Think back to when you first started wearing eyeshadow. I don’t know about you, but I remember being *hella* confused. I’d approach makeup counters totally overwhelmed, never knowing which colors to wear or which colors to pair.
Janice, a newbie to the eyeshadow world, is looking for beginner eyeshadow color pairing tips.
I love make up, but I have NO IDEA how to apply it… especially shadows!
How do you choose colors that compliment each other? Like the shadows that don’t come packaged together, can you look at them and see which ones will work together? Is there a rule of thumb?
I usually buy whatever the salesladies tell me goes together, but I’d like to do it on my own.
Janice
Hi Janice,
Some makeup books will tell you to follow steadfast color rules, but honestly, I think those rules were meant to be broken. I wear what moves me, and that’s what I hope you’ll do, too. 🙂
There are some considerations that may help when you’re looking for colors to pair together, like how cool or warm colors may work with your skin tone, different textures (like matte versus shimmer) and how products differ in how much pigmentation they pack.
Boiling it down to a few basics, here are some tips to help get you on your way:
1. A good place to start is to pair a neutral, like a shimmery beige, with a single pop of color. Benefit Bikini Line (a shimmery beige), MAC Ricepaper (a shimmery peachy beige) and MAC Shroom (a shimmery beige) are ones I like to use together. Try using them with a blue, green, gold, purple, pink, black, gray or any other color that moves you. Experimentation is key.
2. Afraid of brights? Consider building your look around versatile browns. When I started wearing eyeshadow, I only felt comfortable in neutrals. I found a few great browns and then built up my collection from there (check out this video for a few brown eyeshadow suggestions). If you’re color shy, try pairing browns with beige, gold, bronze, peach or taupe shadows. Any of these shades will be easy to blend and are very beginner friendly. A few to look into: Benefit Velvet Eyeshadow in Dandy Brandy (a shimmery bronzy brown), MAC Arena (a shimmery peach), MAC Woodwinked (a shimmery gold), MAC Amber Lights (a shimmery peachy brown) and MAC Satin Taupe (a shimmery taupe).
3. If you’re ready for more complicated color pairings, look at some pictures of flowers, or go for a walk outside. Once, a cream-colored white rose bush inspired me to do a beige, gold, dark green and chocolate brown eye. Another time I took a cue from a bird of paradise flower and tried an orange, purple and green eye with a hint of yellow. Mother Nature is a fantastic painter and a great source of inspiration for me.
Gals, think back to your early days with makeup. How’d you choose colors to pair together, and how do you do it now?
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
P.S. I almost forgot! Take a look at Adobe Kuler. It’s a site literally bursting with color palette suggestions. Photographers and graphic designers use it for color inspiration. Great site!
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