Kayla Young
While grey often gets a bad rap for being boring, drab and dreary, when it comes to eye color, grey rocks! Not only are grey eyes beautiful and mysterious, but they are also rare. It’s estimated that only about 3% of the world’s population has grey eyes.
If you are among the very few who have grey eyes, consider yourself lucky!
So, what color eyeshadow for grey eyes works best? And are you sure your eyes are grey, or are they blue?
In this article, we are going to show you how to play up the different colors in your eyes and how to make your grey eyes look lighter grey, by using different color palettes.
Contents
Grey Eyes vs Blue Eyes
Though grey eyes are often mistaken for blue eyes at first glance, grey eyes are different from blue eyes in a few ways:
- Grey eyes have more collagen in the stroma than blue eyes, which changes the way light is refracted.
- When those with blue eyes wear blue near their face, or even blue eye shadow, their blue eyes will look even more blue. Grey eyes won’t.
- Grey eyes tend to have flecks of different colors, like gold, brown, green and blue, and can appear to change color from gray to blue to green depending on clothing, lighting and mood. When the size of the pupil changes, it compresses the colors of the iris.
What Color Eyeshadow For Grey Eyes?
Now while this is super cool to have eyes that can “change color”, it starts getting a little tricky when it comes to cosmetics, particularly eyeshadow! What color eyeshadow works best for grey eyes?
How do you choose the right color of eyeshadow if your eye color is having an identity crisis?!
Here’s the good news: you are not pigeonholed by a specific set of colors for eye makeup. You can actually choose whether you want to bring out more of a specific color or go neutral and intensify the grey.
Let’s break down how it works, and how to use your makeup to bring out different aspects of your eye color.
1. Eyeshadow To Make Grey Eyes More Blue
Now unlike blue eyes, which tend to just have the blue intensify when there is other blue around, grey eyes don’t react this way.
What you need to do to play up the blue in your grey eyes is to go for blue’s complimentary color – which is orange.
Eyeshadows with an orange tone, including browns and colors like copper, rust, peach, coral, salmon, melon, or even orange will all bring out the blue in your eyes.
These eyeshadow colors can be used to create a soft, yet subtle smokey eye look which will make your grey eyes appear bluer. Wearing these colors with a touch of a light blue shimmer on the inner corner will also call attention to the already existing blue in the iris.
Eyeshadows with an orange tone, including browns and colors like copper, rust, peach, coral, salmon, melon, or even orange will all bring out the blue in your eyes.
If you are in a pinch and pressed for time, you can dust just one of these ‘orange’ hues across the crease of your eyelid for a quick, but effective eye-popping look.
If you are just doing a sweep of one color, make sure it’s matte.
Here are a few palettes that will bring on the orange hues:
2. Eyeshadow to Make Grey Eyes More Green
If it’s green you’re after, aim for green’s complementary color – red.
Any green in your eyes will not be primary grass green, so the complimentary red will not be tomato red, either. Think red-brown, wine, maroon, burgundy, plum, or purple.
Don’t forget, your green is probably made up of yellow flecks as well! Yellow’s complementary color is purple, so these colors that bridge the gap between red and purple will play up the green in your grey eyes.
For eyeliner and mascara, go for chocolate brown instead of black.
Here are a few reddish eyeshadow palettes:
3. Eyeshadow To Make Grey Eyes Lighter Grey
If you are looking to highlight the grey in your eyes and make them really stand out, go for a greyscale, monochromatic smokey eye with colors like silver, grey, charcoal, and black.
Sooty, smoky shades enhance gray eyes, making them appear lighter, for a sparkling, steely effect.
Sooty, smoky shades enhance gray eyes, making them appear lighter, for a sparkling, steely effect.
Use a medium matte grey shadow on the lid and lower lash line. Smoke out the outer corner of the eye with charcoal or black shadow.
Silver shadow on the upper lid and inner corner will also brighten the eye.
Then, finish with a nude lip. A neutral lip color will not compete with any other colors in the iris, allowing the natural grey tones of the eye to stand out.
Here are a few great monochromatic eyeshadow palettes:
How Do I Find The Right Eyeshadow Color?
You’ll notice our ‘shopping samples’ above for each section are all in the same range – warm, earthy browns and oranges, wine & plums, and the smokey greys. But they are each a little different.
The perfect color for your specific eyes will depend on the combination of the different colors in your grey eyes.
We’ve got you pointed in the right direction, but now it’s going to take a little experimenting to get the perfect shades for you.
Just a few things to keep in mind if you are using multiple colors of eyeshadow:
- If you are using more than 2 colors, make sure you have a combo of a light, medium, and darker shade.
- Combine colors that are in the same color family or that are similar, i.e. earth tones, berry shades.
- If you go for a shimmer, mix finishes and include a matte in your crease.
- Don’t be afraid to experiment! It’s makeup – it washes off.
Conclusion
Grey eyes are truly special and are among the only eye colors that can appear different colors depending on whatever else is going on around them. When it comes to what color eyeshadow for grey eyes, you have quite a bit of control over what color you want your grey eyes to look.
Applying eyeshadow takes a bit of practice. But experimenting is half the fun!
So go on and take advantage of your grey eyes and see what different looks you can create!
