Eye Makeup Hacks That Really Work, According to Science!
We hear it time and again, you can’t go wrong with a smokey eye. The smokey eye looks beautiful on every woman. The smokey eye is romantic. The smokey eye is natural. The smokey eye is makeup’s “little black dress”. Well, you won’t hear any disagreement from us. Using three shades in one color family of eyeshadow (monochromatic) — such as black, gray, brown or blue — to define and shape your eyes in a way that looks natural, not made up is the foolproof way to go for most special occasions. But as much as we do love a smudgy, smokey eye, it’s not the only way to go. Here are 10 smokey eye alternatives, including the cat eye, the nude eye and the Bambi eyelash, as well as the products to help you test the looks.
When choosing eye-shadow colors, you don’t always have to go monochromatic. Another trick, especially if you want to accentuate the color of your eyes, is to choose shades that are opposite your eye color on the color wheel. In color theory, the science behind how we perceive color, these are called complementary colors. To get all science-y for a moment, here’s how it works: The photoreceptor cells in our eye make our brain perceive different colors differently. Complementary colors play up each other’s intensity. To take advantage of this effect, brown-eyed girls will go with blues; blue-eyed babes would wear bronzes, green-eyed gals would choose purples.
Beyond eye shadow colors, you can use other techniques to make your eyes look bigger and brighter. The powerful thing about makeup is that it’s all illusion control — accentuating our best features and downplaying the rest. If you covet Bambi eyes you weren’t born with, here are 7 hacks that will make your eyes look bigger and brighter instantly.
Do you have a smokey-eye, Bambi-eye or cat-eye selfie to share? Tag us on Instagram @britandco. We want to see it!