Pink Shadow? Eye Do!

Mon, 13 August 2012 11:02AM

I never used to have the time of day for pink eye shadow. It gave me the heeby jeebies. I blame it on one sad eye-shadow-testing episode in my early beauty writing days. Apparently the colour du jour back then was pink. But not just any pink. It had to be a reddy-pink. All the cool girls were wearing it, supposedly. So, the makeup artist at a launch event talked me into trying it out. On stage. In front of everyone. I have never looked worse in my entire life.

Turns out that the cool girls can wear anything and still look cool. For most of us, we don’t want – or need – to look cutting-edge. We’d just like to look pretty – right? Well, pink shadow with any kind of red in it does not look pretty on 99% of us. At all. Ever. It makes you look like you’ve been rubbing your feverish eyes all night long.

So that’s why I have avoided all shades of pink eye shadow for pretty much the past decade. Until now.

What has made me change? Well, I’m glad you asked, because that means I get to run these two gorgeous photos, taken recently at a US Elle magazine event.

Let’s start with the Russian model/actress, Anya Monzikova …

Don’t you love how she has used a pale pearly-pink shadow, all around her eyes, to make them stand out from her softly sun-kissed complexion? You usually see champagne or white shimmers dusted around eyes for a similar highlight effect – but if you use a pinker variety, you get a warmer, glowier look, and one that doesn’t contrast so severely with your skintone. If you’re of the paler-skinned variety, that is (more on pink hues for dark skins in a mo). Copy the look with Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Cream Shadow in Ballet Pink, $50, Bobbi Brown. I’ve also found that the pale-pink shade Stubborn from the fabulous Nude’tude Palette by The Balm, which Hayley raved about last week, is great for creating this kind of eye-brightening style of eye makeup.

Now to exhibit B, actress Holland Roden …

There’s the classic bombshell beauty combo of curvy waves, liquid liner and lush lipstick. But with an edge. Literally – I love how she has edged her liner with a mid-pink shadow; it works back cleverly to all the other strawberry hues in her hair, cheeks and dress. This could, of course, have gone horribly wrong. Too many warm pink tones usually renders even the coolest of ice queens all hot-and-bothered-looking. The key to being able to successfully make this makeup move is a clear and creamy complexion (or a mastery of concealer), which Holland has big-time. If you’re inspired to try Holland’s pink-edged eye look, you could simply double up a blush as your shadow. Really! Blush works well in this instance as it’s generally matte, and in a skin-inspired shade; you don’t want to add anything too glimmery or garish to this look, as there’s already quite a lot going on.

Which brings me to the issue of pink shadow for darker complexions. Because this is where you can actually get away with strong shades of pink. Hot. Fuchsia. Frosted. Glittery. Your skintone tends to be a great canvas for any bright shade. I’d still suggest steering clear of ruddy tones, however, to avoid the whole consumptive-looking thing. A great pink for darker skin, by the way, is M.A.C Pigment in Fuchsia, $39, M.A.C.

 

What think, Primpettes – is pink shadow or do or a don’t?

And have you got any faves you can share?

 

Kat x

Posted by: Katrina Lawrence

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Tags: Anya Monzikova, bobbi brown, dark skin, featured, Holland Roden, mac, pale skin, pink blush, pink eye shadow, the balm cosmetics