written by Kyra
What do you think when I say “red eye”?
Horrible overnight flights? Puffy eyes and colds?
What about the beauty trend that’s taking over fashion?
From Gigi Hadid to Zoe Kravitz and Lea Michele everyone has been wearing red and pink eye makeup and I’m here for it. Now it would, of course, be silly of me to ignore the fact that everyone thinks of red eyes with such a negative connotation (rightfully so), but I’m here to change your mind.
“But Kyra, even if I decide to wear red eye makeup I’ll probably only wear it for a super rare occasion, like once.”
And that’s where you’re wrong my friend. Red and pink eye makeup can be one of the most versatile palettes you will ever need. Can you wear it to work? Yep. What about a night out? Most definitely!
From light pink soft swept eyelids to dark burgundy smoky eyes, red and pink will soon be taking over your neutral palettes, and I can prove it. I took Tarte’s new limited edition Buried Treasure Eyeshadow palette (filled with only the most on-trend pink and red fall hues) and created a day and night look that will have you shoving your taupe and gold shadows to the back of your drawer.
For a day look, work with soft shimmery pinks that over saturate and sweep across your entire lid.
By staying on the lighter side of things, you will still get the desired pop of colour for work and can later layer with more robust reds as you transition into your night look.
With a wide shadow brush, sweep your main shadow colour over your entire lid, into the crease and pull out to the edge of your brows. Then, with your paler champagne pink, and using your finger dab a little in the center of your lid and lightly dust your inner eye for added depth.
Playing up the traditionally feminine aesthetic with matching rosy cheeks and pouts is only the beginning. If you’re working with pinks and reds, you need to make sure to commit to them.
A light sweep of colour or a dab along the lash line will only make your worst fear of toned red eyes come true, and you’ll look sickly.
Now, let’s say you’re at work and are going out on a Friday night and want to vamp up your girlie look?
Bring in the reds. Because the darker the night, the darker the shadow.
We all love a good smoky eye and traditionally, most looks are achieved with some taupes and browns. So swap out the taupe for pink and the brown for red and away we go!
Layering onto your already pink lids, bring in a matte red to subdue the shimmer directly over your eyes. With the shimmery burgundy and using a wet angled brush, define your top and lower lash line and wing out into a smoky cat-eye effect.
To amp up your evening look, ditch the rosy pout and switch it out for a matte burgundy to accentuate the already romantic night look.
Pinks and reds can exist beyond their unfortunate stereotypes and are ready for some fun. After a few seasons of minimal makeup and fashion, it’s been refreshing to see that colour is making a name for itself again. We need to stop looking at traditional neutrals and thinking that they are the only way to achieve a desired look.
And that’s not to say that playing with a coloured eye means that you need to take your outfit game down either. Pair it with contrasting colours or fun patterns that complement the red tones. If we’re treating pinks and reds like neutrals than who’s to say we can’t have fun with it?
So, go big or go home because reds need a committed partner for the long haul and they’re looking at you.
