What We're Sweet On: Easy, Eye-Brightening Shadow

Miriam Lacey — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 03:04:52 PDT

Finding eye shadow that really accentuates deep-set or hooded eyes without making you look like a zombie can be quite a task, especially since people at makeup counters inevitably try to put you in rich aubergine, emerald, or chocolate shadows, which bring out eyes but also make them look tired, hollow, and heavy lidded. Which is why the new Dolce & Gabbana eye color duo in Cinnamon ($36) has basically turned us into Gollum. We're so, so close to stroking the compact and calling it precious.

This thing is great because it's a mauve and taupe combination that's nicely pigmented, but also light enough not to make anyone look like an inadvertent Taylor Momsen. Plus, the shades really brighten up your whole eye area. It's like a full night's sleep in a couple sweeps of a brush. Plus, it looks great on any eye color, so whether you're a hard-to-complement blue-eyed lady or a brown-eyed girl, it's guaranteed pretty. Oh, and you don't have to have deep sockets to love these colors - they're perfect for anyone who needs a quick fix for tired eyes.

EYESHADOW 101: The Best Hues For Your Baby Blues

BellaSugar — Mon, 31 Jul 2006 16:27:55 PDT

Welcome back to Eyeshadow 101. The first installment was all about purple shadows for hazel/green eyes. #2 is dedicated to finding the best suited eyeshadows for all of you blue eyed beauties. Whether you have more of a sky blue tone or an oceany navy-green darker eye color; men will melt when they catch a glimpse of your baby blues.

Let's begin with a short reiteration of the basics from installment #1. The goal of wearing eye make-up is to enhance/bring attention to your eyes. The rule of thumb is to wear the opposite color eye shadow of your eyes on the color wheel so that your eyes really stand out (or POP as they say in the make-up world).

If there’s one thing to remember when it comes to blue eyes it's this: Never match your eyeshadow to your clothing or your eye color! If you have blue eyes, wearing blue eyeshadow makes your eyes look duller - and complementing your clothing has been out since the 80’s. Imagine if you were wearing red or black? YIKES!

To specifically make your blue eyes traffic stoppingly bold, I suggest colors such as: browns, greys, golds, rusty peaches or plum colors. Right now the look is more of a bold eye as opposed to the old muted "Bobbi Brown" natural eye, so have fun and play with your make-up as you would with any other accessory.

To see my product recommendations and reviews

As we know metallics are hot right now and they are easy to use alone. Just apply them to the lid and crease. My bronze and gold pics for blue eyes are:
"Half Baked" by Urban Decay - a really rich gold,

"Amber Lights" by MAC - a shimmery golden peachy-brown (worn by model> and

"Beach"Fluid Iridescent Eyeshadow by Chanel - the perfect combination of bronze and gold.

MAC also makes an awesome eyeliner called Teddy which is a darker shimmery bronze that looks great with any of these shadows.

If you are going for the whole shebang (lid, crease and highlighter) these are my suggestions. Typically, the lightest color is applied to the entire eyelid and to the edge of the eyebrow. Select a deeper color from the same color family to do the crease and dust a highlighter just beneath the brow.

I love Done That by Make Up By Armando for the lid,

MAC's Trax (a burgundy-plum flecked with bronze shimmer) for the crease and

Smashbox's Butter a goldy yellow as a highlighter.

Don't forget to blend well; when you think you've blended enough, blend some more! The goal is not to have obvious edges of color. Remember, lighter colors highlight and darker colors recede and add depth and shading.