Our skin shades and tones come in a huge variety all throughout the world, and that is one of my favorite things about Americans, that we have an awesome range of skin color from the lightest of the light to the darkest of the dark. Of course America isn't the only country with a variety of skin tones, and with all these unique types of skin, I was surprised to see I could not find one makeup page, article or video online that featured the entire range at once. As well as nothing that you could cross-reference your eye color and skin in one article. If you see a need, fill it. These are the best makeup shades for your eyes and skin colors:
Blue Eyes:
Colors that bring out the your eye color most, are the ones opposite your eye color on the color wheel. For blue eyes these colors are copper, orange, tangerine, coral, neutral brown, peach, rust, rose pink and deep pink. To bring out gray undertones in your eye, you can use silver, grey, sky blue, cobalt and black. Avoid using very matte grey, silver, white, or blues as it call dull the brightness of your eyes.
Green Eyes:
The colors that bring out your natural green are the colors on the red side of the spectrum. Copper, burgundy, wine, plum, violet, and fuchsia as well as neutrals like beige, tan, peach, rose gold, gold, bronze, charcoal and black. Greens can look nice as long as you are using metallic shadow, as greens will flatten your eye color instead of making it pop.
Brown Eyes:
Because brown is a mixture of colors, it's not a color you can find an opposite for on the color wheel, however most bright colors compliment brown eyes very well, including teal, cobalt, emerald green, and aqua. Deep metallics also go well with brown eyes like silver, gold, rose gold, copper and bronze, and even browns opposite your eyes undertone. It's best to keep away from deep colors that dull your color.
Very Dark Skin:
Eyes:
Any metallics or brights look amazing against very dark skin as well as nudes that have a bit of warmth or shimmer like glimmering gold, copper and bronzes. Instead of using white, which can be too contrasting against very dark skin, you can use a hint of yellow or orange shadow under the brow bone to highlight the area without washing your face out. Any rich shades, like purples, reds, blue, greens, oranges, and yellows. Do steer clear of white (or off-white/cream), pale or frosty colors especially in powder form as they can appear ashy on your deep skin. If possible when choosing lighter colors, test some on your hand. If the color makes your skin appear dry or ashy on your hand, it will appear the same on your face.
Cheeks:
Your most complementary colors include berry, chocolaty plum, copper, deep mauve, a cranberry colored blush or even bright orange, bright fuchsia also work beautifully on dark skin with warmer undertones, while tangerine and red-orange will flatter cooler undertones. Forget about those pale pinks and barely there blush for the very dark skin beauties, not only will they possibly make no effect on your face, but they can also create the illusion of dry skin.
Lips:
There is a wide range of lip color for the very deep toned girls including reds like deep red, bright red, rose pinks, peaches. Deep colors also look great against very dark skin like chocolate, deep plum, dark neutrals, deep fuchsia, and berry type colors. Even something as simple as your matching nude and clear gloss can look beyond beautiful. It is best to avoid near-white or very pale shades, test each color and decide against your own skin, however white lips and dark skin can give an almost caricature effect to the face.
Dark Skin:
Eyes:
For those who have dark skin with warm undertones, your best colors are peach, rose gold, gold, bronze, orange red, mahogany, rust, and brown. For those with cooler skin tones, your complimentary colors are towards the side of blue, purple, silver, pink, deep blue, and cobalt. Though you can move more into the paler colors, it's still best to check the product on your skin if possible, before making a decision on it.
Cheeks:
Those with dark skin generally can stick to the same colors as those with very dark, like berry, chocolaty plum, copper, deep mauve, a cranberry colored blush but you can also move into the lighter colors here as well, like orange, tangerine, gold, lighter plums, fuchsia, mahogany, rust, and deep reds.
Lips:
As with the blush colors, the most of the same shades work on dark and very dark skin, with a light change in the depth of color. The purple range of colors like plum, violet, fuchsia, and magenta all complement dark skin amazingly. As well as the red spectrum like deep reds, maroon, chocolate brown, bronze, peach, and rose pink. Also like the very dark shades, your natural lip shade and clear gloss will perfectly accentuate your lips.
Medium-Dark Skin:
Eyes:
Most medium-dark skin looks amazing with many colors, including some on the yellow side like orange, rust, yellow, bronze, and golden. The more neutral colors, like mahogany, taupe, mauve, chocolate, and black, as well as move towards blues, like deep teal, cobalt, sapphire, violet, and lavender.
Cheeks:
As with those with dark skin, medium- dark looks great with copper, deep mauve, and cranberry colored blushes but this is where you may want to start moving away from extremely deep blushes like dark chocolate. Some colors you may want to consider trying are red colors like brick, terra cotta, deep red, and mahogany. Gold and bronze also work very well with medium-dark skin both as blush and highlighters.
Lips:
Medium-dark skin creates a great palette for many lip colors. Ranging from very bright looks like orange, red-orange, rust, tangerine, magenta, fuchsia and violet. Also going into more neutral colors like warm brown nudes, plum, berry, rose pink, deep red, maroon, burgundy, wine and neutral pinks.
