8 Eyeshadow Looks That'll Convince You to Ditch Your Neutral Palettes
Eyeshadow palettes are the makeup equivalent of a box of chocolates: there's always a few shades that never get touched.
Usually, it's the bright colors that get neglected, even when you're scooping up the last bits of your palette's silver and charcoal shades. While it's true that vibrant shades can be a bit more tricky to apply, it's not impossible to wear them.
Instead of tossing out a half-used palette and moving on to the next one, look to see how some of your favorite celebs have been wearing colorful eyeshadow. Recently, ROYGBIV have all made appearances on the eyes of Hollywood's biggest as they walked the red carpet. Margot Robbie's canary yellow eyeshadow and Demi Lovato's lavender smoky eye are just a few examples.
Here, we've rounded up the best bold celebrity eye makeup looks to inspire you to use all of the colors in your eyeshadow palettes.
Kerry Washington
Blue eye makeup isn't just for '80s flashback scenes in rom-coms. Case in point: Kerry Washington's cerulean cat eye. Instead of sweeping the blue shadow across her lids, the actress gave it a modern twist by using the shade for her graphic flick. For a more pigmented look, try dipping a damp angle brush into your eyeshadow.
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Kate Bosworth
Traditionally, red eyeshadow is a color we've been told to avoid at all costs. But, in 2018 we know that there are no beauty rules. A easy way to pull off the shade is to go sheer like Kate Bosworth did at the Critics' Choice Awards. The star's makeup artist Hung Vanngo started by reaching for Marc Jacobs Beauty Highliner Gel Eye Crayon Eyeliner in Sunset 74 ($25; sephora.com) to draw a thick golden bronze line around her eyes. He used the various rust and pink shades in Marc Jacobs Beauty's Eye-Conic Multi-Finish Eyeshadow Palette in Scandalust ($49; sephora.com) to create her soft-focus smoky eye.
Keep your lipstick from competing with your eye makeup, by swiping on a shade that's in the same color family. For Bosworth, Vanngo went with Marc Jacobs Beauty's Le Marc Lip Crème Lipstick in Rei Of Light 212 ($30; sephora.com), a toasted brick red.
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Janelle Monae
If the thought of wearing vibrant eyeshadow allover your lids is scary, take a cue from Monae. Use a bright shade along your lower lash line, and stick with a contrasting neutral on your lid. For a similar look to the star's, try the jade green and rose gold shadows in COVERGIRL's tru Naked Jewels Eyeshadow Palette ($9; target.com).
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Margot Robbie
Yellow is one of those makeup shades you see on Instagram but would never think of trying in real life. Margot Robbie's canary eyeshadow is about to change that. Use a more pigmented yellow shade such as NYX's Hot Singles Eyeshadow in STFU ($5; target.com) on your lids, and sweep a sheer, slightly peach color like NYX's Hot Singles Eyeshadow in LOL ($5; target.com) from your crease up to your brow bone for dimension. If you're going to wear an unexpected color on your eyes, keep the rest of your makeup soft and minimal.
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Priyanka Chopra
If you're still hooked on last year's monochromatic makeup trend, let Priyanka Chopra's magenta look inspire your next matchy-matchy makeup moment. Instead of choosing a softer shade in the same color family as her bold lipstick, the actress' makeup artist Daniel Martin swept a equally pigmented magenta shadow on her eyes. He used a glittery shade from Pat McGrath Labs' Mothership III Subversive Eyeshadow Palette ($125; sephora.com) to create the look.
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Nicole Richie
When you've reached the bottom of the charcoal and pewter pots in your eyeshadow palette, why not step outside of your comfort zone with an aquamarine smoky eye like Nicole Richie wore. For a similar color scheme to the star's makeup, try the Lightyear shade in Urban Decay's Moondust Eyeshadow Palette ($49; sephora.com).
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Demi Lovato
Not sure what makeup shade to reach for when you're wearing a colorful outfit? Just match it like Demi Lovato. The singer's makeup artist Jill Powell used the exact same lavender color as her dress for her smoky eye. The pro used MAKE UP FOR EVER's M-90 Matte Purple and I-80 Iridescent Pink Beige ($25 each; sephora.com) for the base, and blended the soft violet and purple tones in Sephora's PRO Editorial Palette ($68; sephora.com) in her crease. Powell used a bit of a darker shade to add dimension on the outer corner.
"I then applied Sephora's Colorful Shadow & Liner in White ($14; sephora.com) on the bottom lash line and layered it with a ColourPop's Lippie Pencil in Heart On ($5; colourpop.com), a violet-toned lip liner, to make the color a touch lighter but still pop," she told us. "I then blended in a holographic shadow from Kat Von D's Alchemist Holographic Palette ($32; sephora.com) on top of the liner, and smudged it to create a smoky effect," she previously told InStyle.
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Emily Ratajkowski
Red lipstick is usually what we turn to when we want to add a pop of color to our beauty looks, but Emily Ratajkowski has demonstrated that the color is equally as impactful when it's on your eyes. The star wore crimson eyeshadow haloed around her eyes to InStyle's 2018 Golden Globes after party.
Ratajkowski's makeup artist Hung Vanngo lined her waterline and upper and lower lash line with Marc Jacobs Beauty Highliner Matte Gel Eye Crayon Eyeliner in Fine(wine) 47 ($25; sephora.com), extending it past the outer corner of the eye, and smudged the lines with a brush. Next, he reached for Marc Jacobs Beauty Eye-Conic Multi-Finish Eyeshadow Palette in Scandalust ($49; sephora.com). The pro blended the shades "They Call Her" and "Scandalous" from the palette together to create a rich red color, and applied mix to her lid and lower lash line.