Make up for Brown Eyes

Make up for brown eyes offers a multitude of options. Brown eyes are the most diverse of eye colors, so if you are lucky enough to have a set of dark peepers, it is more important to consider your skin tone when choosing eye make up colors to enhance your eyes.

Skin Tone and Hair Color

Choosing the right colors to compliment your skin tone and hair color combination, will greatly enhance your eyes, no matter what color. There are two types of skin tone: warm with yellow undertones and cool with pink undertones. If you are not sure which type you have, just answer a few simple questions to determine your skin tone.

• Does a cream-colored or white shirt look more flattering on you? Your skin tone is warm if the cream shirt looks better and cool if the white shirt looks better.
• Do the veins on your wrist appear to be more bluish or greenish? Blue indicates a cool skin tone and green a warm skin tone.
• Does a pink (cool) or orange (warm) scarf look better when wrapped around your face?
• Is silver (cool) more flattering to your skin tone or gold (warm)?

The shade of eye make up colors you use can keep your skin looking warm and bright, enhancing your brown eyes, or it can create a yellowish (sallow) look to warm-toned skin or make cool-toned skin look washed-out. Although with brown eyes you can pull off just about any eye make up color, some colors work better with warm or cool skin tones.

• Warm skin tones – coral, green, brown, bronze, pink and creams
• Cool skin tones – gray, silver, blue, green and purple

If you have black hair and brown eyes, you can use a variety of colors in shades of blue, purple, brown, green, pink, black, gray and even some shades of orange. Blue eye shadow is best reserved for those brown-eyed beauties with black or platinum-colored hair and either fair skin or very dark skin.

Maybelline offers the Sapphire Ice Quad of eye shadow with a shade of blue for every skin tone for the reasonable price of $5.99 to $8.43. Almay produces the “intense i-color” line of liners, mascara and eye shadows designed to intensify your eye color. The “Bring Out” collection will enhance your brown eyes, and the “Play Up” collection can be used for a more intense, dramatic look. Items from either collection can be purchased for $2.99 to $14.99.

Daytime Make up Tips

Lighter and more subtle, neutral colors are best for daytime make up colors. Natural hues of brown, beige, bronze, taupe or peach are best. To achieve a professional, flattering look apply the lightest color over your entire lid. Use the next-to-lightest color for highlighting the inner corner of your eyes and the darkest color in the creases. Finish the application with black or brown eyeliner and black mascara.

Nighttime Make up Tips

A dramatic sultry, nighttime look is typically achieved with shades of grey. With brown eyes you can get a smoky, seductive look using dark blues or purples. The dark smoky appearance is done by applying thick eyeliner slightly smudged. A cream liner like the one sold by L’Oreal as part of their H.I.P. line, works well to create nighttime drama. These liners are available for around $12 each.

More Tips

Using a liner in a darker shade that matches your eye shadow strongly highlights brown eyes, making them shine. To keep the attention on your eyes, stay more neutral with lip and cheek colors. When applying make up colors, remember that light colors highlight and make features appear larger, while dark colors are used to add contour and minimize features.