Aside from mastering the application of one’s complexion makeup products (i.e., foundation & concealer) for a flawless finish, as a makeup artist, I can attest to the fact that one of the best ways to take your look to the next level is to accentuate your eyes. And when it comes to eye makeup, a perfect method for doing just that is to start exploring & experimenting with different eyeshadow looks.
Therefore, Beauties, I decided it was about time for an eye makeup round-up!! Honestly, I love browsing makeup looks in magazines, on Pinterest, and Instagram. It’s a great way to find gorgeous ideas to recreate (especially since masks are in order in quite a few places at the moment).
Today, I’m sharing a few of my favorites, as they capture some of the most stunning trends, plus a few equally impressive, less complicated options for those of you beginner gals!
So, if you happen to be a bit bored with your current “go-to” eye makeup styles, or you’re simply looking for some eyeshadow inspiration, this post is for you!! No matter whether you’re a newbie to the makeup game or a more experienced makeup guru, guaranteed, this round-up will give you plenty of fun ideas to play around with!!
15+ Fun, Stunning, & Trendy Eyeshadow Looks Guaranteed To Enhance Your Eyes & Makeup Game!
With masks being the “new norm” in many places worldwide, having a variety of eyeshadow looks to try out is a necessity! And indeed, having a few ideas in your back pocket won’t hurt for when you can go mask-less, right? Without further ado, here are 16 of my current top favs that will, without a doubt, bring out your eyes beautifully!
1) Add Dimension To Your Eyes With Dreamy Metallics!
Image Source: Instagram @priscilla_fhern
Illuminating eyeshadow makeup looks will bring full focus to your eyes… guaranteed!! This one is excellent if you want to add a sexy, sultry style to your evening makeup! It pairs well with low-key, subtle lips using just a touch of lip gloss (for when you can go mask-less)!
To recreate a look like this, you’ll want to use shimmery, iridescent metallic eyeshadows. Try a silvery blue shade for the lid, along with a warm medium brown for the crease (matte), and then add a hint of copper at the inner corners of your eyes. Take your eyeshadow down and around the outer corner of the eyes. Then complete the look with wispy false lashes!
2) Give Flirty Pink A Go With Crisp Lined Inner Corners!
Image Source: Instagram @d.aleksandria
For a look like this, you’ll want to use matte pink and brown eyeshadows, black ink liner, pink or fuchsia eyeliner pencil, mascara, and false lashes. You’ll use the pink on your lids while using the brown along the crease & at the outer corner of your eyes. I would suggest creating an outer “V” shape with the brown that sweeps over into the crease.
Focus on applying the black liner at the inner corner of your eyes in a crisp, sharp triangular-like shape. A liquid liner with a thin applicator tip will make this easier. But keep a few Q-tips handy if you need to clean it up or make any mistakes.
I would begin by applying a thin line to the upper first and then move to the lower portion. Apply a Fushia-pinkish shade to the center of your lower waterline. Then you can either use mascara on both the upper and lower lashes or just use it on the lower lashes along with false lashes on the upper.
3) Two Electrifying Blues Give Double The Intensity!!
Image Source: Instagram @brittsully
Bright, vibrant blues make an undeniable eye-catching statement that’s far from boring! And they complement brown eyes particularly well!!
To accentuate your eyes with sunkissed cheeks and soft lips, give a look like this a go! For this eye makeup style, you should either use a cream eyeshadow or wet your makeup brush with a little water before tapping it into your powder eyeshadow. Simply apply the first blue to the base of the upper eyelid near the lash line. Apply the second blue under the lash line and do a few sweeps of lengthening mascara to the upper and lower lashes.
4) A Little Splash Of Coral: Let Your Liner Do All The Talking!!
Image Source: Instagram @grishina.viktoria
Don’t you just love this eyeshadow look!!?? It’s a great way to add eyeshadow color without overpowering a dramatic, defined liner style!! Plus, coral, apricot, & peachy shimmers are perfect for summer!! By extending the upper liner inward at the tear duct, you can undoubtedly elongate your eyes beautifully!
You could use light shimmery colors on the inner eye area and add a matte tan shade to the outer lid and outer crease. If I were recreating something like this, I’d use an apricot shade at the innermost part of the lid and slowly let it shift into a coral shade around the center, blending out into a tan shade at the outer. But you could also get a similar look using just two colors as well.
5) This Sky High Blue Look Offers Full Glam With Just A Single Shade!
