Fashion & Style

Learn which eyeshadows compliment brown hair while taking eye color into account.

Dazzle in diamond dust white. Beware bunches of interested boys when you wear bronze. Prepare to flirt in pink. You get the idea. Brunettes will impress in ANY eyeshadow shade. While a dark-haired girl can wear any color of eyeshadow, which shades look best depends a lot on eye color.

Brunettes with blue eyes will stop men in their tracks in a frosty bronze shade. The reddish golden brown will catch the color of her hair and tie her look together while contrasting with the blue of her eyes enough to make them pop. Who can help looking twice at a woman with bright baby blue eyes—especially when their innocence is played up with a devilish bronze? On the same note, blue-eyed brunettes can wear combinations of taupe and medium/deep browns. Check the drugstore for a quad with a few browns and an accent color like soft pink or blue. Blue-eyed brunettes also wear navy well. Some people say you should never wear a shadow that matches the color of your eyes. Navy IS blue, but it’s dark enough to accent rather than match. Another popular pick for blue-eyed, dark-haired girls is shimmery white, or any other shimmery pastel that looks almost white when applied. A woman with cool undertones may do well in an icy pink. A woman with warm undertones may try a golden-hued shimmer cream. If you have neutral undertones, play around with both, depending on the color of your dress or shirt.

Brunettes with brown eyes get to have all the fun—seriously! Any eyeshadow will look good on you if you’re one of these dark seductresses. You can pull off the smoky, natural, innocent, and flirty looks with no problem and no need for color consideration. Lavender does look especially stunning. Try lavender on the upper lid and a deep plum in the crease and on top of the eyeliner on top and bottom lids. Highlight the browbone with a shimmery white or pale silver. Browns, bronzes, and coppers are kind of “safe” on brunettes with brown hair. They dress up your look but they’re nothing special. Try grays instead for a neutral toned shadow. Mauves are also nice and can be muted enough to wear to work. And just as the blue-eyed girls look hot in shimmery almost-whites, so do the brown-eyed girls. I know a couple of light-eyed girls who are jealous of the brown-eyed girls because they can pull off turquoise so well. Last year there was a makeup advertisement with the prettiest blend of turquoise and coral shadow I think I’ve ever seen and only a brown-eyed girl could pull it off as well as the model. So, you lucky dark-eyed brunettes, appreciate what you’ve got and play those brown eyes up!

Green-eyed brunettes can play up their gorgeous stares with mauves and plums. Again, browns look amazing (light, medium, dark, or bronze). Green-eyed girls with gold flecks will enjoy the effects of a gold shadow because it’ll bring the gold out in their eyes. Lavenders bump up the green hue and look great with dark hair. Try a deep purple liner with a lavender shadow to really bring out the contrasting color. Mix purples and golds together. Have fun with it! You can always wash it off.

Hazel-eyed beauties can wear blue or green quite well. Hazel girls can pull off turquoise and navy with little effort. Sheer greens look stunning. Just like brown-eyed girls, hazel eyes look good in any shadow color. Just as brunettes look good in any color.

Written by Crystal Schwanke – 2002 Pagewise