Most women try to put together their makeup look using matching hues and complementary beauty styles. It doesn’t have to be this way. By mismatching certain elements of your look, you can create a charming and unique look all your own.
Strong eye with a strong lip: smokey eyes and berry lips
It’s a well-known beauty ‘rule’ that you should never match a bold lip shade with a bolder eye look, but sometimes it can work out to be incredibly flattering.
A bold lip makes a high-impact impression, and a shade of bright eyeshadow can really bring out the beauty of the eyes. So why sacrifice either? Contrary to what some might think, there is a knack to getting this pairing down and to pulling it off without overpowering the face.
Dark, smokey eye makeup can look sensational with a vampy lip. Rather than going for a neutral eye, or a simple slick of liner and mascara, try a bolder look with a grey or silver smokey eye. A smokey eye will bring definition and glamour to your eyes and will pair beautifully with a bold lip, without looking overdone. A berry shade could pair well with a gunmetal or charcoal smokey eye, making for a different but glamorous combo.
Elle share their advice on how to pick the perfect berry shade for your skintone:
“From berry to burgundy to oxblood, there are many different dark shades on the lipstick color spectrum, but not all work on every skin tone. Women with fair skin should choose something pink-based like the NYX Cosmetics Matte Lipstick in Merlot to really make their eyes pop. Blue-based lipsticks like M.A.C Living Legend complement medium skin tones and also have the bonus effect of making teeth appear whiter. Those with darker skin tones should choose something with a brown base like Lipstick Queen’s Sinner Berry. A rich hue like this one will add dimension to the lips.”
Strong eye with a strong lip: brights and pastels
Try experimenting with colours. A bright shade of eyeliner, matched with a bright shade of lipstick, can really work when done right. In order to avoid looking overly made up, however, match your bright colours with a pastel colour.
For example, a candy pink pastel shade of lipstick would work well with bright eyeliner. The subtler shades of pastels give you the chance to match your bold makeup choices with firm favourites. It’s a good idea to stick to similar colours, though. Complementary shades will prevent you from overdoing it.
How do you pick out the right shades that will match rather than clash? Opt for colours that are close to one another on the colour wheel (for example, pink and purple sit together on the colour wheel), rather than shades which sit opposite one another.
Pulling off the look
Despite what you may have heard, you can make a bold lip and eye work – stick to complementary hues and you’ll look striking without looking overdone.
