As a bearer of green eyes, when someone asks me what colour they should wear in order to make their own greens pop, I immediately shout 'RED!' in their face. Yes, I do have a tendency to be terribly socially awkward.
The idea of a red eyeshadow scares the life out of most people and immediately I am met with a backlash of claims that they will look like they have an eye infection or have been punched but the trick is in both the tone and the application.
Pearlescent Red EyeshadowNow I am not for one second suggesting you go out, buy the brightest matte red eyeshadow you can find and smear it willy-nilly all over your lids. I am talking warm burgundies, wines, bordeauxs, plums and if you are just too terrified of all of those, try a very warm red-toned brown. Trust me, your eyes will thank you for it.
Ya see, when you take a look at a colour wheel, you will see that red and green are polar opposites and that clash is what actually complements the eye colour, enhancing it to the maximum.
Maybelline Color Tattoo Metallic Pomegranate NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil RustSome of my favourite products to use are cream bases such as the Maybelline Color Tattoo in 'Metallic Pomegranate' (€10.49) or the NYX Jumbo Pencil in 'Rust' (Approx. €6 on eBay).
These pearlescent dark reds make excellent foundations for your eyeshadow look and even if you apply a brown on top, can often be seen shining through, adding the warmth and red-tone that we are looking for.
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Mac Cranberry, Inglot 450, Inglot 452If you regularly rock a dark eye and don't mind jumping in at the deep end and just applying a straight-up red eyeshadow, my favourites include Mac's 'Cranberry' (€12.50 a pan), a pearlescent pinky-red and Inglot's #450 and #452 (€6 a pan), a pearlescent true red and a pearlescent burgundy, respectively.
I like to wear them pressed over the lid with a darker shade in the crease for a wine smokey eye.
Sugarpill Love +, Makeup Forever 99 ScarletYou could also try a matte red such as Sugarpill's 'Love +' ($12) or MakeUp ForEver's '99 Scarlet' (€19) in the crease as a transition colour with a darker brown over it so that only a hint of red shows through.
The most important thing, in my opinion, when wearing red eyeshadow is to apply black to the waterline (so that the redness there doesn't blend in with the colour, resulting in sore-looking eyes) and lashings of mascara for the same reason.
Red Crease EyeshadowIf you are still totally too afraid to try it out, I do recommend the Naked 3 Palette for its rosy tones which are ideal for making green eyes pop.
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What do you think? Are you ever brave enough to rock a red or does the very idea send you running for the hills?
