What eyeshadow color would you never wear? Share!
I don’t like wearing yellows or mustard-y shades, though I will wear them if it’s in a palette but lucky for me, it’s not a popular shade! Yellow is easier for me to wear, but it has to be warm enough and I prefer a lil’ shimmer.
Thanks to Genevieve for today’s question! Do you have a question idea? Submit yours here.
We're here to help you make better beauty purchases that you'll enjoy and love! We recommend signing up to take advantage of personalized features like tracking products you own, viewing dupes that you already have, and more!
Here are some useful resources for you:
Curious how two shades compare to each other? Type in the shades below to get instant side-by-side swatches!
Comments that do not adhere to our comment policy may be removed. Discussion and debate are highly encouraged but we expect community members to participate respectfully. Please keep discussion on-topic, and if you have general feedback, a product review request, an off-topic question, or need technical support, please contact us!
Please help us streamline the comments' section and be more efficient: double-check the post above for more basic information like pricing, availability, and so on to make sure your question wasn't answered already. Comments alerting us to typos or small errors in the post are appreciated (!) but will typically be removed after errors are fixed (unless a response is needed).
We appreciate enthusiasm for new releases but ask readers to please hold questions regarding if/when a review will be posted as we can't commit to or guarantee product reviews. We don't want to set expectations and then disappoint readers as even products that are swatched don't always end up being reviewed due to time constraints and changes in priorities! Thank you for understanding!
We try to approve comments within 24 hours (and reply to them within 72 hours) but can sometimes get behind and appreciate your patience! 🙂 If you have general feedback, product review requests, off-topic questions, or need technical support, please contact us directly. Thank you for your patience!
Pink!
I hate orange and yellow, but I’ve still been known to wear them once or twice a year (i have a couple palettes that have oranges/yellows).
Well, I would never say never… but probably yellow. I have some yellow undertones, and I think yellow eye shadow would just make me look jaundiced and highlight any discoloration/dark circles. But I also thought pink eye shadow would look terrible, but I found a fuchsia pink that looks nice. So there probably is a yellow out there that could work….
Yes, I’m there with you about yellow and mustard. Turquoise is not for me either although teal is nice.
Any and all blues
Pastel mattes (like MUG’s Shore Thing)
Vibrant or bright mattes like a bright, neon green or yellow or orange or primary colors (like MAC’s Playland collection)
I like neutrals or muted jewel tones and at my age I prefer a contoured or smokey eye with gradation rather than a GOOD GOD THERE IS A RAINBOW ON THOSE EYELIDS!!!! look.
Ha Ha Ha “Look there’s a rainbow on those eyelids” HAHAHAHA
probably red… i would look sick or like i’d cried a lot… i would reconsider if its a brick red but more brown-ish…
I love most colors! I own most of Sugarpill’s eyeshadows, both loose and pressed. The only colors I hate when it comes to eyeshadow are pink and purple. I don’t dislike the colors themselves, but I think they’re childish and unoriginal when it comes to makeup and fashion. There are exceptions though, I own a peachy pink shade with a golden sheen and I love it, and I like dark purples. I’m also not very fond of royal blue eyeshadow, it’s pretty but it can be too much.
I do own a (matte) yellow eyeshadow, but it looks incredibly meh on me since my skin has a yellow undertone to it. I’m still trying to figure out how to use it.
Oh, and I’d probably never wear nude colors on their own. The main reason I’m into makeup now is the beautiful, vibrant colors, so naked palettes are not really my thing.
My fave eyeshadow colors are teal, green, gold, and orange/copper. I can’t buy too many of those shades!
Purples and of course yellows! Purples just seem to make my eyes look bruised thanks to my abysmal eyeshadow skills!
I use to avoid purples for the same reason. Then I realized that not all purples are created equally. =) I can easily wear purples with more red in them, I just have to avoid the ones with more blue or I look like I was punched in the eye. Your “perfect purple” is out there somewhere.
Mustard yellow, I’m just not attracted to that color at all, at least on the eyes. I also have a hard time wearing warm plum because it makes me look sick.
Matte white, baby blue, cotton candy pink, very bright cobalt blue, most shades of light to medium grey. None of those do anything for me, or make my eyes look pretty either.
Pretty much the same colours you’ll never see on me!
I’m seconding every color you listed! They all clash horribly with my skin and make me look very ill and/or dead.
Purple. Idk why but its my least favorite color. I almost hate purple. Any shades. I think it makes me look sallow and emphasizes dark circles. Its funny bc im a sagittarius and purple is always the color for items related to zodiac. Disgusting lol.
