Really sallow yellows, kind of murky yellows. I can do a golden/orange yellow or a shimmery yellow, but certain types of yellow just make me look sick. If I pair it with warmer colors, like oranges, pinks, or reds, it can work.
— Christine
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Yellow or Orange, definitely. They’re hard for me to wear.
Coppers! It just doesn’t look good against my skin tone 🙁
Yellow/Orange. I’m too cool for most, and too pale for the lighter, paler shades that I might be able to work.
Yellow or blue in large doses just doesn’t look right on me. I can only wear those two shades with other colors. I can wear any other color pretty much, but those two just don’t work well for some reason!
Pinks on my eyes don’t work out so well, either.
Certain reds or pinks! It can either look gorgeous or like something’s wrong, I once did a pink look and my uncle thought my eyes looked red because I had a sinus infection lol.
Copper and hot pink come to mind.
Navy blue is the worst for me. I can’t wear it without looking like I got punched in the eye. A shame too, since I love navy blue ._.
I can’t do any pastels. Although I’m fairly light, and completely neutral (I have absolutely no obvious undertones), my eyes are very dark brown. Pastels just look really faded, regardless of quality/pigmentation.
Purple, burgundy. Especially if I try to use them with yellow, gold or green. They might look great on other people but they make me look as if I was socked in the eyes.
I can wear pretty much anything in small quantities, as long as they’re offset by other colors, but as for things that can absolutely not be worn by themselves or as the centerpiece of the eye –
Overtly warm coppers/bronzers
Yellows and oranges
Reds (especially burgundies – it looks like a bruise) and certain pinks
Baby blues
Bitter by ma is the first thing I think of, I also look awful with woodwinked, but as a general color, chartreuse, red, and bronze for me. The hardest color across the board is probably yellow, if you can pull it of, bravo!
Well for me it’s more like “What colors do I dislike, even though some are “colors” for my “eye color.”
I find burgundy’s, Pinks, gold, browns that really lean red, and gold/brown that have a orange base and are more gold (think woodwinked) are hard. Why? Because my eye shape, green eyes, dark brown hair and nc20 skintone makes me look vampire like. I don’t wear brights of any kind. I wear purple, green, or blue in neutral tones like browns or grays. I think true purple’s or purple that are slightly warm work best on making my eyes pop. Blues and greens do nothing, but I like them .
Red, yellow and copper! Unfortunately I can’t seem to pull off green either lol
Black. Unless I’m using it as a liner, any other way seems overly harsh. The tiniest bit of fallout is can make a mess. I don’t know why it’s considered a basic shade and put in every other palette.
I think the last time I used black eyeshadow was when I put on cat ears for Halloween and did one eye all in white shadow and the other all in black.
Mostly blues, but any neons or saturated primary colors prove to be a bit bothersome for me… then again I’m one of those girls who likes to play it safe (i.e. 2/3rds of my eyeshadows are neutrals).
Red-purples because of the bruised look.
Blue And yellow!
all colours work on me if I match some other right colours to go with..
I don’t normally wear just one colour.
I don’t like colours that are really soft/muted, light, pastel, warm (and muddy) or harshly cool on me. For example, blue magenta, dust, dusty rose, foggy saffron, dusty rose, pale (not icy) yellow, etc. I can’t wear really warm red-browns, really dust-covered foggy colours, frosted colours, or pastels. I need colours that are neutral (slightly warm and slightly cool) and have a depth to them, which leaves rich black-navy, charcoal, pewter, eggplant, deep dark teal, etc.
Blue.
I find it hard to pull off yellows, oranges, corals and golds around the eyes. I have blue eyes, and these colors should pop, but my eyes look more swollen and as if I have cried for hours.
Red reds! I love red-ish bronzy colors, and don’t mind colors moving towards red – but true reds are nearly impossible on me.
I tend to avoid true blues, yellows, and oranges. I can wear certain shades of them, but if done wrong I’d either look sick, or have eye infection.
Purple is my color. I just can’t seem to get it right most of the time. I look like I have been punched in my eye.
Red or orange or very pink. I don’t see the point and they don’t look good on me, so far as I think.
Reddish shades like copper. And cooler purples. Purple usually make me look like I have a bruise!
I know it’s heartbreaking but I haven’t been able to make taupe work for me yet! Every time I wear something remotely taupe-ish it looks like someone punched me in the eye… That and blue I guess. I haven’t had the guts to purchase anything blue and play with it yet, but I suspect it’s tough.
Anything too warm/orange toned looks a bit weird on me because I’m quite pale. I can’t wear pink because it just makes my eyes looks too red. Green is ok in small doses but I prefer to wear it with other colours than on it’s own.
Teals! I LOVE teal eyeshadow, but unfortunately they don’t go with my skintone at all. Bright coral, orange and warm browns are also really hard for me to pull off. I’m NW20 (light peachy skin) with blue eyes.
Okay this will probably sound really stupid but nudes just don’t look right on me. I’ve tried them a million different ways and i’m still unhappy with the look. I’ll rock almost anything else though. My skin tone works will pretty much every color and i wear lots of different color contacts so i make the eyeshadow work with my eye color 😛
Definitely pinks and reds which can make me look positively ill. I wanted to challenge myself and wear something I would normally never wear so I recently purchased Mac Passionate and pulled it off by pairing it down with Moleskin as a base. Certain shades of yellow and green make me look very sallow as well..ewwww.