Medium Skin:
Eyes:
Any metallic colors look beautiful against medium skin including and bronze, gold, and golden-browns. Most brights look very nice against this tone as well like sapphire, royal blue, cobalt, emerald green, burnt orange, and violet. Yet you are still able to keep with a deeper range like lavender, deep plum. This skin shade is where you may be more able to use more pale colors, but do test the makeup on your hand if possible, to see how the product will appear on your face.
Cheeks:
Medium tones are also very nice with many shades of blush and highlighter including bronze and gold, rose pink, deep pink, and neutral berries. Avoid very dark colors like deep chocolate and deep plum as they tend to give medium skin a ruddy or sickly appearance, as well as very pale or pastel blushes as they can flatten the color of your natural "glow".
Lips:
The same rules apply here as with medium-dark skin, medium skin has a very wide range of lip colors that compliment your shade, including lighter colors like subtle nudes, corals especially with pink undertones, rose, cranberry and red-orange. You can also go with the deeper colors like maroon, mahogany, vampy colors, wine, deep pinks, brown-mauve, berry, and deep red.
Medium-Light Skin:
Eyes:
Medium-light skin is complimented by many eye shadow and liner colors including most colors on the red-yellow spectrum like peach, rose gold, bronze, gold, brick red, mahogany, deep pink, terra cotta, and burnt orange. Also the red-blue spectrum like fuchsia, plum, royal blue, cobalt, and violet.
Cheeks:
When it comes to blushes for medium-light skin, you can go with the same range of colors as medium like bronze and gold, rose pink, deep pink, and neutral berries. Though you can also move into the lighter shades like light berry and light rose, be careful to not move too far into pastel-like or pale colors, even if they do appear on your skin, it would be more convenient and less costly to do one swipe of a proper color, instead of packing on one that is too light.
Lips:
Medium-light skin is also a very good palette for lip colors, ranging from the deeper colors like maroon, mahogany, vampy colors, wine, darker pinks, berry, and plums. But you can also use a large spectrum of lighter colors including pink nudes, red-orange, "true" red, peaches and corals.
Light Skin:
Eyes:
Light skin is complimented very well by lighter colors like silver, bronze, and violet. As well as richer colors like deep orange, burnt orange, gold, cinnamon, auburn, mauve and deep pinks. You can also use very dark colors like charcoal, black, and very deep chocolate/plum but be very careful to use them sparingly and don't cover too much of the surface area of your face in extremely dark colors.
Cheeks:
With light skin, its better to stay away from very deep rich colors, like deep plum, chocolate, and deep berries. Though very light colors like baby or pale pink may not show up yet, some very nice colors for light skin include the pinks like rich pink, warm pink, and rose. Also you could move away from the pinks into some different colors like warm mauve, deep peach, and light berry.
Lips:
When it comes to lips on light skin, it's better (as with the blush) to stick more on the pink side of the spectrum like pink nudes, pink-mauve, rich and baby pink. However, you can go into a bit deeper colors like maroon, as well as more of the orange ranged colors like peach, peach-orange, coral, and red-orange.
Very Light Skin:
Eyes:
Those with very light skin have quite a broad range of choices when it comes to eye makeup because of the contrast between that tone of skin, and with rich makeup, as with very dark skin. You can go with lighter colors like silver, grey, white, griege, rose gold, lilac, warm pink and peach. Also you can go with very bright colors with violet, pink, fuschia, coral, bronze, and gold. You can use very deep and dark colors black, brown, plum, very dark green, however as with light skin, and even more so with very light skin, be very careful not to overpower your face with too much dark makeup.
Cheeks:
Most colors that work well with light skin except the more purple-ish hued blushes will look nice against very light skin, purple colors tend to give a bruised look to very light skin when used under the eyes or on the cheeks. Some complementary colors for light skin include soft pinks, peaches and, light corals. You can also begin to use pale and baby pinks as bluch without the need to to pile it on to make the effect appear.
Lips:
Very light skin looks beautiful with the pink lip colors as well like mauve, rose pink, baby pink, bright pink, flesh pink, and mauve. Very light skin can also lok nice against pale colors like pale pinks and nudes, however when it comes to pales and pastels, it is always better to test on your hand if possible before you decide on it. Brighter rich colors also complement very light skin well including peach, salmon, deep red, bright red, light/bright plum, peach, and ruby.
Of course, this list is just a guide and suggestions based on colors working well with other colors, not that these are your only choices to look how you want to. Go completely agaisnt everything I said here if that's what make you feel confident and beautiful. Western World makeup in the 21st century should not be about conforming to a sctrict set of rules on what someone else has dictated to be beautiful or not, you are the sole decison maker on what you want to look and feel like, and how you want to express yourself to the world.
Sources:
https://www.google.com
https://www.allure.com
https://www.cosmopolitan.com
https://www.seventeen.com