I’m a Leo, and gold/orange/yellow seem to always be associated with Leo, and those are colors that look horrid on me, LOL! My daughter, however, is also a Leo, and those are “her” colors-go figure…
Purple is my least favorite color, too, even though it’s my mom’s favorite color… my high school’s color was purple… UD’s color is purple… I hate it. I will never wear purple again.
Yellow, mint or red. I can’t pull any of them off. I wore red for a Halloween look one year but that’s it. Mint green makes my skin look a funny colour and I absolutely hate the colour yellow!
Honestly? I’m pretty adventurous when it comes to eyeshadow, so I’m game for anything!
I actually find “natural” looking yellows some of the easiest colours to wear when they’re close to my natural undertones or skintone (which is a medium greenish yellow) because they look natural or compliment my skintone (maybe including mustardy shades?)
For me, neon eyeshadows are absolute no-goes. I do like bright, jewel tones though.
Blue doesn’t seem to suit me 🙁
Red or anything really close to red (though I am forcing myself to use the orange shadows in the 2 Kat von D palettes I have), bright pink (UD Woodstock, Alchemy or Junkshow) and also any mustard or yellow tones.
Have you tried the orange shades with navy, eggplant, or chocolate? I was apprehensive of the orange in the Ladybird palette, but the Sephora SA suggested using it with navy or eggplant, which she was wearing (even as a cool-toned blonde), and it was really wearable.
Warm browns, reds, and taupes look awful on me so I don’t wear them. That’s primarily why I was never too excited about the naked palette trend. I had thought I couldn’t wear yellows or oranges, but with many of the recent palette releases these shades were included so I tried them. I found that I can wear some soft/muted yellows (think butter yellow) or oranges (think closer to peach but not quite peach) as accents in the center of my eyelid or in the corners. I’ve even been able to work some of the brighter yellows in with lime green. They actually work pretty well at making some other shades (other side of the color wheel) “pop”.
I agree with yellows. It’s not a problem cause I don’t like the shade so I never gravitate to it.
Probably light shimmery blue. No matter how you twist or turn it, I just don’t think it will look good on me!
I would never wear white or neon colored shadows again. Unless of course I am in some sort of fashion show but that does happen regularly and it’s always an exception with those type of events. I enjoy a variety of all the other colors and finishes and would wear any on a given day. I typically stick to neutral during the week since it does not take much thought putting together a makeup look.
RED..I have no idea ho to wear red on my eyes without looking dead or like the devil.:)
I agree! In particular: TRUE red! Although yes, I can wear things like UD Alchemy or Last Call, no way can I do real red either!
Lots of black mascara & liner! No, it’s not a subtle, daytime look, but the “break” between the eye & color prevents the sick/tired illusion. Also, a pale, shimmery nude on the mobile lid with a soft wash of red in the creasecan be pretty!
I absolutely love red eyeshadow, and own more than a dozen…
I agree about the yellow. Also red and pink. I just find those all make me look like I’m sick/have am eye infection and that’s not cute.
Purples with more of a red tone to them. With my fair skin, they tend to read more bruised or irritated on my eyes. Yellows on there own not so much as well for the same issue of looking like and old bruise. lol
Taupe! It makes me look ashy.
Hello. By definition taupe is a brownish grey color that can also be more pink, yellow, warm and cool, brown violet .. It’s like taupe goes in many directions. Is there always taupe making a chalky look for you? I’d love to direct you to a warmer based shimmer taupe still true to taupe that won’t make you feel like you can’t wear it
For me it’s anything peachy-pink/orange. I have cool toned super fair skin, and those shades look so unflattering on me. I can wear reds, but they have to be true red or dark red. But anything with orange-y tinge to it makes me look so weird!
Reds. I keep seeing these makeup artists use different shades of reds and burnt oranges and make such beautiful eye makeup, but I have tried and failed so many times. I give up. I just have to accept that I can’t do it :-/
red 😡
Frosty blue. Nuff said.
I have green/grey eyes and ANY BLUE shadow makes me look like a 1990’s hooker. It sucks because I love turquoise, navy, and teal, but even just as a pop of liner, it looks terrible.
Also, any grey-toned browns (think Tease from Naked 2, or “greige” colors) make me look incredibly tired. Same with matte white, for some reason…
Mustard isn’t flattering on me, but my sister-in-law has hazel eyes and is tanned, and she looks amazing in it.
I need to figure out a way to wear bright pinks. It looks amazing on the lid, but I’m 30 and don’t want to come off as too childish (just playful and funky) so I’m struggling with that.
