Enhance Your Eye Color With Color Theory: Strap on your thinking caps because today we are about to dive into SCIENCE. If you know the basic color wheel and understand the basic principles of color theory, then it will be or should be easy picking out colors based on your eye color. I have always been told that you should never really match your eye colors to what you’re wearing, but rather based on what your natural eye color is. We all know there are times you should take into consideration with what you are wearing, but we will explore that topic next week. Ditch the Color Me Beautiful and get ready to learn the basics behind eye shadow colors.
If you need a refresher on The Color Wheel and shades, then check out this link by beautylish.com.
Here’s your cheat sheet on what you need to know.
– Primary Colors: Red, Blue, Yellow
– Secondary Colors: Orange, Green, Purple
– Tertiary Colors: Red-Orange, Yellow-Orange, Yellow-Green, Blue-Green, Blue-Violet, Red-Violet
– Hue: A color at its maximum intensity
– Tint: A color plus white
– Shade: A color plus black
– Saturation: A measure of brightness or strength of a color
– Neutral: Shadow created by mixing two complementary colors
– Complementary: Colors that are directly across and “compliment” or are the opposite hue
Now that you know the basics, it’s time to learn what eye colors you should be focusing on.
Brown Eyed Girls:
I always say you are the easiest of the bunch. Brown appears quiet frequently on the color wheel. I mean, mix too much of anything and it turns brown/black. Therefore any color compliments brown. Take your pick from teals, plums, golds and greens. You really can’t go wrong with any color you select. Try some of these picks:
Green Eyed Gals:
Find your shade of green on the color wheel (which is typically more than one row). It will typically be a range so don’t worry if you don’t find the exact color. Now look directly across at the complementary color. You will find that reds, plums, burgundys and purples all lie directly across from the green shades. Feel free to explore the hues to the right or left of the outlined areas above. You can’t go wrong. These are the colors you will want to stick with to enhance the green in your eyes. Try on these colors to emphasize your eye color:
Blue Eyed Beauties:
Follow the same steps for the green gals, but instead you will focus on the blue shades and those complementary colors directly across. Here you will find oranges, golds, yellows and bronze tones. Don’t be scared in thinking that you need to overdo your eyes with orange, because that’s not what this is about. Selecting the right tint and shade can make all the difference. Just like with green eyes, experiment with the colors to the right or left of your main color. You’ll be surprised that some of those colors will work just as well. Check out these options for great go to colors:
Hazel Eyes:
The step is very similar to the finding shades for green eyes or blue shades. Find which category you feel you fall into based on your eye color, then have fun exploring with the colors in that area. Here are some good options that will never fail:
Lastly, some notes to always remember:
You can never go wrong with browns, creams, silvers, nudes, whites and grays. Brown should be your good go-to regardless. Make sure to pick a shade that compliments your eyes. If your eye color is more on the warmer side, choose a warm tone brown eye shadow. If your eye color is more on the cool side, then pick a brown that pulls more of a cool tone.
Feeling bold? Get monochromatic and choose tints and shades all within your single color range. For green eyes, experiment with various tints and shades of plum. For blue eyes mix it up with different colors of bronze gold.
Super daring? Go triadic and choose a secondary hue that compliments your first color. Green eyes should try pairing a gold with their purples. Use a gold shadow and make it pop with plum liner. Blue eyes should do the same but in reverse. Pair a burgundy tone with your gold to really make your eyes stand out.
You don’t have to go to the extreme with these colors. If you’re afraid of purples, choose a tint that is much lighter on the color wheel. It’s more forgiving and you can ease yourself into it. The same goes for golds, oranges, teals, blues and anything else you select.
