If your eye colour isn't quite as bright as those Photoshopped cover stars, use make-up to enhance what you have. Our teen columnist Casey Gerard explains how
We always want what we can’t have. If you have curly hair, there’s a good chance you’d prefer it straight, while those blessed with sleek and poker straight locks often envy those whose hair is filled with bouncy ringlets. The same applies for hair colour, skin colour, height, weight; you name it, we think the grass is greener. For many, even eye colour is a feature we wish to change - and thankfully, with the power of make-up you almost can, by enhancing the hue you have.
If my passion for painting has taught me anything, it would be this: opposites attract.
This is a colour wheel, most commonly found in a primary school art classroom but today this will be my very own trusty teaching assistant. Take your eye colour, let’s use blue as an example, and find the colour directly opposite on the colour wheel. In this case, it would be orange. This means that if you have blue eyes, the colours that will make them pop would be shades of orange, coral and peach. I’ve noticed that shimmery greys and silvers also complement blue eyes fantastically.
Here is a list of shades I recommend for different eye colours:
Brown: Shades of bright purple and grey-blue work well with brown eyes of any tone
Green: Green eyes look great with rusty reds and garish golds
Grey: Although grey eyes are fairly rare, I find that deep, grassy greens look great. Also a light wash of grey itself looks fantastic.
I have hazel eyes. I say this, but they never stay one shade of hazel for very long. Depending on the lighting circumstances, my eyes can look a whole myriad of colours, from the lightest amber to the most true green.
To make the green in my eyes stand out, my favourite and most top secret trick (don’t tell anyone!) is to wear brown mascara. Yes, BROWN mascara. I don’t know the science behind it but it just works, take my word for it! My favourite is the L’Oreal False Lash Telescopic Mascara in Hypnotic Brown , £10.99. Another great and proven way of making hazel eyes look green is by using olive coloured eyeshadows that contain some gold. My favourite product for this is the Clinique Chubby Stick Shadow Tint for Eyes in Whopping Willow , £17. This eyeshadow is an olive green, helping to bring out the green in my eyes, yet it contains flecks of gold, bringing out the amber/ light brown.
You may not be looking to enhance your eye colour, but perhaps just brighten your eyes so you look more alert and awake. If so the two products I rely on are YSL Touche Eclat , £25 (twelve hours sleep in a tube), and Bare Minerals Marvellous Moxie Lipgloss in Show Off, £16, which gives the effect that you are lit from within, that you have an actual lightbulb underneath your skin; you just glow. That’s something we all want no matter what Mother Nature gave us.