The Best Eyeliner Colour for Your Eye Colour
Which eyeliner colour suits blue, green, brown, hazel and grey eyes? A simple colour-wheel guide, with the duochrome shades that make each eye colour pop.
By the VibeGlam team ·
Black liner goes with everything, but a coloured liner can make your eyes look brighter in a way black can't. The trick is picking a colour that works with your iris rather than competing with it. Here's the simple rule makeup artists use, then the best shades for each eye colour.
The simple rule: opposites make eyes pop
On a colour wheel, colours that sit opposite each other make each other look stronger. That's why a warm, coppery shade makes blue eyes look bluer, and a purple liner makes green eyes look greener. Colours that sit next to your eye colour do the opposite: they blend in for a softer, more harmonious look.
- For contrast and "wow": pick the colour opposite your eye colour.
- For a soft, polished look: pick a deeper or brighter version of your own eye colour.
A duochrome liner gives you a head start, because it shows two colours in one line. As you move, you get the contrast shade and the harmony shade at the same time.
Best eyeliner colours for brown eyes
Brown is the most common eye colour, and the luckiest one for coloured liner: almost every colour works. Cool shades like cobalt blue, violet and emerald give the most contrast against warm brown, and they pull out any gold or amber flecks in the iris.
- Try: cobalt blue, violet, plum, emerald, teal.
- Our pick: Zaria (cobalt blue to electric violet) for a night out, or Peacock (emerald to orchid) to make dark brown eyes glow.
Best eyeliner colours for blue eyes
Orange sits opposite blue on the colour wheel, so warm metallics like copper, bronze and gold make blue eyes look brighter. Purples and greens are flattering too. A liner in exactly the same blue as your eyes can compete with them, so go deeper (navy) or shift into violet instead.
- Try: gold, bronze, copper, violet, olive green.
- Our pick: Citrine (lime green to golden olive) adds warmth that makes blue stand out, and Zaria's violet side is a softer option.
Best eyeliner colours for green eyes
Red-violet is the opposite of green, which is why plum, purple and burgundy are the classic picks for green eyes. Golden tones also work, because they pick up the warm ring many green eyes have around the pupil.
- Try: purple, plum, burgundy, gold, bronze.
- Our pick: Peacock flips into orchid violet, so it gives you a purple that makes green eyes look greener, plus an emerald that matches them. Zaria's electric violet works too.
Best eyeliner colours for hazel eyes
Hazel eyes mix green, brown and gold, so the liner you choose decides which colour shows most. Purple brings out the green. Green brings out the gold and green flecks. Bronze and gold warm up the brown.
- Try: violet, emerald, olive, gold.
- Our pick: Peacock for the green-and-violet combo, or Citrine to bring out golden hazel.
Best eyeliner colours for grey eyes
Grey eyes take on the colours around them, so your liner can make them read as bluer or greener. Navy and violet make grey look blue-grey. Green and teal bring out a green tint. Smoky plum looks soft and moody.
- Try: navy, violet, teal, plum.
- Our pick: Zaria for blue-grey, Peacock for a green-grey shimmer.
Quick guide
| Eye colour | Colours that pop | VibeGlam shade |
|---|---|---|
| Brown | Blue, violet, emerald, teal | Zaria, Peacock |
| Blue | Gold, bronze, copper, violet | Citrine, Zaria |
| Green | Purple, plum, burgundy, gold | Peacock, Zaria |
| Hazel | Violet, emerald, olive, gold | Peacock, Citrine |
| Grey | Navy, violet, teal, plum | Zaria, Peacock |
Tips to make any coloured liner work
- Keep it close to the lashes. A thin line along the lash line frames the iris. Save the bold wing for when you want drama.
- Add black underneath for definition. A thin black line along the lash line, with the colour drawn on top, makes the colour look brighter and the eyes more defined.
- Try it on the lower lash line. A touch of colour under the outer third of the eye is an easy way to try a bold shade.
- Keep the rest simple. With a bright liner, a neutral lid and plenty of mascara let the colour do the talking.
New to winged liner? Our step-by-step winged eyeliner guide covers hooded eyes too.
Can eyeliner change your eye colour?
No. It changes how your eye colour looks. The colours around your iris change how bright and how warm or cool it reads, the same way a blue top can make blue eyes look bluer. That's why the right liner can make your eyes look brighter, and why trying a new colour is worth it.
