How To Rock Bright Colored Makeup Without Going Overboard
Bright makeup is super trendy right now- but how much is too much? Try these tips and tricks to help keep you from going overboard!
1. Tone Everything Else Down
When using a bright color like hot pink on your eyes, it’s important to remember that it’s incredibly easy to cross the line from couture to clown. To avoid going too far, keep everything else in your makeup look simple and neutral. A light contour and a lip color almost identical to your skin tone will help to create a blank canvas for your pop of color. Because pink is such a bold color, and because our eye lids are so close to our brows, stick with a more subtle brow for this look. Fill in your brows with a pencil as opposed to gel for a more natural look, or skip the filling in and simply polish them off with some brow gel. Throw in a little highlight in the inner corner and on your cheekbones to accent that glorious pink and set the heck out of your face! You’re working with highly pigmented colors, which means the risk of disaster when it comes to fallout is even higher than usual. Make sure you prime your eyelids and set them after applying the color to make sure that bold look stays put all day!
2. Stick To Your Inner Corner
If you’re looking for drama with minimal effort, a bright color on your inner corner is definitely the way to go. Because we are limiting our bright color to a precise and specific area, the amount of fallout and the time it takes to apply this bright color is much lower. But don’t be mistaken- just because the color is concentrated in one area does not mean this look will not deliver in the “bold” department. In fact, the concentration of the bright pigment actually helps to intensify the effect of the color. By keeping the rest of the look neutral we are drawing all the attention directly to that pop of color, essentially creating a super intense makeup look with only a small amount of bright color! Use a warm neutral in your crease to keep your eyes from looking too sparse, and create a simple wing to contrast the vibrant color in your inner corner! To achieve a seamless inner corner masterpiece, make sure you blend the color you have chosen up onto the narrow part of your lid, and blend out below your lash line!
3. Contrast A Bolder Lid With a Neutral Crease
The easiest way to go overboard with a bright color is to use a heavy hand when applying a bold eyeshadow. To avoid making this mistake altogether, keep that bold shade on your lid. After you’ve primed your eyes, sweep your bright colored shadow across your lid. Once you’ve reached your desired shade, tackle this look like you would a cut crease. Take an angled brush and carve out your crease with a concealer, making sure there is no color anywhere but your lids. Then, go in with a neutral shade that compliments the bold color you chose for your lids, and blend out! The neutral color will help tone down the brightness of your lid without completely diminishing the fun, edgy vibe a bright color delivers!
4. Business On Top, Party On The Bottom
The struggle with using bright colors is that sometimes we tend to turn out looking like a 7 year-old playing with our mom’s makeup. This mature makeup look blends the bold with the classic, and really packs a punch! Start off this look by using neutral colors that complement your skin tone on your lids and in your crease. A black wing will really class up this makeup! Work a bright color into your lower water line. Smudge this color into your inner corner as well, and finish it off with a bit of black smudged into your lower lash line. The black will really play off the vibrant color in your lash line and adds a bit of symmetry with the black liner on your upper lash line!
5. Pick One Feature
Because it is so easy to go too far when using bright makeup, it is essential that you pick one feature to be the focal point of your look. It doesn’t always have to be your eyes, either! Bright colors can look great on the apples of your cheeks as a vibrant blush, or you can go for a flirty lip color in a bright (or even neon if you’re adventurous) tone. Limiting the bright color to one feature will keep your face from looking too busy and it gives your admirers something to focus on! If you go for a bold lip, try a naked eye shadow look by using concealer on your lids and a touch of highlight in your crease and keep it natural with your lashes!
6. Mix Cool With Warm
Bright colors are fun and playful, and there are endless color combinations for those daring enough to go for two vibrant colors in one look. The best way to mix and match bright colors is to even out cooler colors with warmer ones. Cooler bright colors can tend to leave you looking washed out. By complimenting a cooler tone with a warm one like the mauve pink used in the crease and the lower lash line in this look, you can balance out the harshness of the cooler colors without getting rid of the jewel-like quality of these colors! Just make sure to blend your heart out in this look. Blending will help to create a seamless transition between the shades, and keep your eyeshadow from appearing choppy or inconsistent. Mimic the warmer tone from your lid on your lips to create a cohesive and put-together look!