Image Source: Instagram @giselle_makeup
A pastel sky blue applied in a feline eye shape gives off a total runway vibe! If blending is not a strength of yours, this style should be one you look into trying. You’ll still want to be sure to blend the color at the outer edges into your skin, but you don’t have to worry about your eyeshadow becoming muddy after blending (something which can often occur with multi-color looks)!
Apply eyeshadow to the eyelids and bring it around the inner and outer corners, down under the lower lashline. Make sure you extend the color outward at the outer corners to create a cat-eye-like shape. Then top it off with a few coats of lengthening mascara on the upper and lower lashes. For application on the lower lashes, concentrate on the center section of your lashes.
6) Neutral Eyeshadow With A Splash Of Color Can Instantly Add Flair To Natural Eye Makeup Looks!
Natural eyeshadow makeup looks are always ideal if you want to keep things subtle and on the softer side. But adding in a bright blue to her waterline along with a lovely purple under the lower lash line really takes things up a few notches. It’s a creative way to instantly jazz up your eyes!
To achieve this look, you’ll want to do a simple contouring eyeshadow technique using a neutral palette with brown and light shimmery colors. Use the brown at the outer corner of the eyes and sweep it through just the outer crease.
You’ll also want to blend the eyeshadow down from the outer corner into the outer portion of the lower lash line. Apply black liner (ink or gel) to the upper lash line. Then either add mascara or some false lashes to finish it off!
7) Go Bright, Bold, & Ultra Colorful!!
This pop of light green and playful pink make for a colorful attention grabber!! And as far as color combos, this unexpected pair surprisingly work rather well together with an eye makeup style like this.
Apply a subtle highlighter that is about one shade lighter than your skin tone under your brows. Focus your bright pink shade on your lids and extend it slightly beyond the crease (particularly if you have hooded or semi-hooded eyes). I would suggest using a green eyeliner pencil under your lashes to make it easier for beginners.
You can then apply lashes. Be sure to clean up and camouflage the edge of the lash band using a liquid liner. Then add a touch of mascara to the lower lashes, and you’re ready for your close-up, Beauties!
8) Bronze With A Hint Of Strategic Blue For An Exotic Mystique!
Image Source: Instagram @allanface
For a Cleopatra-like essence, this gilded bronze eyeshadow and bright blue make a lasting impression! And if you have brown eyes, this look uses two of your best eyeshadow colors (one for harmony and another for drama)!
Basically, if you have brown eyes, you want to determine what their particular undertone may be. Though I have very dark brown eyes, when looking in a lighted magnifying mirror, mine surprisingly actually have an amber (yellow-orange) undertone.
If you happen to have brown eyes with a subtle red or orange undertone to them, bronze is an excellent color choice if you want to bring out that undertone along with the beautiful flecks in your iris! In this particular case, this model has a natural orange undertone to her eyes that’s been emphasized with the bronze.
Additionally, based on color theory and the color wheel, the color blue will create the most dramatic contrast to the color orange. So blue makes a superb pick to definitely make her brown eyes (with their orange undertone) pop!
Try using a bronze shade on your full eyelid going up past your crease, use a soft brown under your lower lash line, and a vibrant blue at the corners. An essential to a look like this is keeping the blue portion defined. I recommend using a fine, thin liner brush or an angled liner brush for application.
You can add a little water to the tip of your liner brush and then dip it into a blue powder shadow to give precision. Then you want to apply only at the inner and outer corners of your eye. Add mascara, and you are good to go!
9) Try Purple Hazes For A Show-Stopping Gaze!!
Image Source: Instagram @aliandreeamakeup
From lilac to lavender, plum, mauve, and amethyst to violet…purple eyeshadows have a remarkable way of looking phenomenal on every skin tone! And if your hazel or green eyes have hints of yellow in the iris, as hers do, based on color theory, purples will look especially stunning with your eyes!
Try experimenting with a variety of purple shades for a fun look like this! Lastly, you can always add a sheer light pink shimmer on the inner section of your eyes to open them up even more!
10) Bring Out Baby Blues With Bursting Warm Coral & Gold Hues!
If you’re into drama, this sizzling take on the popular sunset eyeshadow look is your best bet! It features tropical shades reminiscent of a sunset that seamlessly blend into one another for a gradient-like effect.
For this particular look, reddish tones, coral, pinkish purple, and gold were used. And it’s the combination of coral and orangish-gold that creates that kind of “stop you in your tracks” contrast for her blue eyes! You see, based on color theory and the color wheel, an important concept I cover in detail in The Essential Master Your Eyeshadow Guide, for cool baby blue eyes, warm eyeshadow colors with orange and yellow undertones give them that dramatic pop!
