Ladies with beautiful eyes in that natural shade of blue, you probably know what your best feature is by now. But there's a trick to playing up your assets that many blue-eyed women aren't privy to: Those baby blues need to be enhanced with the right shade of eye makeup that doesn't overpower or take away from the hue.
For work or for play, here are our favorite pro makeup tips to bring out your true blue:
Eyeshadow
For the office, stick with eyeshadow in brown, rose, terracotta and neutral shades. Embrace the idea of purple eyeshadow to really accentuate the color of your eyes. Lavender works for daytime, while deep plum is a wonderful option for evening. For a special night out, blue-eyed women also can try metallics (both silver and gold work well), turquoise and icy pink.
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But let's not forget, skin tone also comes into play when choosing the right eyeshadow for your shade of blue. Jennifer Trotter of Lip Service Makeup, professional makeup artist, explains, "Shadow for blue eyes is all about contrast and choosing shades that show off your baby blues. Want your blue eyes to really pop? Choose shadows with warm yellow/orange undertones like champagne, gold, bronze, peach, rose gold and toasty almond/coffee shades. The contrast will make your eyes stand out like crazy and look especially great on blue-eyed girls with golden tans!"
Trotter continues, "If you've got blue eyes and fair skin, try combos based on pink undertones, like milk chocolate, taupe, mauve and blush. These shades look lovely and really enhance blue eyes without overpowering a fair complexion. Any blue-eyed girl can rock black, coffee or charcoal gray liner or mascara to enhance your lash line -- keep it soft if you have fair skin and light hair to avoid looking harsh."
Answering the question that is on every blue-eyed belle's mind, Trotter says "yes," it is OK to go matchy-matchy and wear blue on blue, when you stick to a few simple guidelines. "A vibrant navy or cobalt paired with lighter blue eyes can look very sophisticated. You'll have to experiment and see what shades work for your specific eye color. Avoid frosty light and mid-tone blue shades — they can look dated and aging." Still, she cautions, "Any blue shadows that match your eye shade exactly can actually make your eye color look dull by comparison."
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The smoky look
For evening, dark blue mascara looks fabulous on blue eyes, especially when paired with smudged charcoal eyeliner. Try smoky eye makeup using charcoal gray or purple shadow. "For blue eyes, choose dark blue (the dark blue tones can help to bring out the natural blue tones in your eyes), gray, silver, violet or lavender," says SheKnows beauty expert Nina Sutton. "For night time, blue combined with black is a great look. For eyeliner or mascara, try navy instead of black for a dramatic, yet less intense look," she says.
The palest blue eyes may benefit from steering clear of the heavy black eyeliner altogether, says Chelsa Crowley, co-founder and Chief Creative Officer of Stowaway Cosmetics. "Black eyeliners can sometimes feel too dark, depending on how pale blue your eyes are, and though the black shades will define your eyes in a dramatic way, it will not make your blue eyes pop or appear bluer," she explains.
Next Up: Eyeliner
Wing it!
Cat-eye or winged eyeliner looks awesome with blue eyes. Winged liner puts all the focus on your baby blues, and looks terrific in any shade — from black to turquoise and violet to orange... yes, orange liner. A subtle, barely-winged look will work for everyday wear. But for special occasions, get dramatic with a thicker, more exaggerated line.
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For the blue-eyed girls who are ready to mix it up and try something new, Crowley advocates using a different color of eyeliner for the same winged effect. "Choose navy/deep blue, dark chocolate brown or even violet/purple shades to enhance your eye color," she says. "Using a bronze eyeliner is your best option for making your eyes stand out. You can never go wrong with a bronzy brown shade!"
Lips
With all this focus on the right eyeshadow shade for your blue hue, it's natural to assume that luscious lip colors should go out the window. Not so, says Trotter. In fact, she recommends focusing on your lipstick shade as a finishing touch to bring out your blues. "Lipstick makes a huge difference when you have light eyes! If you've never tried a pop of color on your lips, you might be surprised to find that it really balances your features and brightens the color of your eyes even more," she says.
Trotter advises, "Go classic with a bright red, fun and flirty with a hot pink or easy and wearable with a berry shade that works on literally any skin tone." For your cheeks, dust on a sweep of blush in a light and natural hue. As Crowley reminds us, peach, coral and bronze shades can make most blue eyes appear bluer.
Updated by Bethany Ramos on 3/29/2016