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Is there an eyeshadow color you won't wear?


Is there an eyeshadow color you won’t wear? Why? Share!

I tend to stay away from mustard yellows – bright yellows, yes, golden yellows, absolutely, but anything that verges on dirty never works well on me.

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Lisa Avatar

I’ll never understand red eyeshadow. It just picks up on any redness in my skin or eyes and amplifies it, plus it makes you look like your eye area is red, which is usually what I’m trying to avoid.

Nicoco Chanel Avatar

It’s the direct opposite to green, which means that people with green eyes should suit it, but it is a beeotch of a colour to work with. I have a few reds and they always look better in my mind’s eye than applied, sob.

xamyx Avatar

I have very dark brown eyes, and light/neutral skin, and I wear red quite often. It can be a bit tricky, but there are ways to avoid the typical pitfalls. I always make sure I have rid my eyes of any redness with eye drops. Also, using black, espresso, or eggplant shadow or liner as a “barrier” between the red & the eye will help avoid the shadow from “pulling” any unwanted redness from the eyes.

KaseyCannuck Avatar

I also have dark brown eyes and I do a sunset inspired look with red, orange and gold with a teal liner. I love the look and it just screams SUMMER!

Quinctia Avatar

If you’re afraid of the color making it look like there’s something wrong with the eye area rather than eyeshadow, you need a stronger, more vivid red. The times I’ve worn red eyeshadow, it was definitely bright enough to where there was no way on earth it would be mistaken for my skin being red. And I think it played down any ruddiness on my cheeks.

I am fortunate in that my eyes are usually very, very white and I only get bloodshot there if they’ve been severely irritated or I’ve been quite ill.

But if you just don’t like it, that’s totally understandable. Eyeshadow and lipgloss (and a Gryffindor t-shirt) are about the only way I ever contemplate wearing red. I’m not fond of the color in general.

Lisa Avatar

I have olive skin so there are just certain colors that I don’t think look good on me. Mostly pastels, (though I do wear pink), and silver. White eyeshadow can also be tricky as it tends to look chalky on my skin.

xamyx Avatar

Oranges, coppers, russets, warm bronzes/golds just look odd; not so much with my coloring, but with my overall aesthetic. Maybe if I wore brighter, sportier clothes, but I tend to wear alot of black & jewel tones. Pastels can be a bit tricky, as well, but if they have some depth or a duochrome, I can pair them with deeper shades in the same range, and black.

Julia Avatar

Purple eyeshadow. All kinds, brights to pastels to vampy purples. They’re supposed to look good with brown eyes but on me they look so very utterly ‘blah’. No idea why, maybe it has something to do with my cool toned PPP skintone.

Beatrice Avatar

There’s an unholy trinity I tend to avoid like the plague: blue, silver and white. No matter what they look artificial and cheap to me and make me cringe a little every time I see them used in a tutorial or in a look. Just no.

Gina Avatar

Some people may like a hot pink wash all across the lids. It’s not terribly nice to call people names over their eyeshadow preferences 🙂

xamyx Avatar

I’ve seen several tutorials using NARS Caravaggio, and they’ve all looked *amazing*! I personally bought for the violet shade in the duo, initially, but after playing with it, I really do like the pink shade, too. I have very dark eyes, and light/neutral skin, and bright pinks, reds, etc work very well for me.

KaseyCannuck Avatar

Pastels, because I just don’t like them.
Greys, because they don’t work with my colouring. Maybelline’s Tough As Taupe is so cool on me that I use it strictly as a base under brown-based taupes or mauves or plums.

Sunny Avatar

I’d say most reddish shades don’t work on me. I haven’t tried a really bright red, but the reddish browns, corals and so on only serve to make me look rather ill!

Vee Avatar

I can’t wear purple because all the purples I’ve tried have given me an allergic reaction (redness, soreness, extremely blodshoot eyes). I don’t think it’s a reaction to carmine because I can wear burgundy and red just fine. There’s some other component of purple eyeshadows and pencils that my eyes just can’t handle. It bums me out because I have green eyes and purples would look good.

Miranda C Avatar

Anything with a peach/orange tinge to it. All That Glitters by MAC, Chopper by UD, things like that. I’m just too fair and it looks weird.

Lizzi Avatar

I can’t wear red toned purples, I blame my cool-toned coloring. No matter how classy I use them they make me looked like I’ve been punched in the faced.

zainab Avatar

Silver and light blue. I have tried, but really light cool toned shades just look bad. I tend to avoid purples as well, and I find a lot of light neutrals just disappear on me. Reds, golds, oranges all the way.

evr Avatar

I’m caramel brown and I do not understand white eyeshadow. Shockingly, I can pull off absolutely any other color, in any shade, but a matte white eyeshadow makes me look like a crazy chalk fiend. I can deal with a shimmery white shadow in small amounts, but only on rare occasions, like a xmas party.

Kelly Avatar

Blue…any blue. When I was growing up no one wore blue it was considered trashy and I just can’t get over that. Plus it doesn’t look good with my auburn hair and green eyes.

Maddie Avatar

Olive/mossy green does NOTHING for my eyes, coloring, etc. I’m ok with emerald green, bluish green, and jade and whatnot but that typical color (MAC Sumptuous Olive), just doesn’t make a difference at all.

Danielle Avatar

Purples. Occasionally I find a shade that I like, but overall, it’s not one of my favorites. I know they say it’s supposed to look great with brown eyes, but on me it looks weird.

Lee Avatar

Blues, I have blue eyes and feel like it detracts from them. Plus the whole trailer trash factor. 🙂

Also, olive greens and some old golds. I love them on other people but on me they just make me look bruised.

Veronica Avatar

I’ll wear pretty much anything, but I admit I tend to avoid very warm toned shadows on my eyes, like oranges or very yellowy coppers. I find warm tones can work on my cheeks or lips with the right work but not so much on eyes. (If I use one of them, I always offset it with something cooler toned or very neutral!)

Nicoco Chanel Avatar

Honestly? I cannot think of one. Maybe silver. But I wouldn’t say no if I saw a version that didn’t feel too reminiscent of teenage makeup mistakes. I do love a gunmetal.

Jill Avatar

Blue and purple. Blue eyeshadow looks cheap and tacky on me. Every time I try to wear purple it looks like I smeared dirt on my eyes. From high end to the cheap stuff, I have yet to find a decent purple.

Mindy Avatar

Greens more yellow greens and true greens. I can do olive greens and greens with gold in them. I love the green eye shadows but every time I try to use them it looks like I’ve had a few rounds in a boxing ring and lost. =\

Amanda R Avatar

I have blue eyes and ultra fair skin. I try to wear warm browns and oranges to bring out my eye color, but it ends up looking horrible with my pink-complected porcelain skin, and so now I just stay away from anything too warm. I have never even tried to wear red.

Vilkas Avatar

I can’t wear purple. It always makes me look washed out and hungover. I have hazel brown/yellow eyes, pale olive skin and dark brown hair. Also horrible: pale frosted cool pink.

Elena Avatar

I love them all but I certainly don’t wear them all because they are tricky. When I was younger I used to use a lot of color, oranges, yellows, golds, I mean EVERYTHING, lol but now that Im 25 I just dont know how to pull them off anymore, I think it’s because when I was in college I got into this no makeup thing and I stepped away from it just because and I even lost practice at eyelining buuuut, I guess blue is one difficult but I like to wear it discretely…that’s how I would make them all work…

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