The Eye Makeup Color You've Always Feared Is 2019's Biggest Trend

By Erin Lukas
Updated Jan 11, 2019 @ 3:30 pm
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Credit: Nicholas Hunt/WireImage

Green is the Rotten Tomatoes of eyeshadow colors. It's bright, easily clashes with other makeup products, plus it's the official color of Slytherin House. No wonder is has low ratings as an eyeshadow color. 

But, 2019 just might be the year that green becomes more than the one leftover shadow in your palette. The shade is quickly turning into the most popular eye makeup color on the red carpet, seen on celebs like Emma Stone and Issa Rae. Given that slime green clothing and hair had a moment last year, it was only a matter of time before people started brushing it on their eyelids.  

"Green eyeshadow is and will continue to be trending in 2019 because of its many shades and ability to bring out your eye color," says New York City-based makeup artist Neil Scibelli. "I also think people are finding various ways to wear the shade, which makes is universally wearable for everyone."  

The shade, not the color itself, is what can make wearing green eyeshadow so tricky. Scibelli recommends starting with a shade you're comfortable with and building up to it.

"It all really goes back to how bold or loud you're looking for your green to be," he says. "If you have lighter eyes, a darker green will define them more and make your eyes pop. For darker eye colors, try lighter shades of green, which will bring out the warmth in their eyes, and make them stand out. If you're just looking to bring out your eye color in general, look for a shade of green that has hints of gold in it (something in the forest green family)." To take things to the next level, you can always mix metallic pigments into your green shadow or liner. 

For ideas on how to wear green eyeshadow and eyeliner, check out these 10 celebrities who've all embraced this 2019 makeup trend. 

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Issa Rae

Credit: FilmMagic/FilmMagic for HBO

If you look closely, you'll see that Issa Rae's makeup artist ,Joanna Simkin, brushed green shadow above and below the actress' crease, giving the classic smoky eye a fun twist. 

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Jaime King

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Once you've become comfortable wearing green eyeliner, take the trend to the next level by pairing the bold eye makeup shade with a contrasting lip color, like Jaime King's matte fuchsia lipstick. 

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Kendall Jenner

Credit: maryphillips/Instagram

This look by celebrity makeup artist Mary Phillips is what we'd like to refer to as "slime liner." The pro used neon green liner to give Kendall Jenner a cat-eye that matched her top perfectly. 

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Camilla Belle

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Inspired by the blue and green gown that Camilla Belle wore to the 2019 Golden Globe Awards, celebrity makeup artist Hung Vanngo wanted the actress' makeup look to "reflect the same colors as the dress." To do this, he haloed the green shade from Chanel Les 4 Ombres in Splendeur et Audace and CHANEL Ombre Premiere in Verderame around Belle's eyes.  

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Rita Ora

Credit: Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for MTV & DIRECTV NOW

Rita Ora matched her eye makeup to her head-to-toe green leopard print outfit by adding a touch of glitter eyeshadow in the same shade to her smoky eye. The green shadows in Rimmel London's Jewel Rocks Magnif'eyes Eyeshadow Palette can help you get a similar look. 

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Emma Stone

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"Snake eyes," celebrity makeup artist Rachel Goodwin captioned the photo of this emerald green look she gave Emma Stone. Goodwin swept a single shadow across Stone's lids up into the crease and winged it out, creating a cat-eye effect. 

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Lucy Hale

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Lucky Hale's smoky eye by makeup artist Kelsey Deenihan is so good that it'll make you want to dip into that green shadow in your favorite palette that you haven't touched.

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Ashley Graham

Credit: tobimakeup/Instagram

Makeup artist Tobi Henney dressed up the supermodel's graphic cat eye by tracing it with a layer of green glitter. While we don't know the exact product the pro used for Ashley Graham's accent color, Stila's Shimmer & Glow Liquid Eye Shadow in Vivid Jade is a pretty close dupe. 

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Alison Brie

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When you're going to wear a bright eyeshadow, you might as well go all out, which is exactly what Alison Brie did with her fluorescent green eye makeup by pro Mai Quynh. 

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Kendall Jenner

Credit: maryphillips/Instagram

A smoky eye or cat eye eyeliner aren't the only ways to wear green eye makeup. Case in point: This negative space liner look that makeup artist Mary Phillips gave Kendall Jenner for the 2018 People's Choice Awards. The beauty of abstract liner is there's no right or wrong way of doing it, so draw some lines and just have fun. 

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