Make-up Artist Sarah Jane Froom is decoding the best liners for your eye color.
Blue Eyes
Froom recommends etching “anything with an orange undertone” around blue and cool gray eyes, such as “browns, caramels, coppers and golds.” She explains: “Blue is opposite orange on the color wheel which, when you follow color theory, means the two are complementary and will make eyes pop.”
Top tip: If copper and gold pencils don’t give the definition you crave, pop them in the inner corners. Then use a black liner to create some feline flicks.
Brown Eyes
“Women with brown eyes are very lucky,” Froom says. “Because brown eyes feature flecks of many different colors, they can carry eye makeup in pretty much any shade.” This means you can play with a full rainbow of liners or keep it simple: “I love a brown liner on a brown eye. It adds depth and definition without looking too heavily made up.”
Top tip: If you do use a brown eyeliner, apply it in the waterline. It’s far less harsh than black — therefore better at brightening — but still enhances the shape.
Green Eyes
Color theory strikes again. “Red is opposite green on the color wheel, so liners with red undertones — like plum, mauve, or burgundy — will make green eyes stand out.”
Top tip: For those who fear reddish makeup will make their eyes look irritated, plump for purples and reds on the darker, almost-blackened spectrum, à la Amber Heard.
Hazel Eyes
“Because hazel eyes are made up of both brown and green undertones, you can choose which color to intensify,” says Froom. See the green flecks sparkle by tracing peepers with a steely gray or aubergine liner, or enhance the yellow accents around the iris with warm browns and metallic golds.
Top tip: Try a gold liquid liner on the upper lid and a cappuccino kohl in the waterline. The effect is dazzling.
