Choosing the Best Eye Shadow Color for Your Eyes

Many women are intimidated when they walk into a store to choose a color of eye shadow. There are hundreds of variations in color making it difficult to know which color is best for your eye color. You want to choose a color that will compliment and enhance your eye color while not overpowering your eyes. The best place to begin is with neutral shades and venture into other colors from there.

The easiest colors to work with to enhance eye color are neutral colors. If you attempt to match your eye color, you will often have a result that detracts from you eye color because the eye shadow becomes the focus rather than the color of your eyes. Neutral tones compliment almost every skin tone and provide an excellent palate to create highlights to focus on the color of your eyes. Neutral colors are not only shades of brown but include gray, gold, vanilla, olive mauve and beige. Apply a neutral ivory over entire eyelid then apply the darkest color you are using to highlight the socket line of your eyes. Using a bit more of ivory, smooth he lines of the darker color to blend. Using a dark brown, line along your eyelid and apply mascara. This is a very easy technique that will allow the focus to stay on your eye color rather than the eye shadow.

When you have mastered the neutral tones and are ready to move on to bolder shades, the following colors "compliment" eye color. Remember, that it is not going to enhance your eye color to attempt to match the color of you eyes to your eye shadow. Eye shadow should compliment you eye color and stay in the background allowing the focus to be on your eye color rather than the eye shadow on your lids.

Green eyes: earth tones (almost any brown, taupes, ivory, chocolate), gold, bronze, copper, plums, pink and purple

Blue eyes: metallics (gold, silver, copper and bronze), gray, taupe, mauve, purple and deep blue. Do not use greenish blues or aqua, as these will compete with your eye color.

Brown eyes: pinks, peach, corals, golds, green, blue, plum, brown, champagne and purple. Most colors go well with brown eyes.

Hazel eyes: earth tones (mocha and khaki are great) and soft plums, lavender and pink. Purple is a great color to use for contrast and teal gives a dramatic look for hazel eyes. However, do not use blue, as it will dull hazel eyes.

You skin tone also needs to be considered when choosing an eye shadow color. If you have a pale or light skin tone, the color of your eye shadow should be less intense than women who have olive or darker skin tones. Remember - eye shadow should compliment and not overpower your eyes and complexion.

One last tip for choosing an eye shadow that will enhance your eye color - - opposites attract. You do not want to match your eye color but you do want to use a color that is opposite on the color wheel to your eye color as an accent color. By doing so, the accent color will contrast perfectly with your eye color making your eyes really stand out beautifully. For example, if your eyes are blue your accent color would be brown or reddish brown (the color directly across the color wheel from blue).