While anyone can look gorgeous wearing eyeshadows that span all the colors of the rainbow, there are certain shades that are a sure bet on certain eye colors. It's all about color theory — that thing you learned about in your middle school art class. If two colors are opposite one another on the color wheel, they tend to compliment one another. That theory works in makeup, too, which makes shopping for the best eyeshadow palettes for brown eyes pretty simple when you know what undertones to look out for. In other words, it's time for an art lesson.
Brown is a neutral, so most colors will pair well with it. But to really make them dazzle, you want to look for colors that lie on the other side of the color wheel. Brown is formed by combining either two secondary colors, or a primary and a secondary color — typically, using a combination of red, orange, and/or yellow.
If you're dealing with a brown that has more orange or yellow undertones, you'll want to go with purple shade, since it falls opposite on the color wheel. Similarly, if your brown eyes have more red tones, green will really make them pop. Also, a grey or silver smokey eye will look stunning, because the coolness of those tones works beautifully against the warmth of brown eyes.
Ahead, find five of the best eyeshadow palettes to amplify your gorgeous brown eyes.
If you're looking for a fairly neutral eyeshadow palette to create bronze-y smokey eyes and more minimal daytime looks, Maybelline's The Nudes Eyeshadow Palette is a great choice. It contains 12 matte and shimmering eyeshadows in shades of brown, gold, mauve, and even black. The golds will help pick up teeny gold flecks that brown eyes often have, while the mauves will give your eyes a hint of purple to help them pop.
If you're interested in playing around with more vibrant colors, try this Twilight Dusk Palette from UCANBE. For just over $10, you'll get 18 mostly red-based shades, as well as a black, gold, bronze, and a few lighter tones for good measure. The orange and metallic shades will help make your eyes pop, while the pinks, peaches, and burgundies can be mixed with the browns to create a crimson smokey eye. Use the lighter colors for the daytime, and go wild with the more vibrant hues for a fun, nighttime look.
Green is a great color for those who are hoping to tap into the more hazel tones in their brown eyes, which is what makes this NYX Perfect Filter Shadow Palette such a great choice. It combines a mix of greens, which can make your brown eyes appear lighter or more hazel, and blues to compliment the warmer undertones. You also get one dark purple and a few golds, so you can get a lot of mileage out of this palette by combining the different shades.
Whether your eyes are brown, blue, or green, everyone should own a darker palette for creating a smokey eye. With a mix of blacks, greys, silvers, and browns, this palette from SHANY provides all the shades needed for a sultry, nighttime look — though you can also use the browns and greys to create something more suitable for the daytime. The silver shades will help dark brown eyes pop, while the black can be used with a precision brush in place of eyeliner.
If you don't love shimmery shadows, this all-matte palette from Lamora is for you. It contains a lot of brown shades, which naturally compliment brown eyes, as well as some burnt oranges, burgundies, taupes, and blacks. Use the browns to create a more subtle smokey eye for daytime wear, and the taupes and amber to enhance your eyes for a no-makeup makeup look.
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