Best Eyeshadow Palettes For Brown Eyes + Eye-Popping Singles

Must-Have Eyeshadow Palettes For Brown Eyes + Best Colors To Make Your Eyes Pop!

According to World Atlas, “Approximately 79% of the world’s population has brown eyes,”…who knew, right??!! From deep, dark chocolate to warm mocha, cinnamon, and caramel, the range of beautiful brown eyes is countless. And just as vast as that color range is the number of eyeshadows on the market!

But, with so many options, where does one begin??!?

To make things easier, we’ve rounded up a few top-rated eyeshadow palettes along with several single shades guaranteed to take your brown eyes to the next level! Yep, that’s right!! Some of the industry’s most talked-about, best-selling eye makeup obsessions!!

In fact, no matter where you fall on that range, whether they’re dark, medium, or light, our list of eyeshadow singles and palettes will certainly accentuate those brilliant brown eyes of yours!

So, if you’ve been looking for a way to create an eye-catching (no pun intended) makeup look and enhance what mother nature gave ya, look no further!! Beauties, we’ve got you covered!!

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Eyeshadow Palettes & Singles: The Best Colors For Brown Eyes

If you have brown eyes, consider yourself a lucky gal, as this eye color is quite versatile when it comes to eyeshadow color selection, which certainly helps when looking at palettes and single hues.

Brown is a neutral color, which means pretty much any color you use for eyeshadow will likely look fabulous on you.  However, that doesn’t mean there aren’t a few color choices that will ultimately look much better than others. 

There are some colors that, when paired with brown peepers, have a way of either… A) Highlighting their natural tones & bringing more dimension or depth to them… OR… B) Making them stand out and truly pop!!

You see, when it comes to eyeshadow and your eyes, there are generally two approaches to selecting colors. The first, option A, uses colors to create a harmonious effect.

On the other hand, option B involves using colors to create contrast. I teach these strategies in The Essential Master Your Eyeshadow Guide because they are incredibly effective for bringing out the best in your eyes.

PRO Tip: You can also select eyeshadow colors based on your hair color, ladies!

The Best Eyeshadow Colors To Create Harmony & Highlight The Natural Tones Of Brown Eyes

For a harmonious look that enriches their natural color, you can always focus on browns, earthy shades, warm neutrals (shades with orange, red, or yellow undertones), or nudes for your eyeshadow palette.

However, metallics have a rather magical way of creating a striking sparkle and glimmer in brown eyes. Specifically, metallics, like bronze, copper, or gold, will pick up various subtle tones that exist in your eyes.

Here’s what I mean… First, take a second and go to a mirror. Make sure the lighting is really good. Now, look in the mirror closely at the iris of your eye.

What do you see?? Ok, so we see Brown…check! 😉 But what else?? Again, look closely… do you see anything else??

Depending on how dark your eyes are, you may see subtle flecks of other colors in your iris around your pupil.

Do you notice yellow or gold-toned flecks? Or perhaps, do you see reddish or copper-colored flecks? Do you see a yellow, orange, or reddish undertone to the brown of your eyes?

To enhance the natural color of your brown eyes and get that glimmer effect, you want to amplify those flecks and any undertones you see with strategic color selections, gals!! How so??

Well, if you noticed yellow or gold-toned flecks in your iris (or a yellow undertone), you could give golden eyeshadows a try. If there are copper or reddish flecks in your iris (or either a reddish or orange undertone), try a copper or bronze eyeshadow!

PRO TIP: For brown eyes, earthy tones, and warm neutrals can include amber, burnt sienna, rust, taupe, auburn, tan, clay, terracotta colors, etc. The more red or orange the color has to it, the more it will emphasize the natural orange-brown or red-brown hues in your eyes.

Get Our FREE Cheat Sheet Of The Most Flattering Eyeshadow Colors For Every Eye Color (But, Most Importantly, The Best For Your Beautiful Brown Eyes)!! Get Instant Access Below!!

