There are all sorts of fun ways to do your eye makeup, but a few techniques are all about playing up the color of your eyes, whether you've got baby blues or gorgeous browns (or anything in between!).
I spoke with three beauty experts to get the scoop on what we can do to really make our eyes stand out. The cool thing is, though some of these tips are eye-color-specific (obvs), some of these tips work for everyone!
More from TheStir: 12 Gorgeous Ways to Get Out of Your Eyeliner Rut
How do you like to bring out the color of your eyes?
Image © iStock.com/makemetea
For All Eyes: Match Your Eye Color
All of the experts I spoke with offered a variety of complementary colors that work well with different colored eyes (which will come up in the next slides!), but they all ALSO said that … brown eye makeup looks great with brown eyes, blue looks great with blue eyes, and so on. But there's one thing to keep in mind … DON'T wear an eyeshadow that's the exact same color as your eyes, but in a deeper shade. Why? According to Pearl Dworkin, a licensed esthetician and makeup artist in the San Francisco Bay Area and founder of Glamologie.com, this can wash out your eye color!
More from TheStir: Say 'Hello, Gorgeous!' With This Easy 5-Minute Makeup Routine (VIDEO)
Match Your Eye Color: Try These
Product picks: Eyeko Making Eyes Gel Eyeliner in Midnight Blue ($19, eyeko.com); Nyx Cosmetics Jumbo Eyeshadow Pencil in Dark Brown ($4.49, ulta.com); Flower Easy on the Eyes LongWear Eyeliner in Khaki Shimmer ($5.98, walmart.com)
For All Eyes: Try This Instead of Black Eyeliner
Instead of wearing black eyeliner, try a deep plum/eggplant color. Pearl says this shade enhances every eye color: "It makes brown eyes look more green, and it makes blue and green eyes really pop without overwhelming them."
Shown here: MAKE UP FOR EVER Aqua Eyes in Shimmering Plum ($19, sephora.com)
For All Eyes: The Concealer Trick
Always wear a concealer in just one shade lighter than the rest of your foundation on your face, says Pearl. Apply concealer under your eyes and on top of your lid. This will bring out your eyes, even if you're just wearing mascara and no shadow or liner, she says!
Shown here: Almay Wake Up Under Eye Concealer ($7.99, drugstore.com)
More From The Stir: 11 Ways to Make Bed Head Hair Look Stylish in Your Busy Life (PHOTOS)
For All Eyes: Use a Highlighter
Wear a highlighter with a slight shimmer directly under your brows, says Pearl. Why? This will add a light and sparkle to your eyes and enhance the color of your eyes — all colors!
Shown here: benefit high brow glow ($22, benefitcosmetics.com)
Complement Your Blue Eyes
Of course, there's the contrasting technique. Janell Geason, Aveda Global Artistic Director for Makeup, says the key to making eye color "pop" is to use colors that are the opposite (complementary) of your eye color. She recommends colors with orange in them, such as peaches, apricots, warm browns, and coppers.
You can also add a pretty pop of color, like the contrasting lavender shown here.
More from The Stir: 10 Vibrant Beauty Products You'll Want to Try This Spring (PHOTOS)
Complement Your Blue Eyes: Try These
Product picks: MAKE UP FOR EVER Aqua Matic in Diamond Peach ($21, sephora.com); Aveda Petal Essence Eye Trio in Copper Haze ($27, aveda.com), Maybelline Eye Studio Color Plush Silk Eyeshadow in Copper Chic ($9.99, ulta.com)
Bring Out Your Blue with Blue … Mascara!
Using blue, grey, and copper eyeshadow, liner, and even mascara will really enhance blue eyes, says Joanna Schlip, celebrity makeup artist for Physicians Formula (and recent guest judge on BLUSH: The Search for the Next Great Makeup Artist). She recommends this great combo: Pair a copper shadow with a blue mascara on your top and bottom lashes.
Show here: butter LONDON WINK Mascara in Inky Six ($16, butterlondon.com)
More From The Stir: 5 Simple Tests to Determine Your Hair Type So You Can Treat It Right
For Light Blue & Green Eyes
Here is also a great trick for green eyes … Edward Bess, a former model and creator of the Edward Bess Black Sea Cosmetic line, available at QVC.com, recommends this technique: "Use a black liner to perfectly frame your eye color … a stroke of liner just on the top lash line of light green and blue eyes naturally enhances for an eye-opening effect."
For Light Blue & Green Eyes: Try These
Product picks: Edward Bess Defining Liner ($22, qvc.com); L'Oreal Lineur Intense® Felt Tip Liquid Eyeliner ($6.50, lorealparisusa.com)
Bring Out the Green in Your Eyes
For green and hazel eyes, Janell Geason of Aveda recommends eye makeup colors with red tones, such as violets, pinks and taupes for cool skin tones and coppers for warm skin tones.
Edward Bess says he loves pairing khaki and bronze shades with green eyes: "The contrast creates a stunning effect."
Bring Out the Green in Your Eyes: Try These
Product picks: Sephora Collection Colorful 5 Eyeshadow Palette ($11, sephora.com); Stila Eye Shadow Trio in Bronze Glow ($22, stilacosmetics.com); Aveda Petal Essence Eye Trio in Earth Rose ($22, aveda.com)
More From The Stir: 12 Excellent Sheet Masks for Glowing, Healthy Skin on the Quick
A Purple Eye Shadow Technique for Green Eyes
Shades of purple, brown, and green will help to make green eyes pop, says Joanna Schlip, but she says start with purple, because you'll see a difference almost instantly! Here's her easy technique: Begin with a lighter version of one of those colors on your eyelid, and use a darker shade of the same color in the crease.
A Purple Eye Shadow Technique for Green Eyes: Try This
Product pick: SEPHORA COLLECTION MicroSmooth Baked Eyeshadow Trio ($19, sephora.com)
Don't Make Your Brown Eyes Blue (Use Color!)
"Those with brown eyes get to choose from a wide variety of colors to help them stand out, specifically purples, nudes, browns, taupes and golds," says Joanna Schlip. By using a brown eyeliner on the top and a purple eyeliner on the bottom, she says your brown eyes will really pop.
Don't Make Your Brown Eyes Blue (Use Color!): Product Picks
Shown here: Bobbi Brown Sparkle Eye Shadow in Sunlight ($33, sephora.com); Physician's Formula Shimmer Strips Custom Eye Enhancing Kohl Kajal Eyeliner Trio ($11.95, physiciansformula.com)
More From The Stir: Guess the Real Ingredient in Your Beauty Products (TRIVIA)
Or, Use Charcoal Eye Makeup for Your Brown Eyes
Brown eyes look gorgeous surrounded by deeper charcoal shades, says Edward Bess.
More from The Stir: Cat Eye Makeup Tutorial
Charcoal Eye Makeup for Your Brown Eyes: Try This
Product pick: CLINIQUE Chubby Stick Shadow Tint for Eyes in Curvaceous Coal ($17, nordstrom.com)
