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Are you in the mood to liven up your look? There’s nothing like a stroke of liner in a fun color for an unexpected beauty moment—and the best eyeliner shades are an easy way to achieve that. But where do you begin with a rainbow spectrum of shades to choose from? While there are no hard-and-fast rules for makeup, referencing the color wheel is always a good place to start (and perhaps a nostalgic reminder of grade school art class). “Contrasting your eyeliner to enhance your eye color is an easy trick to bring attention to your eyes,” says Los Angeles-based makeup artist Beau Nelson. Long story short, a complimentary color creates a strong visual impact.
Vogue’s Favorite Eyeliner:
- For Brown Eyes: Jones Road The Best Pencil in Violet, $24
- For Blue Eyes: Laura Mercier Caviar Tightline Eyeliner in Bronze, $29
- For Hazel Eyes: Jillian Dempsey Kohl Eyeliner in Black Sapphire, $20
- For Green Eyes: Victoria Beckham Beauty Satin Kajal Liner in Bordeaux, $34
- For Gray Eyes: Trish McEvoy Intense Gel Eyeliner in Bright Eyes, $30
In This Story:
- How To Choose The Best Eyeliner Shades
- Meet The Experts
Once you’ve determined the color you want, it’s time to choose your actual liner. Professional makeup artist Anastasia Vavina recommends a pencil over a liquid liner when getting playful. “Pencils allow for more application control than liquid eyeliners. You can stay precise or easily achieve a smoked-out look,” Vavina explains, adding that mistakes can also be easily blended and buffed with creamy pencil formulas. Since we’re not the color theory masters, we tapped four pros to share their tips and tricks for playing up eye color—and which of the best eyeliner shades to choose to make your gaze pop.
The Best Eyeliner for Brown Eyes
“Brown eyes are already neutral, so you can really play with color on brown eyes,” explains Katie Jane Hughes, who gravitates toward jewel-toned eyeliners for brown-eyed clients (and regularly reaches for Glossier's eyeliner pencil in the shade Rococo). When in doubt Hughes says to think rich berry tones, deep purples, and emerald greens. For a more subtle approach, consider makeup artist Tasha Reiko Brown’s go-to eye-brightening strategy: A gold eyeliner dabbed on the inner corners. “It catches the warm light of brown eyes [for extra sparkle],” she says.
The Best Eyeliner for Blue Eyes
Thinking back to the trust color wheel, Nelson reminds us that the contrasting color to blue is yellow. Rather than taking that as a literal interpretation, he leans towards more flaxen colors. “Golden browns, bronzes, and coppers all set blue eyes off nicely,” he says. Hughes agrees and leans towards warm hues like rusty orange to make all variations of ocean eyes (as Billie Eilish might say) truly stand out.
The Best Eyeliner for Hazel Eyes
With tones of green, gold, and brown, hazel eyes are inherently dimensional—and there are many different approaches one can take with eyeliners to emphasize their multifaceted irises. “Purples, pinks, burgundies, and cranberries bring out the green tones in hazel eyes,” says Nelson. For Hughes, a rich teal supplies a cool contrast, while for Brown, taking a tone-on-tone approach with an emerald green “really makes the colors [of Hazel eyes] jump.”
The Best Eyeliner for Green Eyes
It's all about burgundy for green eyes (think: the color of a glass of red wine). No eyeliner shade can compare to the crimson color juxtaposed to verdant toned eyes, according Brown. “Bright burgundy…moody burgundy…brown burgundies… all are color wheel opposites meaning shades of green and red always complement each other,” she explains. “A rich burgundy brings an unexpected pop of color that’s bold, but wearable.”
The Best Eyeliner for Gray Eyes
It’s true: Less than 3% of the global population has gray eyes, which can be mistaken for blue, but most often appear dark gray, grayish blue, or grayish green. For this rare shade, Nelson recommends royal blues and blue-toned violet shades to bring out their different aspects. Alternatively, “deep, beautiful reds will bring high contrast and make the eyes pop,” says Hughes.
Everything you need to know:
How To Choose The Best Eyeliner Shades:
Other than classic black and brown eyeliners, there’s a vast breadth of shades to consider to make your eyes pop. Say you’re feeling overwhelmed with picking the right eyeliner shade according to the color wheel, or perhaps you’re a bit cautious when getting playful with your makeup—professional MUA Anastasia Vavina suggests focusing more on the finish, as metallics and shimmer are popular current beauty trends. “I tend to add more satin or metallic shades of eyeliners for my models and clients to add an instant refreshing effect—this adds an extra bounce of light to your evening makeup look, giving you a sophisticated, sultry eye,” she explains. When in doubt, Vavina notes that burgundy and rich reds look fabulous on all eye colors—and you don’t need much. “I love to add burgundy on my client’s waterline, smudging it a bit, to give a subtle classic smoky eye feel without even using any eyeshadows,” says Vavina.
Meet The Experts
- Beau Nelson is a celebrity makeup artist and photographer who has worked with brands including Chanel, Miu Miu, Giorgio Armani and more. Some celebrity clientele of Nelson's include Kristen Stewart, Riley Keough, Karlie Kloss, Zoe Kravitz, and Nicole Richie.
- Katie Jane Hughes is a professional makeup artist and beauty expert, whose clients include Dua Lipa, Lilly Allen, and more.
- Tasha Reiko Brown is a celebrity makeup artist and groomer whose clients include Gabrielle Union, Jessica Renee Williams, Michael B. Jordan, and more.
- Anastasia Vavina is a professional makeup artist and hairstylist based in New York. In addition to working closely with major model agencies, Vavina's work has been featured in Numero Netherlands, Elle, and more.