The Best Eyeshadow Colors For Contrast With Brown Eyes

To create a bold look that accentuates and makes your brown eyes pop, we want to consider eyeshadow palettes with colors (or single eyeshadows) that contrast with them. Therefore, you want to look for various shades of purple, blue, and green, ladies.

In fact, purple (violet, mauve, plum, eggplant, lavender, lilac, etc.) happens to be a favorite go-to color for many makeup artists when applying eyeshadow to their brown-eyed clients. It creates a most flattering contrast that makes them pop with a soulful, seductive flare!

And for some browns (particularly light brown eyes), a purple can also surprisingly play up any golden flecks or yellow undertones in your iris. It’ll add that little extra amber-toned glint to your eye!

When it comes to blue eyeshadows, some fun colors to give your eyes that added dazzle & pop are cobalt blue, navy blue, sapphire, and electric blue. If you happened to have noticed any orange or even amber undertones in your eyes when you looked in the mirror, using blues will bring out the warmth of these undertones.

Now, very dark brown eyes can look absolutely radiant with deeper greens like an emerald shade, for example. And for all brown-eyed ladies, an exciting color combination to try is gold with green or even a golden eyeshadow that has a hint of green to it!

Last but certainly not least, brown-eyed lovelies, you can also opt to delve further into blue-greens to create some show-stopping contrast. Consider a teal, sea green, or turquoise for some extra pizazz!

8 Best Eyeshadow Palettes For Brown Eyes

Ok, now that we’ve covered the basics of what colors your eyeshadow palettes should include, let’s roll out those top 8 for brown eyes, shall we??

1) Denona’s I Need a Warm Eyeshadow Palette

To create the most awe-inspiring harmony and instantly emphasize the rich, natural tones of your brown eyes, this palette from Natasha Denona is an absolute must-have! It offers 15 gorgeous shades ranging from earthy browns to warm neutrals, with a few coppery and bronze tones thrown in. These colors are perfect for enhancing the warmth in your brown eyes!

You can mix and match these shades to create a variety of looks, from subtle and natural for the day to bold and dramatic for the night. With its buttery smooth texture, high pigmentation, and color pay-off, this palette is a dream to work with. Best of all, it complements a wide range of skin tones, from light to dark, beautifully.

2) Natasha Denona Golden Eyeshadow Palette

This palette is truly a show-stopper when it comes to creating stunning eye makeup looks for brown-eyed beauties! It features a harmonious blend of rich golds, brass, nudes, and earthy tones that complement many skin tones. And if your brown eyes happen to have golden flecks within their iris or a subtle yellow undertone, this palette will bring those hues out in the best way possible!

Whether you want to achieve a subtle daytime look or go all out with some smokey gold glam for an evening event, this palette has got you covered. The shades range from soft mattes to high-shine metallics, giving you endless possibilities to play with. Even better, these eyeshadows are highly pigmented and blend effortlessly!

3) Tarte In Bloom Clay Eyeshadow Palette

For richly pigmented and long-lasting added definition, eyeshadow palettes like this cult favorite are a must for all of us gals with brown eyes!! An essential palette for basic everyday makeup, it features 12 smooth-as-butter shades in both matte and micro-shimmer finishes!!

For a natural daytime look that creates harmony plus adds some depth, this palette does the job! But you can always use it to take things up a notch for an evening look, highlighting your deep chocolate pools, too! It’s also an easy-to-use palette for makeup newbies or beginners, as the shades will glide on and blend like a breeze!

Notice, in the images below, how using the warm brown, earthy, and metallic shades really has a way of highlighting both of these models’ brown eyes?

• For the first model, doing so reveals beautiful amber flashes with a fiery ring in her iris right around the pupil.
• And for the second model, you can see how it has brought out the deep auburn undertone in her iris.

4) My Dream Eyeshadow Palette

If you’re looking to create your dreamiest brown eyes, then this palette from Natasha Denona is a must! It features thirteen unforgettable, breathtaking shades and combines romantic neutrals with warm, red-based purples!

With mattes, shimmers, multi-chromes, and duo-chromes, these pigments give you plenty of options for playing up your brown eyes, whether you want to create seductive looks or go with something soft glam!

