If I were cruelly forced to select a tiny handful of eye makeup looks to wear for the rest of my life the rest of the winter, this matte brown look with brownish black eyeliner would definitely make the cut.
Not only is it relatively speedy to do (say 15-20 minutes start to finish), it’s also easy because it doesn’t heavily rely on intense blending.
A banging’ brew of browns
So, what makes it relatively easy? Answer: The two brown shades — the golden brown on my lids (MAC Cork) and the warmer orangey brown in my crease (MAC Saddle) — are similar tones, which makes blending them together easier.
In fact, if you’re REALLY pressed for time, you can even skip the warm brown in the crease, and just wear the golden brown eyeshadow all over your lids.
That said, I do like the warm brown in the crease because, especially when I’m wearing a little bronzer, a warm brown in the crease ties everything together nicely.
Always adjustable
Another added bonus to this look is that it really does work with everything — bold lipsticks, nude lipsticks, no lipstick at all (for when I’m masked up). It’s quite flexible.
Base notes
Oh, and about that eyeshadow base — in the pics above, I’m purposefully wearing a beige cream eye primer with a beige powder eyeshadow buffed on top, which are lighter than my skin tone. I do this because, when I want browns to show up on my brown skin, I have to go lighter with my base. That makes them pop. I recommend going with a base that’s similar to your skin tone.
Sometimes, though, I skip the beige base entirely and just do a swish of golden brown eyeshadow all over my lids, like in this pic below:
See how the brown shadow adds a touch of depth to my crease? But not as much as it does when there’s a beige base underneath? I think it still works, though.
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
P.S. Today is inauguration day here in the US. Congratulations and good luck to President Biden and Vice President Harris!
Sarah Lowes says
I’d have trouble finding a base that’s lighter than my skin without going to ghost-like levels..!
Karen says
Then you could just use a base that’s your skin tone color! 🙂
Chelsea says
That bold lip color is bangin’! What a nice look!
I almost never wear eyeshadow due to eczema and hooded eyes, but this is so beautiful!
Sherry says
That MAC lip color matches the hibiscus colored t-shirt perfectly. Love it!!
Jennifer Emmett says
Yes! Best of luck to our new leaders!
This is uber flattering, I really like the matte. It’s like a natural version of the makeup in Molly’s Game. Have you seen it? I was totally digging Jessica Chastains makeup.
Kim says
If I had to choose a handful of looks (instead of my only one) to wear, ever, this might be one. HAHA! It looks really beautiful on you, but I’d need to drop the black and line with brown. PS I know you’re ready to chop your hair off but it looks really nice here. 🙂
Karen says
This would definitely work with brown!