Related Article: Eyeliners For Blue Eyes – 15 Eye-Catching Must-Haves
11) This Combination Of Green & Yellow Is Perfect For Green-Eyed Beauties!
Green eyes often have subtle golden flecks of color located in the iris, so to add some harmony, both green and yellow are wonderful color picks! A white or ivory can be used under the brow and at the inner corner for a look like this. Another option could be to forgo that third color altogether and switch this to a bi-color look instead.
You’ll want to use a touch of eyeliner on the upper lid and smudge it out. Keep the green eyeshadow extended from the outer eye corner at about a 45-degree angle. Lastly, use a volumizing mascara or false lashes and apply a little mascara to the lower lashes.
12) Make A Green Envy Graphic Eyeshadow Impact!
A graphic eyeshadow winged looks are the perfect way to let your makeup creativity shine through. With this particular style, it’s all about bold shapes and bright colors. To create this one, you should opt for using a cream eyeshadow. And if you happen to need more staying power, simply set it with a powder shadow after you’ve completed the shape and filled it in.
For beginners, I recommend using a piece of tape angled at the outer corner of your eyes as an outline for the edge of your wing. Angle it upward and outward from each eye.
Start with that outer edge that extends from your lash line and draw a line with an angled brush or fine, thin brush on each side right up next to the tape. Next, compare this line on both eyes to make sure they match up. If they do, move on to the inner section.
The easiest option to ensure everything remains symmetrical is to break the shape up a bit into sections. Create a new straight line that connects from the outermost point of the first line back to the center of your eyelid at the lash line. This will create a sharp, thin triangle-like shape.
Then go to the inner eye at the lash line and draw a more curved line that connects from there back to the triangle you just made. Lastly, fill everything in to form the complete shape. Don’t forget some mascara!!
13) You Can Never Go Wrong With A Romantic Monochromatic Look…
If you’re not familiar with monochromatic makeup, this look entails focusing on just one color, making it effortless and easy. This color remains the same for the eyes, lips, & cheeks! The key is to make sure you go light with the blush, blend, and diffuse it out, so it’s not too harsh.
If you have dark brown hair with warm undertones, you can quickly warm up your complexion with radiant berry shades, like was done in the image above. For more tips on the best eyeshadow colors for different hair colors, check out the Best Eyeshadow Colors Supreme Guide & Cheat Sheets featured in the Master Your Eyeshadow Guide here.
14) Try Pretty In Pink Eyeshadow Makeup Looks!!
If rich berry shades are a bit too bold for you, you can always go for a softer look using pinks! Use your lightest matte shade under your brows to highlight. Add a light pink eyeshadow to your mobile lid. Use a deeper, darker pink on the full crease. Blend this darker pink, so it extends past the crease and goes upwards and outwards at the outer eye. This will help you achieve a nice instant lifting effect for your eyes!
You also want to bring this eyeshadow around and down, connecting to the lower lash line. Apply directly under your lower lashes and work all the way in, stopping just short of the inner corners. Use pale shimmery pink at the inner corners of your eyes. Top it all off with mascara!
15) What Do You Get When You Combine A Gradient Style With A Winged Look?
Many of the same recommendations for Look #12 apply here as well, Beauties! Only you want to add in a light shimmery eyeshadow for highlighting under the brow and at the inner corner of your eyes.
For the wing, you don’t need to extend as far as you did with Look #12 (which stopped near the tail of your brows). Consider this a little wing ;)… Start with that outer edge again using a dark blue cream shadow. Now when you create your next line, you don’t want to go all the way to the center of your lash line.
Instead, you’re going to connect it on the lash line at a point that roughly falls just outside of your iris. For beginners, before drawing this line, look in the mirror. Notice the outer edge of your iris? Pretend there’s an imaginary line going straight up from that outer edge and stopping at your lash line. Try making a tiny dot on your lash line there.
Now you can create your next line from the outermost point of the first line back to this tiny dot. You can then switch brushes and go to the inner pink, working backward to the light blue and eventually the dark blue —this way, the dark blue section serves as a guide for where to stop.
You can add a pink shimmery powder eyeshadow under the outer 2/3rds of the lower lash line. Then grab your mascara for the upper and lower lashes, gals!
16) Play Up Your Hazels With Greens & Metallic Gold!!
Image Source: Instagram @nikki_makeup
A halo eyeshadow makeup style using gold and two shades of green, like this one, looks phenomenal on hazel eyes! If you’re not familiar with the halo technique, it involves strategically placing light and darker colors around the eyes to give the illusion of rounder, larger, & brighter eyes. You want to use a shimmer on the center of your lids to make your eyes pop and help with that brightening effect!