You’ll love this palette for a million feminine and flirty reasons!! And if you’re looking to apply more than one shade for a multidimensional look, these colors complement each other very well.

5) Urban Decay – Naked Reloaded Eyeshadow Palette

If anyone says brown eyes can’t smolder from neutral eyeshadow palettes, they’re lying!! And this palette is living proof of that! Plus, it’s small and compact, making it an essential go-to palette that will easily fit in your makeup bag.

It has a variety of dynamic warm neutrals, browns, and earthy colors, perfect for everyday looks. Featuring smooth, rich mattes and shimmery metallics, it literally looks incredible on all ages and skin tones! You can use the metallics (Shades: Barely Baked, Distilled, & Burn) to work some serious “glow-up” magic, bringing out your eyes’ natural twinkle and brightening them up!

This palette gives you quite a few options as far as looks! Create a natural eye look for the day, a smokey nude look for the evening, or a trendy graphic eye for a night out!!

6) Charlotte Tilbury’s Luxury Palette In The Rebel

Now, if you have brown eyes and you’re looking for a way to experiment with green but aren’t quite ready to go with a bold green, as far as eyeshadow palettes, this one is your best bet! 

Combining gold with khaki green and browns, this palette can be used day or night! In fact, this is one of the very reasons I love Tilbury’s palettes! You can effortlessly transition your makeup from daytime fresh (using just two shades) to evening-appropriate (simply by adding the other two shades).

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7) Tilbury’s Copper Charge Luxury Palette

When it comes to metallics and gettin’ your coppery shimmer on, this palette gives you everything you could ever possibly need!! Featuring four shades, from gold to rosey-copper and a rust brown, this palette will enhance your warm brown eyes in the most captivating ways!!

You’ll be able to pick up the beautiful coppery, reddish fleck in your irises and bring out those natural, rich tones instantly. And with its wonderful variety of shimmers and metallics, your eyes will sparkle with an added depth and dimension you’ve likely not seen before!

Best yet, like palette #2, it’s very easy to transition your look from day to night with this one! If you’re a makeup beginner, just flip it over and follow along with the color-coded steps!

8) Tarte Tartelette Reflections Amazonian Clay Palette

Combining traditional neutral shades, browns, earthy tones, warm neutrals, metallics, purples, pinks, and a blue hue to boot, this palette is the motherload for achieving numerous makeup looks!!

Featuring 28 shades ranging from mattes to shimmers and glitters to satin, you could literally switch up your makeup look every single day with unlimited combos and never get bored!!

If you’re a neutral kind of gal when it comes to your daytime makeup, you can say goodbye to the same ole’ day-after-day monotonous look with this palette!! Instead, say hello to variety & numerously easy ways to highlight the natural tones of your big, beautiful brown eyes!!!! Yes, please!!

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

ColourPop Nude Mood Pressed Powder Palette

Browns, earthy tones, & metallics like copper-gold and golden bronze

NATASHA DENONA Roxa Eyeshadow Palette

Pinks & Purples – Limited Edition (only available for a limited time)

NATASHA DENONA Mini Bronze Eyeshadow Palette

Coppery bronze & warm neutrals

NATASHA DENONA Retro Glam Eyeshadow Palette

Greens, bronzy taupes, and cool browns

Morphe Rich & Foiled Gold Seeker Eyeshadow Palette

Gold, bronze, browns, & neutrals

Juvia’s Place The Violets Palette

Range of purples

The Best Single Eyeshadows To Make Brown Eyes Pop

In a perfect world, we’d get the most perfect browns, metallics, neutrals, purples, blues, and greens all in one palette. But for those of you Beauties needing more blues or greens for that “larger than life” eye-popping status, I’ve added some must-have eyeshadow singles.

Related: 15+ Eyeshadow Makeup Looks For Your Most Captivating Eyes Ever!

Best Blue Eyeshadows For Brown Eyes

PRO TIP: For a more subtle look, instead of applying to the full eyelid, you can always add water and swipe any of these blue shades on your lashline for a fierce winged look with an angled liner brush!!

