How to match eye shadow

Rating: 5 (1 vote)1 commentBy Marga Chas. Updated: December 13, 2021

The look says a lot about human beings, as it has a great power of attraction and is capable of illuminating an entire face. In this case, to achieve a captivating look, it is essential to know how to apply eye shadow, because if we do it correctly we can highlight the eyelids, enlarge, join or separate the eyes and compensate for small defects such as drooping eyelids.

A good combination of colors and a correct application can completely change the perception of our eyes, so in the following OneHOWTO article, we will discover how to combine eyeshadow according to the tone of your iris or the color of your skin and which ones are the best tricks to apply this product. Let's go there!

1. How to mix eyeshadow step by step
2. How to combine the shadows according to your eyes and skin color
3. Match eye shadows with clothes

How to mix eyeshadow step by step

For the effects of the eye shadow to be effective, we will have to combine at least 3 different shades of the same color: a light one, an intermediate one and a dark one. Choose a color that matches your iris. As brown is the most common eye color, we are going to work with a brown color as an example and we will play with dark tones close to chocolate, earthy intermediate tones and light sand or golden tones to highlight.

There are different types of eye shadows; If the shadow is powder, for its application you can use small brushes or sponge brushes. The latter are also the most suitable for cream shadows. Let's see how is your application step by step:

1. The first thing you have to do is define the crease of the eyelid. To easily distinguish its line, it is enough to slightly squint your eyes. We will draw it with a line, neither too thin nor too wide, using the darkest shadow for it. We will blur slightly, passing the brush gently to give depth to the look.
2. We will apply the intermediate tone to the entire eyelid, trying to spread it well so that there are no accumulations of shadow.
3. We return to the darkest shade to broaden the look. To achieve this, we will apply the shadow from the inside out on the outer half of the eyelid. We have to get it to blend with the base tone, so we have to blend it well with small touches of the brush. This makes the eyes bigger and more expressive.
4. We will make a final highlight by applying a new layer of dark tone, but this time we will do it in the opposite direction. We'll start at the point where the lid meets the lash line, on the outside of the eye, and slide the brush inwards. We will apply the shadow without fear, because the more shadow there is on the brush, the more theatrical the makeup will turn out.
5. Finally, we will get the third tone, the lighting tone, and we will carefully blur the color, giving small touches until we achieve the desired effect. This third color should be located at the angle of the eyelids, that is, outside the tear duct, and above the main shadow, that is, by the brow bone.

In this other article we offer you a more detailed step by step on How to apply eye shadow correctly.

How to combine the shadows according to your eyes and skin color

It is not enough to correctly apply the types of eye shadows you choose, because choosing a color that matches the tone of your eyes and your skin is essential to achieve an optimal result. Let's see which are the most suitable colors for each tone of iris and complexion.

light eyes and light skin

The lighter your skin and eye color, the better neutral and light shades within the range of pinks, blues, greys, lavenders and greens will suit you.

Do you know what is the best lipstick color for white skin? In this other oneHOWTO article we show it to you.

Dark eyes and brown skin

To combine colors with brown skin, you should think of a desert and choose sandy tones from ocher, ivory and gold to orange and reddish that can be darkened with brown or even greenish tones. If you have very dark skin, the brown tones are lost and you can replace them with a contrasting color like gold or purple.

If these tips have seemed useful to you, you may also be interested in this more complete article on Makeup for brown skin.

Match eye shadows with clothes

If you like daring looks with a lot of color and you want your makeup to match your outfit, the first thing you should keep in mind is that the tone of your eye shadow and that of your clothes should belong to the same group. Everything is valid, as long as you follow this small guide:

Golden Rule

Choose between hot or cold. If your clothes are a warm tone, your makeup should be too. The range of warm colors goes from sand, caramel, orange or reddish tones to brown, while the range of cold tones is gray, blue and violet. You can make a single exception; combine your clothes with pink tones as long as they are light and natural.

Never more than two spotlights

If your clothes are flashy and you choose a matching eyeshadow in a flashy shade, it will make your lips look more natural. On the contrary, if your clothes and your lips combine with a bright tone, it is better to choose a more discreet makeup for your look. Many focuses of attention can overload the face too much.

Highlight the makeup area

To highlight the makeup area, contrast the rest with nude or natural makeup. For example, if you have chosen to highlight your look and combine it with your clothes, use natural and soft tones for the cheeks, lips and nails, and take care that the tones of the three are combined.

If you want to read more articles similar to How to combine eye shadow, we recommend you visit our Beauty and Personal Care category.