Lol, so well said I was thinking of what to call that blue eye shadow look, 90’s hooker, you can even take that back to the 80’s.
Maybe not *never*, but yellows and true oranges, especially matte, aren’t flattering. Yellow especially just isn’t a color I care for much.
Any shade of blue; even strong blue leaning greys and silvers. I cannot get over my association with Mimi from The Drew Carey show; it just strikes me as very garish and dated.
Light blues and yellows are my tricky ones. I don’t wear them often but when I do it’s either in really multicolored looks or with a neutral transition color–I almost always use other colors to buffer me against them, basically. There are other colors that don’t do much to flatter me but aren’t as unflattering as light blues and yellows can be, mostly bright shades of green (MAC Bitter: prime example) because they can wash out rather than set off my hazel-green eyes, but I just go ahead and wear them if I feel like it. Several of the makeup bloggers who really influenced my makeup preferences as I was growing up have brown eyes, so they tended to kill it in all shades of blue, teal, and green and even if it doesn’t look the same on me I still find myself reaching for color palettes they instilled an appreciation for.
Blues. Blue doesn’t work with my coloring at all.
I can’t seem to pull off near black purples and blues. They make me look tired and dull no matter how much interest concealer I wear. (fair, olive undertones)
It’s not so much I would “never wear” them, but I’ve come to the point where I absolutely refuse to buy a palette with less than 8 shades that leans cooler, yet has a seemingly obligatory gold/bronze shade in it… I’ve seen sooo many otherwise beautiful neutral quads/quints over the years, but they all seem to have that one shimmery, warm shade that just doesn’t fit.
White. Neon colors. I love color , I just cant/won’t wear neon like colors though. But a teal eye- I’m all over that
Never is a strong word (lol) but I don’t wear paste shades like soft pink, light green or baby blue on my eyelids.
Lol, I love mustard! 😀
I love playing with all colors, but the one I use the least is probably red.
I agree with you about yellow, sometimes I get tempted when I see other people wearing it but it’s definitely not for me.
Probably most pastels, especially pastel blue. Too “Barbie” for me, but then again I might just do it one of these days. I guess I can never say never. But I think it would look kind of meh to yuck on me.
Baby blue. It looks terrible on my hazel eyes, sadly!
There are a few yellow-brown colors that just look nasty to me, but I don’t recall any specific brands or names without looking it up.
Blended in, I would wear anything… I do think I could make them work. Starkly, I would steer clear from hot pink, pumpkin orange, mustard and microsoft paint bright blues.
I agree with you. I can’t imagine a situation where I would wear yellow eyeshadow ore anything thing. I’m also not a big fan of bold greens and blues.
I would never wear red or yellow
Anything bright, and pastel. Just not me at all.
I can’t wear any blue shades at all. It looks weird with my green eyes and red/blonde hair.
I actually like yellows and mustards, as long as they are matte. But, me personally, I dont like pinks. The darkest I go in pink the Naked 3 palette. After that, if its a hot pink, its a no go for me 🙁 Dont like the color on my skin
The first thing that came to mind was baby blue eyeshadow. If you do a Google image search for “1970 baby blue eyeshadow”, you’ll understand why I was traumatized by this color in my youth. 😉
🙂 Those baby blues all the way up to the eyebrow traumatized us all. And that frosty minty green color. *shudder*
Perhaps we should form a support group for makeup trauma survivors? 😉
Definitely! 😀 I also have issue with dark brown liner and nude or no lipstick looks from the ’90s, overplucked eyebrows… (all in good fun, not trying to insult anyone who rocked those looks; some people could pull them off).
Oh, geez! I remember the first few times I saw someone with the dark lip liner and no lipstick. I felt embarrassed for the girls because I thought their lipstick had worn off and they were unaware of it. However, as you said, there actually were a few who could totally pull off that look.
Gray, pastels of any kind, bright blue.
None! I think I could make any shadow color work on me, with some effort or color-combining. I love a lot of colors!
Anything “warm”-red, yellow, plum, brown, nude, taupe…they make me look like I got punched in the eyes and have two huge shiners lol.
I don’t know if there is any eyeshadow color I would never wear. I’m not terribly fond of dark matte true taupes or mustard shades for anything, but one never knows. I have to be careful with light, frosty or shimmery blues, so I don’t use them much. When I do use them, it’s in very small amounts with darker or brighter shades. They just don’t look at that great with my hazel/green eyes, IMO.
Lol, such a good question. I wouldn’t wear bright colors like yellow, orange, lime green, or blue. I’m not speaking of pops of color, I’m talking about clown style makeup. For example, using one bright color all over or getting creative and using more bright colors altogether. Oh and bright red, I cant think of a situation where it will ever be a good look.
