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5 Wearable Medium Brown Eyeshadows

5 Wearable Medium Brown Eyeshadows

Not so into really rich, dark browns (of which there are many to choose from!) — not to worry: here are five lighter shades that still have plenty of color. These shades work well on the lid as well as in the crease!

  1. Benefit Dandy Brandy — Medium-dark warm brown with a golden sheen
  2. Bare Minerals Namaste Eyeshadow — medium brown with a gray tinge
  3. MAC Wedge — medium brown with a satiny sheen
  4. Urban Decay YDK — medium warm brown with red undertones
  5. MAC Texture — warm, orange-toned medium brown with a pearly sheen

What’s your favorite medium brown eyeshadow? How do you incorporate it into a look?

23 Comments

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army_wife_in_alaska Avatar

My favorite wearable medium brown right now is MAC soft brown. I use it as crease color for samoa silk or woodwinked and pretty much everything else.

army_wife_in_alaska Avatar

MAC Wedge is an interesting color. On my NC 35 skin it doesn’t look medium brown but a cool taupe which is more greyish brown than brown!

Mariella Avatar

For me, Too Faced Teddy Bear – looks just like Wedge in the pan but looks so much better on me than Wedge does; MAC Charcoal Brown and the right hand brown shade from Tarina Tarantino’s Dreamy palette. I also really love UD Snakebite (has a glow but not glitter)

xamyx Avatar

Like a good dark brown, a medium brown is also essential item in my arsenal. Lately, I’ve really been into NARS Blondie as a crease color, or to blend out edges. Although it looks pretty dark in the pan, it can actually be sheered out quite a bit, and is *perfect* for my skintone, or I can build it up for a really intense color. I pair this with NARS Ondine (alot, as Ondine is my HG lid color), or with NARS Ashes To Ashes or Cyprus.

wwendalynne Avatar

 @xamyx Cairo is also on my list of favs for going with any look.  I do not have Ondine yet and I don’t know why!  To me it seems to have a hit of purple??  I was thinking it might be like MAC bark with a hit of shimmer??

xamyx Avatar

@wwendalynne I’m not familiar with MAC Bark, but when I researched dupes for Ondine, I came across several comparisons with MAC Mauvement (pigment). However, though they are definitely in the same family, Ondine is richer & and is more “shimmery” where Mauvement is “frosty”. NARS calls Ondine plum, but I see more mauve. Like I said, to me it never looked impressive in the pan, but once I swatched it, I seriously yearned for it for the week it took for me to get back to Sephora to buy it.

Kafka Avatar

My HG medium brown is a rich caramel matte from Shu Uemura. It’s less red than the brown in NARS Surabaya but richer and more brown (and less orange!) than the Balthazar. At one point, I used to wear it almost daily all over the lid, often combined with one of more of the Chanel Beiges de Chanel Quad colours or the brickish brown from the Chanel Planetes (all Euro formulas, not US).

Greenbergl Avatar

I love Wedge or Cork by MAC especially when I’m going for a very natural look. But, I am lusting after Dandy Brandy by BeneFit!

stacey Avatar

U.D. sell some great shades….the deluxe palette had some nice browns too….plus all those in the naked palette ….plus those in the 4th BOS….like bust, not busted.

simone lymbery Avatar

I adore my benefit beautful big eyes palette kit.. its amazing brown and neutrals rock the world, my go to brown palette nice netural tones to match for contouring etc

Christinaann5 Avatar

i dont own any HE or expensive makeup brands but i am a drugstore makeup fanatic. I have so many great brown/neutral shadows but the ones that can work as a medium brown have got to be Covergirl Eye Enhancer single “Swiss Chocolate”- a great midtone brown w/ slight shimmer but shows up matte on eye.. another is the matte brown reminscent of cork from Mac in the WNW Vanity palette, a few shades in my LA Colors 10 color palette in “Mineral Spa”- its amazing choice of 4 mid tone browns w/ different finishes. I know theyve made my eyes look so much better.. but my favorite is Maybelline Expert Wear single in “Earthly Taupe” which reminds me alot of Macs Soft Brown. I am super pale & its a nice transition color that isnt too dark like almost every shadow for me!!!

xamyx Avatar

@Christinaann5 I think it’s *awesome* that you’ve found so many good DS makeup! My stash is about 50-50, and I *love* hearing about a good DS product. I actually just bought CG Swiss Chocolate a few months ago, and I absolutely love it. I don’t know if you’ve tried any, but L’Oreal has some amazing lighter shades in the Studio Secrets line.

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