What are your tips & tricks on playing with color on the eyes?
If it’s not the norm for you, you’ll want to allocate extra time to play, and it’s not a bad idea to practice a bit with color combinations on the back of your hand or choosing one or two colors to add – so a pop of blue rather than going all blue. It is always easiest to blend shimmers together than mattes. If you’re working with colors that don’t normally blend as readily into each other – like blue and orange – putting something lighter and brighter between the two can go a long way, like a shimmering gold.
— Christine
Those are fantastic pointers, Christine.
-Avoid using shadows with all the same value which can result in a muddy look on the eye.
-Don’t throw in the towel. Sometimes looks can go through a stage of looking rather horrific before you add your highlight, liner, and mascara.
One color all over the lid blended lightly into the crease and a lot of mascara is the easiest most fool proof way I’ve found.
If in doubt, I tend to practice the blending on the ball of my thumb, just using my fingers to try and mix them. Easier to wash off!
I’m forever planning out colourful eyelooks on my arm, testing how they blend and layer before committing to the lid. Often I will experiment with a look when I have some downtime at home, paired with a glass of wine and some cheese to get the creative process going 😉
I tend to believe in “keep it simple stupid”. Limit yourself to one or two colors in an eye look and anchor them with neutrals. Like wear a matte brown in the crease and colorful shade on the eyelid. Or wear neutrals on the eye and a colorful lip. A colorful eye look and a nude lip. ESP if you’re a newbie and color is out of your comfort zone. Small doses of color at first and then incorporate more when you got the hang of using color.
I love eyeliner, but as I’ve gotten older I no longer like the look of a colored liner winging up into my wrinkles. Funny that. But I do still (even more now) need/like the lifting effect of a wing. So my ‘trick’ is to use a colored liner above and lightly below my pupil to bring out my eye color, and a neutral liner for the outer edges, shaping it in an upward tilting ‘v’ for it’s shaping effect. Usually add some darker shadow on the outer third to echo the shape, and slightly blur the transition between liner colors.
Seeing as I only like and wear shimmery shades, what I do is pat a soft shimmery shade all over the lid, then add a darker shade on the lower lid and pop a bit of colour in on the crease.
*Have fun with it. Makeup washes off.
*If you’re afraid of color, start small. Do a pop of color on the lower lashline or inner corner. If you’re comfortable with those looks, you can try going a little more bold by using color in the outer 1/3 of the crease, or on the lid with a more neutral shade in the crease.
*Colored mascara can be fun, too. Navy or dark purple are fun alternatives to black and brown without being too “out there.” A good introduction to more wildly colored mascaras is using them just on the outer corners of the lashes, or just on the bottom lashes.
*If you’re using brights, a thin line of black eyeliner on the top lid will “anchor” the look and make it look more sophisticated.
Rachel, your tips are ones that I have either used myself or would recommend to anyone who is about to venture into using brighter colors on their eyes. Especially the parts about using black eyeliner, as this will anchor any look, just about, and using color in the outer crease or just on the lid instead of over the entire eyelid is another way to wear color without being overly adventurous.
1.) Get familiar with your color wheel for inspiration! A sunset eye look with a hit of teal or turquoise liner or as an accent color, for example. A purple with green halo eye look, or pink with gold, too.
2.) Try out various shadow combos on the back of your hand in the same configuration that you intend to use on your lids.
3.) Practice on a colorful eye look when you know that you’re not having to leave the house just to see if this is something that you would be comfortable wearing.
4.) Most importantly; have fun! After all, as Rachel said below, it washes off.