Orange. It’s just a color that I cannot wear, either in makeup or clothing. Looks great om other people, but I just cannot do it.
Pale blue with a shimmer, seems dated or childish. And I have trouble with orange too
Being a makeup artist for so long I’ve come to learn how to bend any shade to make it work. We are given people and told they must be wearing this exact color and have to do it well. My skin is so very fair and neutral. Anyone neutral is rare and so lucky because we can wear anything. All tones apply. Because of that I can’t find a color eyeshadow I would never wear. It either has to work or will look good whether I like it or not. The most difficulty is texture and formula. Film stage sunlight house light clubs etc. will alter the effect or tonality completely. It’s finding a formula that works equally well for all that seems best. If possible I don’t prefer anything pastel pink beigey or eggshell. My eyes are Violet. They don’t appeal to me.
I don’t know if I’ve ever worn orange or yellow, but if it was part of a sort of “sunset-y” look I could see myself doing so. But not on their own. Same with pink as I don’t want to look like I’m ill.
I would NEVER wear pinks, reds or orange – just doesn’t go with my red hair and fair skin at all.
The only ‘yellow’ I like are golds.
Genevieve, I’m always perplexed when I read what color eyeshadows you don’t like or won’t wear because our hair color and skin tone are the same. I have red hair, blue eyes, and pink undertones and I wear pink eyeshadow more frequently than any other shade. Also, I am looking forward to the fall so I can wear the deeper red shadows in my collection (like MAC’s Cranberry and KVD’s Fever Ray trio).
I’m just concerned that you are limiting yourself and missing out on so many beautiful colors. I never would have thought that I could wear certain shadows (like Sonic from UD’s Vice 3) but, as it turns out, those are the shades that really bring out the blue in my eyes. (I wear all of the darker shades in or slightly above the crease and not near my lash line.) Have you considered having a MUA do a look on you with colors you don’t normally use to see how it looks? I would be so excited for you to try!
BLUE, BRIGHT WHITE OR THAT RED CORAL SHADE I’VE SEEN ON SO MANY MODELS
Red, most oranges, and yellows I feel look like shit on me. They don’t go with my skin tone.
Green. I’m so pale and have so much blue undertone in my skin color that I’m afraid I will look like a zombie. I’m sure there is that perfect shade of green out there for me that will not do that, but I do not see the point going into the trouble looking for it at the moment.
Also, really bright colors in general, there reason being – too attention grabbing 🙂
Earth or nuetral tone, it makes me look like a raccoon.
red, yellow, orange
Well, there isn’t a “never”, really, but the one shade I actively avoid is taupe. That kind of brown/grey shade makes me look dead. But, that’s useful to know for costumes, etc., hence the never say never!
Oh nooooo I am always looking for mustardy/ochre eyeshadows as they’re my favorite to wear!! 😀
Anyway, color I’d never wear must be grey-toned purples… I LOVE them, but as an olive tone with bad undereye circle problems, those don’t look exactly flattering on me 😀
I have yet to find a way to make a red shadow work for me, so I’ve given up. Yes, red makes my green eyes pop like crazy, but so does a crying jag or massive hay-fever attack. And neither of those looks are pretty either.
Like a lot of other posters, I can’t get over thinking blue eyeshadow just looks horribly tacky. Plus I’m a pale readhead and it just looks garish on me (interestingly, it seems like most of the other redheads say the same thing). I can do a blackened teal but that’s about it.
I really like olives and old golds as colors but they never work for me, they just make me look tired and bruised.
omg, like everyone else said, baby blue or pale minty green. I LOVE colorful eyeshadow and playing with shapes and bright colors (especially reds, pinks and purples – I don’t mind getting them messy and smudged up!) but since I have yellow undertones and hazel eyes, baby blue eyeshadow is my mortal enemy 😐 bright blues and dark blues are just fine though.
I effing hate gold, copper, bronze, coral and peach. they’re just not for me. that’s why I have yet to buy a UD Naked palette even though I am so tempted. I just refuse to buy a pallette with gold. I don’t even wanna see it!
The first color that pops into my mind is bright blue, the kind you imagine people wearing terrible makeup have on. I’ve never really even considered mustard yellow, but that is one color that I don’t own and would not gravitate towards at all.
I really don’t think that there is such a thing, except I tend to stay away from dark blue and navy, or well at least on the whole lid, since it makes me look like I got beat up. Apart from that, I really like all eyeshadows, especially red – which I can imagine – is not too popular.