyes from my Sephora cart.
*sigh*
The Obscura palette also looks lovely! It might be my chance to pick up some DARK cool-toned browns.
Karen, thank you so much for the sweet mention on the blog 🙂 I’ve been loving MBB for ages, and it’s just really sweet of you!
Beauty Addicts Unite! 😀
Graphite, Exposure and Infinity are slow blinking at me from my Sephora cart. I totally feel you!!!
Oh, and thank you for always being so fun to chat with, especially about all things MAC. 🙂
I just love green shadows so Color Field is easily my top choice. The colors look so pretty and I just love the look you created!
Thank you Fancie! Have a good week!
I just saw this on Sephora’s website and my lord, it’s gorgeous! Your swatches came out really well, I’m definitely excited for this palette when it’s released to the rest of us!
Hi Kelly,
Thanks! Which of the palettes caught your eye?
Gorgeous! I did a similar look yesterday with Nars Nouveau Monde and Kauai, using the olive from Nouveau Monde and the gold lamé from Kauai in the inner corner. I like the neutral lip, with Nars Tashkent.
Hi Charlene,
Your looks sounds gorgeous! I think I will have to try your version soon as I have those shades (yay!). What did you put on your cheeks?
Hi Karen! I used Nars Orgasm, actually. It barely shows up on me, so I use it when I want a barely-there blush. I almost used Lovejoy, though – that would have been nice had I wanted a warmer lip color, like the Velvet Gloss lip pencil in More.
An oldie but a goodie! I still love that blush — been wearing it for over a decade! 🙂 I can see it going well with the colors you chose.
These shadows are gorgeous on you! I’ve been reading mixed reviews about them so far, and the packaging is stunning, but you’ve got me sold on Color Field. x
Oh.
I didn’t know I needed that until I saw them.
I have an intense weakness for army green.
*off to sephoras website*
Hey Remi!
Get ready for some prettiness. 🙂 So, kinda sorta related, but if you love army green shades like this, you gotta get MAC Powersurge Eye Kohl. Do green on the lids, then Powersurge along the lower lash and water lines. It is MAGIC!
The texture looks sublime! Color Field looks gorgeous, but I think I’m leaning more towards Monochrome or Graphite. If I can get over the fact that the colors touch each other. I’m not the biggest fan of how these are laid out :-/
Totally off topic but THANK YOU for the Urban Decay All Nighter tip. I used it this weekend and it was SO good!
Yay! Glad it worked well for you! Make a mental note for summer…nothing beats it 😉
I had been eyeing these new Hourglass palettes, and Color Field was my least favorite combo UNTIL I saw this post. You rock the green and make it look gorgeous!
Hi Sun,
Thanks, babe! Green is surprisingly wearable. Just pop some browns into the crease and call it a day, LOL!
Which of the palettes are you most interested in?
This is like total palette domination. Anyone can put a bunch of colors together and call it a day, but these are a game changer! I: Was gonna get the Two Faced Semi Sweet Chocobar palette – sike! Had my eye on the Sephora Marsala palette – nope. Was salivating for the Narsissist Dual intensity palette – not so much. I am so totally in love with four of these palettes, just gotta wait till Friday-Payday-Hooray Day, yeah! Getting four is justified by the fact that my B-day is coming up next month, so yeah. Great review, love the eye shadow paired with a bright reddish coral – so pretty!
Hi Ashley,
RIGHT?! I saw these and my heart may have stopped beating for a second. LOL. Which of the four are you thinking about?
Happy early birthday!
I keep telling myself I don’t need any of these but these both palettes look so pretty. I want the Graphite one or the pink one….I love how all the lip colors you presented go so well with the olive green. I’d never think of pairing it with hot pink!
Well, damn. Now I have something competing with my desire to get the Charlotte Tilbury Rebel Palette as my One Green Palette To Rule Them All. Of course, I can actually get Hourglass directly in this country, which puts it one step ahead of the CT, but then the CT has more varieties of green..
..but then this one is so gorgeous >_<
Maybe I'll just have to save up and get both. Yes, that sounds like an excellent plan! ^_^
wow! you look stunning!! love earrings, the makeup, the jacket the whole ensemble, personally I find that particular tone of green more for autumn, but looks lovely.
Okay but like — ohhhh my god. Karen. KAREN. These are gorgeous!!! They look just as pigmented and buttery as we could have hoped for, and by god, I want.
*.*
KAREN!!! I said I wasn’t going to get this. I said I didn’t NEED this. I said no matter how much Color Field screamed my name, I wasn’t going to answer her call & pick this one up. But then, THIS blog post happened! *Sigh* I have no will power. Here, Sephora, take my wallet. I don’t mind. At least I’ll look really GOOD broke, lol! Werk, it girl! So happy you previewed my favorite one of the bunch. It really is stunning
So, I’m not 100% sure how I feel about this particular palette (other than you make it look stunning as usual), but now I really want a green-centered palette. I used to LOVE green for my hazel eyes and I’ve been wearing more golden and silver looks lately. Now I need my green back! Must go look at other palettes!
One more thing- I’m drooling over the swatches from Color Field. Such a saving grace that these are permanent. I can save my pennies to make this baby mine! #makeupAddictproblems
Eeeee!! These look so pretty. Very excited for these palettes. Army green looks lovely on you. Thanks a ton for lip combos 😀
I love the lip colors you paired with the olive green eyes. Beautiful!