1) Urban Decay Eyeshadow In Charged

Bring the flicker of life into your brown eyes using this bold, deep-toned, shimmery blue. Against their warmth, the cool tone of this lustrous blue creates a uniquely eye-catching contrast!

2) MAC Satin Eyeshadow In Triennial Wave

A bright, spellbinding blue for a striking look & strong contrast never fails!! Oh, and did I forget to mention blues have a way of making the whites of your eyes appear brighter?? Yep!!

Your eyes will look fully awake and gleam bright as can be with this satiny medium blue!! Don’t be surprised if a vibrant blue eyeshadow like this one brings out the ravishing orange and amber undertones of your brown eyes.

*Scroll to the bottom row for images of this eyeshadow with brown eyes.

3) MAC Frost Eyeshadow In The Shadows

This vivid cobalt blue is particularly flattering for brown eyes as the contrast makes them appear fresh and vivacious. Have your eyes take center stage of your newest makeup look and be the #1 focal point! You’ll love how alluringly the cool tone of this dark blue contrasts with the warmth of your pretty browns!!

*Scroll to the bottom row for images of this eyeshadow with brown eyes.

Another stunning blue Mac Frost Shadow is the shade Tilt.

4) NYX Prismatic Shadows In Blue Jeans

NYX Nyx cosmetics prismatic eye shadow ps08 – blue jeans

A gleaming, frosty light blue shade with a silvery shimmer in a highly pigmented formula! If you’re not confident rockin’ a full blue on your lid, instead try applying this shade from the inner corners of your eyes to the center of your lids for a little extra pop. Don’t forget to softly blend it as you move outward to sheer it out a bit!

Best Green Eyeshadows For Brown Eyes

PRO TIP: With green eyeshadows, for a more subtle look, instead of applying to your full eyelid, you can just apply to a portion of it. You’ll then want to blend that shade into more neutral colors.

1) Urban Decay Eyeshadow In Psych

For light brown eyes, this metallic green with micro gold shimmer will play nicely against any golden or yellowish tones you may have in them.

And for dark brown or medium brown eyes, by creating contrast, it brings out an attractive and alluring warmth for head-turning results (particularly if your brown peepers have a red undertone to them)!!

2) Colour Chameleon Eyeshadow Pencil In Smokey Emerald

If you’re looking for a two-in-one product, you have officially found your match! With the Colour Chameleon eyeshadow pencil, you have options, ladies!  You can simply apply it to your lid and blend it out for an eyeshadow look or use it to create a dramatic winged liner look. 

A girl has got to have options am I right??!!  This sparkly, smoked emerald shade will look stunning on gals with dark brown eyes, brown eyes that have a red undertone or coppery flecks, and brown eyes that veer in the direction of almost hazel!

3) MAC Frost Eyeshadow in New Crop

If you’re looking for a vivid, dramatic green eyeshadow to make your brown eyes pop, then the MAC Frost Eyeshadow in New Crop is a great option to consider. This shadow has a frosty pearl finish, which gives it a bright and shimmery look that’s perfect for creating high-impact eye makeup looks.

*Scroll to the fourth row down for images of this eyeshadow with brown eyes.

Plus, these shadows from MAC can be used wet or dry, so if applying green all over your lid feels too overpowering for you, you can easily adjust your look by using it as an eyeliner instead. Simply wet a liner brush, dip, and apply!

4) ColourPop Super Shock Shadow in Empire

Dark greens and dark eyes are steadfast friends and genuine besties in the world of eye makeup!! This enchanting green can be soul-stirring for dark brown eyes.

It will deepen them and also bring out their natural warmth (or any red undertones). The shimmer of this shade’s finish will reflect the light in your eyes and make them bright & sparkly!

Related Articles:

• Eyeshadow Tips For Beginners
• Beginner Makeup For The Everyday Woman
• Eye Makeup For Beginners: Step-By-Step Looks You Can Easily Pull Off!!
• How To Apply Eyeshadow Like A Pro
• The 27 Most Beautiful Eye Makeup Looks For Stand-Out Brown Eyes

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