What Color Eyeshadow Is Best for My Eyes?

The right eyeshadow color and application can completely change your appearance. By choosing your makeup based on color theory, you can also enhance the natural beauty of your eyes. Complementary (or opposite) colors can help your eye color “pop” by contrasting it. Likewise, analogous (or nearby) colors can match and draw out your eyes’ natural qualities.

Whatever look you’re going for, here are the best eyeshadow colors to make your eyes truly captivating.

Best Eyeshadow Colors for Blue Eyes

Blue’s complementary color is orange, which means that shadows with an orange base will create the most dynamic contrast. Other colors with generally warm tones can also help brighten blues.

Great options for complementary and warm shadows include:

• Orange and rust colors
• Rich browns and earth tones with warm, orange undertones
• Champagne
• Copper
• Gold and rose gold

To highlight blue eyes with analogous and cool colors, try shadows in:

• Various blues, including navy
• Shimmery gray or silver
• Cool lavender, maroons, and plums
• Various pinks

To enhance blue eyes with Scott Barnes eyeshadows, try combinations like Sassy, Fiesty and Tease (Colour Bomb No 1 Palette) or Last Looks, Afterparty and Talk To My Agent (Atelier Palette). Other options for a cool, smokey tone include Atelier: Comp Card, Portfolio, Last Looks and Snatural 1: Starlet, Foxy, Brazen.

Best Eyeshadow Colors for Green Eyes

The complement of green is red, which can be tricky to apply without making the eyes look irritated, and no one wants that! Think burgundy instead! Various red-toned and neutral shadows are great for making green eyes stand out. Color theory also places purples across from yellow-greens, which means purple and violet colors are excellent for creating striking contrast.

Great contrasting eyeshadow choices include:

• Reds and pinks
• Browns with reddish undertones
• Burgundys and bricks
• Rose gold
• Maroons and mauves
• Various purples, from lilac and lavender to eggplant and plum

Other colors that work well with green eyes include:

• Smoky, neutral greens
• Gold
• Champagne
• Neutral earth and stone shades
• Shimmery taupes and beiges

To enhance green eyes with Scott Barnes eyeshadows, try combinations like Drama, Globe Trotter and Serving Lewks (Atelier Palette) or Classic, Rosebud, Cranberry (Holiday Music Box Collector’s Item) or Brickhouse, Femme, Hollywood (Snatural 1).

Best Eyeshadow Colors for Brown Eyes

Brown eyes are extremely versatile when it comes to eyeshadow, looking fantastic in just about any color. Because brown eyes tend to have warm, amber tones, blue is an especially effective complementary choice if you really want to make them pop.

Great contrasting and dramatic choices for light and dark brown eyes include:

• Various shades of blue
• Various purples
• Greens and teals

For a more natural or classic look, try neutral options like:

• Peachy shades or coral
• Bronze and gold, perfect for highlighting bright flecks in the iris
• Light, shimmery champagne and beige
• Various deep browns for depth and shadow

To enhance brown eyes with Scott Barnes eyeshadows, try combinations like Peacock, Riviera and Mediterranean (Colour Bomb No 1 Palette) or Nutcracker, Crown, Silver Winter, Prima, Dusk, and Everly After (Holiday Music Box Collector’s Item).

Best Eyeshadow Colors for Hazel Eyes

A combination of green and brown, hazel’s complementary colors fall on both the cool and warm sides of the spectrum. Various eyeshadows that work well with green eyes will help enhance the green in hazel eyes. Likewise, various shadows suited to brown eyes will help enhance hazel’s earthy, golden tones.

Some great complementary options for creating contrast include:

• Purples and violets, especially rich colors like plum and eggplant
• Deep burgundy and wine
• Smoky navy
• Neutral pinks and mauves

You can also enhance the natural beauty of hazel eyes using analogous, earthy shadow colors like:

• Greens, especially olive and other yellow-greens
• Cool browns and tans
• Coppery, rusty colors
• Shimmery, bronzy gold
• Champagne and beige

To enhance hazel eyes using Scott Barnes eyeshadows, try color combinations like Holly, Mistletoe, Copper Kettle, and Gold Coins (Holiday Music Box Collector’s Item) or Iconic, Serving Lewks and Plain White T (Atelier Palette). You may also want to experiment with Snatural 1 eyeshadows like Laced, Saucy, Woody, and Risque.

Tips for Choosing the Best Eyeshadow

Learning which eyeshadows work best for people with your eye color is only part of the process. Here are a few tips for discovering the best choices for you.

Examine your eyes in various types of lighting.

Take note of the different colors, how light or dark they are, whether there are any flecks, etc. This can help you choose complementary colors.

Consider color theory.

Take a look at the color wheel to familiarize yourself with helpful concepts. Don’t think of color theory as a set of hard rules, but as informative guidelines.

Gather opinions.

If you’re uncertain, ask a trusted, honest person or a makeup professional which colors they think make your eyes their most gorgeous.

Just try it!

Don’t get caught up in thought. Test shadows on your lids and see for yourself how they look. Stay open-minded and have fun with it; makeup is art!

About Scott Barnes Eyeshadow

Renowned celebrity makeup artist Scott Barnes has spent years working with and developing cosmetics. All of his products are made using only high quality ingredients, allowing professional and amateur artists to achieve the very best results.

Highly pigmented and blendable, Scott Barnes professional quality eyeshadows have a rich color payoff that swipes on smooth. They’re also cruelty free, gluten free and vegan friendly. Browse our incredible collection of Scott Barnes eyeshadows, including the Limited Edition Holiday Music Box Collector's Item with 40 shades of eyeshadow to compliment your eye color.