Light blues and greens just because I have blue eyes. But that usually doesn’t stop me. 🙂
I have red hair and fair, cool-toned sin. I have a hard time with very warm colours such as warm coppers and corals; they make me look tired or ill. Yellows, oranges and reds are ok as long as I make them bright and don’t do them half-heartedly! Weirdly, I also struggle a bit with very cool colours like blues or blue-leaning silvers and greys. They tend to make my skin look very pink.
The colours I find easiest to wear are neutral/cool browns and earth tones, taupes, purples, and olive greens.
I have the same issues as I have red hair and fair, cool-toned skin. It’s strange because even taupe can make me look sick if it doesn’t have enough brown in the shadow. I get frustrated when someone tells me this eye shadow will look great on “cool” tones. I buy it to find out I look dead when I put it on. Earth tones work best and yes Nars made a beautiful green eye duo in their spring collection that makes the most lovely green smokey eye on a red head.
Hot pink and purple ! Just doesn’t suit me.
Greens! I can rock the teal or anything that leans more blue but true greens and warm, olive-y greens are tough.
Red is difficult to work with for me, still thinking of how to pull it off.
Yellows and oranges–anything very warm-toned. I hate it because coral and red-browns are some of my favorite colors.
Lighter blue or teal eyeshadow. I end up looking like a waitress at a diner or like someone out of the 80’s. I am determined to make them work for me.
Green
most primary colors are hard to pull off for most people I’ve found. Unless you’re going for a certain editorial look.
Same here, YELLOWS. I have yellow-green “olive” undertones…I have yet to find the right yellow for my eyes…nails…clothing…LOL.
No yellow for me either!
Pink and red make me look tired but usually i only wear neutrals because most don’t suit me
Black. It doesn’t matter the texture- matte, shimmer, neutral, it never, ever looks right on me 🙁
bright colors for me, like yellows, pinks, reds.
Blue looks awful on me
blue, black
Pink. It pulls out the red in my brown eyes and looks hideous.
pink! It looks like I have an eye infection, red and yellow
Black pink and yellow
Blue! I feel like a 70s Aretha Franklin!
Blue
Pinks! Just gross on me
Pinks and golds
pink, yellow, light greens, light baby blues…
Gold
Baby blue and pastel pink…pastels in general!
pink or bright colors
Brown and anything with orange in it. Makes me look sick.
chris, will you have the chance to review hey sailor collection? 🙂
Blue 🙁 i love that color
Pink…any shade. Makes my eyes look tired. Great for lips though.
Yellows.
Pinks and reds. They make me look like I got punched in the eyes!
I’ve pulled off green, teal, yellow, hot pink, purple, every color under the sun, but warm, orange-y browns looks are not my friend. My coloring is so cool and ashy that any really warm browns make me look like I spread mud on my eyes.
Blues. It always looks way too dated, stark, and 80’s on me.
Red. I have fair skin with some redness issues and I really can’t make it work. It just looks like I have some kind of eye irritation.
Blue..
Agree with Christine. I think the yellow she is describing as difficult would be ‘ochre’, with muddy, clay based tawny gold yellow that must be essential for putting landscapes on a canvas. It is a B*%*h to get it pretty on an eyelid. Can work with most any other color. Chris, tell us how you get a MATTE BLACK shadow or paint base for a lid with no streaks or rubs, under a smoky look for example.
yellow, I have no idea how to wear it. baby blue another one. Orange.
Bright green, it clashes with my hair and makes my skin look red.
Overly warm colors, especially oranges, coppers, etc. Pretty much anything with a hint of orange looks disgusting on me, I just look physically ill. Yellow works the majority of the time and red-toned shades are okay occasionally, but I can never work with something orangey.
Any cool colors: grey, blue, and purple. I can occasionally get away with purple, but never blue or grey. These colors make me look like a dead person. I have fair skin with auburn red hair, but yet I look great in orange eyeshadow. You would think that would totally clash, but it doesn’t in the least. Go figure.
PURLPLE, ITS SEEMS TO ALWAYS FADE EVEN WHEN I USE PRIMER
Purple. I just do not look good in purple!
Definitely yellows. I have quite a few yellows but I rarely use them because I have to be in a real committed yellow mood to bother and it never seems to look quite right. At least not in a less complicated look. If I use yellow but make it more complicated with more colors, it works better.
I don’t even mind yellows that much, but my downfall is purple. Whether it’s sparkly, shimmery, or matte, dark or light, veering more blue or more red, I always end up looking like someone punched me in the eye.
I’ve tried combining purple with other shades to tone it down a bit, but nope, still looked ridiculous!
Yellow and blue
Most blues. (also red lipstick) Looks too stodgy, conservative, 1950s.
Most blues. (also red lipstick) Looks too stodgy, conservative, 1950s on me.
Gold and bronze-y colors. Anything with a strong yellow or orange tone, basically. I have a pretty cool skin tone and these colors look awful on me. I love them on other people but unfortunately I just can’t pull them off.
I’m about an NC42 with VERY warm undertones, so anything in the cool spectrum just doesn’t look very good on my skin. As a result, almost every eyeshadow I own is some sort of brown, bronze, gold, etc. 😛 I do make an exception for more red-toned purples, as I seem to be able to wear those okay without looking like an alien. (And because I love doing purple smoky eyes! Hehe.)