That taupe in there is bloody amazing. Your whole look is like taupe with an olive shift, which looks super classy! Olive on my pale skin is usually no beuno but even I am tempted by this!
Ooooh! I actually love how the green one looks, the shadows look so rich. I love the look you’ve done, plus the coral combos (I lurves me an olive eye and coral lip).
Although I am hesitant, I purchased the purple duo last year, and while I loved the combo… I had trouble getting the lighter shade to even show up at all. I actually found it kind of difficult to work with, which is weird. Plus I don’t like how they all touch.
Yes, yes, YES, someone is remembering about olive green! *dances* Seriously, olive green (and, close second, khaki) IS my preferred neutral, but unfortunately that color is so “out” right now, it really is incredibly hard to find anything ever in it – at least over here in Germany. Stunning look!
Hugs, Sandra
I could stare at these palettes forever! Its been some time since I tried a khaki/olive/army green eye. One of my favorite greens is MAC Golden Olive pigment, have you tried it Karen? Great lip color suggestions for the green eye by the way!
I looooooooooooove green eyeshadow, especially khakis, olives and army greens! Your eye look looks amazing, Karen, I wanna copy it right of ya!
The army green looks great on you! I love the shimmer and it really complements your skin tone. Very nice!! 🙂 These are all very cool looking in the pan as well. Sort of a nice change from the individual colors, separated and lined up in a palette.
That army green is a lovely color, and it works so well with your skin tone! I am really tempted, but thanks to the makeup gods, there is no hourglass available in Germany. (I know Sephora ships to Germany, but I choose to ignore that for wallets sake for a few more months.)
I so need this palette. Those greens are amazing! Love the look you did with them.
Thats Green Color field eye shadow palette is so pretty and darn these eye shadows are insanely pigmented.. Love the wavy pattern on the palette and would just look at the pattern for hours..
You are right that one cant live with neutrals and these pretty army greens are a great way to give a break and enjoy some colorful shine on lids.. 🙂
Yay! Seems you already did the swatches. I was thinking about the olive one, and really love the eye look you made with that palette. Thank you!
YOU ARE SOOOOOO BEAUTIFUL.
The swatches are amazing and the look … !!!
I usually don’t wear olive ton but NOW i do want to give it a try !
With the reddish and pinkish coral lips, my favorites.
Thank you:)
Oh boy, now I’m going to have to decide between one of these or the NARS duel intensity… I’m really trying to not spend a lot on makeup in 2015. I have SO much and frankly I’m running out of room to keep it. Thanks so much for ALL the swatching and pictures. I really enjoy your blog. Love to Tabs!
La, la, la, la, la. Covering my ears and eyes! I swear I was going to only get one of these in Exposure (plums). And now I want Color Field and Obscura, too. Sigh. I think I should just take them all out of my cart and wait til I can see them in person. It’s a new year, I must learn to exercise restraint and self-control.
You rock that NARS lippie in Lodhi!
Girl you make me wanna go redo my makeup just so I can try an army green shadow (And it’s 7pm over here!!) I guess it’ll just have to wait till tomorrow!! I am loving that eyeshadow on you though!!!
I told myself and Dan that I wouldn’t buy any makeup until at least August since we just bought a new dishwasher and now need to get a new washer/dryer combo. *cries* Came SO close to pulling the trigger on Monochrome and Obscura this weekend! Currently trying to convince Dan that he wants to buy them now and then keep them until Valentine’s Day for me. 😉 I figure those with the VIB Rouge and the Algenist Genius Serum sample and we’re good.
Besides, it looks like our refund this year will cover the dishwasher, washer, dryer and then some, so those will be mine!
egad, these hourglass stuff are killing me. i want them ALL!
Wow, I love Walkers Shortbread! It’s my latest addiction. I seriously eat 2 a day with my coffee in the winter.
I love the eye looks on you. Unfortunately I can only rock the darker colors sparingly. I am addicted to cat eye. I am looking for another look to elongate my round eyes. I especially like some looks with shadow in the outer corners of the eye. You must have a ton of posts with this look.
Karen,
The swatches of Color field, are they done dry or damp? I read a review of Infinity yesterday that was not good; lots of fall out, uneven application, fading after six hours. I assume you didn’t encounter any of these with this palette? You look beautiful in these colors BTW!
Wow, you’ve convinced me now to buy it. I’ve been trying to talk myself out of the purchase but I just need it now! Thank you for the swatches and look ideas x
http://www.throughneweyesx.blogspot.co.uk
Karen you rock those colors girl! 😀
That green though!!! It looks so good on you! I’m an Hourglass junkie (I live and die by Film Noir mascara). I think you just sold me on the army green palette. I need it!
I’m in love with Infinity and Color Field is on my wish list. It looks fantastic on you! A must have for my collection :).
WOW Karen! You look soooo pretty in those colours. Totally rocking them. And the palettes… what can I say. Gorgeous! Never tried Hourglass but I’m scared to start! I can see myself hooked. 😛
You know, I’ve really been having a hard time deciding which of these Hourglass palettes to get. I wouldn’t normally go for these shades, but the look you have on in this post is so flippin’ gorgeous, I think I might get this one 🙂
Hi. May I ask, what lipstick did you used in the first photo “Wearing the new Hourglass Modernist Eye Shadow”.
Thanks
Cher
You are smoking! Army green looks GORGEOUS on you…eyeshadow and coat! Totally your color! I must have that coat…is it new?!
your looks are always so pretty
pretty