Our Favorite Fall Eyeshadow Trends
Best Fall Eye Makeup 2016
Welcome to November, that dark, cold month where we’re wrapping up and just trying to hold out until the winter solstice - when the days will lengthen once again, and brighten the world around us. November’s not just a time of long nights, of course! It’s also a time of gratitude and small fires, generosity and bright flashes. Nowhere is this duality as perfectly reflected as it is in Fall 2016’s eye makeup trends, where you’ll find metallic bursts of warmth and smoky clouds of plum. Read on to discover some of our favorite looks!
Copper Storms Glitter
Copper is very much an it color this season, bringing that welcome pop of brightness to chilly, cloudy days. Working with a metallic eyeshadow or incorporating glitter give it that extra edge of oomph to dazzle and provoke grins of appreciation. Copper works beautifully on its own, or blends strikingly into a smoky outer eye.
Smoke and Plums
Rich, smudgy smokes are also in, particularly drawn out from a plum or burgundy core. Rather than rebelling against darker days, you embrace them with dramatic flair, invoking mystery and the rich depths of autumn. This style is for the bold, drawing attention to your eyes and leaving them stunningly framed. One gorgeous example is in this matte look tutorial from Melissa Alatorre:
Another look - stunning and intense - is to go for a full jet eyelid sharply intercut with glittering silver.
Fields of Yellow
By this point in the year, traditionally, the harvest is largely done and our larders prepared against winter’s chill. Our modern grocery stores have generally separated us from these traditions, but we can still use them to inspire our makeup - as with this playful multicolor look, all greens and yellows elegantly done:
There’s nothing hokey about this color combination, evoking the greens and yellows of ripe corn (and a touch of that it color copper). For a sharper look, consider an extended wing with a metallic yellow edge blended on the edges by a matte green fading up into sunset shades.
Blue Sky Longing
Blue is one of those classic eyeshadow colors, a definite must for any eye makeup arsenal. But we’re not talking turquoise 80’s blue today - we’re talking about those stunning shades popping up in these Fall 2016 looks, enchanting and amazing in turn. Just look at this pop of color from Arnell Armon, counterbalancing her golden lids:
That is absolute blue-sky longing, and it’s captivating. But if you’re looking for a more subtle blue, try using a deeper shade underneath the eye, accentuating lighter lids under smoky brows.
For you one-color fans, I’m not leaving you out in a cold November night! There’s a place for all-over midnight lids too, especially those ever so gently dusted with stars. Shimmer is in, my friends!
Under Eye Drama
Rarely seen in fashion a year ago, under eye makeup has turned up in a big way. You can see it in nearly every photo featured above, and on one of our favorite MUAs, Hosway Morbak: the real estate immediately under your eyes isn’t just for tight lining anymore. Now it’s an integral part of your canvas, a little slice of skin with which to add serious drama or ensure your smoky eye is full-figured. You can play it subtle and safe with the lightest of accent colors, or go big and bold and have it define your whole look. Or take the middle path and be organically balanced.
Line Those Eyes
In many ways, this last look is both the most traditional and the most radical - depending on how you approach it. Again, a quick glance at our favorite looks showcases the importance of eyeliner to your eye makeup creations: half of them include heavy, crisp wings.
Fashion is inviting us to take our eyeliner even farther now, moving past wings and eschewing much eye makeup at all. Many Fall and Winter looks are inspired by April’s fashion shows, as Bazaar excellently captures for us each year. This year, elaborate liner looks are on that cutting edge, with possibilities including neon liner following your eye line just above your eye, triangular wings with a boldly-lined crease, or daring a style best described as fashionable barbed wire arcing around your eye. (Maybe save that last one for a more avant-garde setting than your office. Unless you work at a fashion magazine.) This is the best time to get a little adventurous, and see just what you can get away with.
The days may be short on light, but they don’t have to be short on color - pull those eyeshadow palettes out and get to work. Whether you go metallic or smoky, bold or subtle, just have fun and your efforts will never be wasted.
Now, quick - before you grab your brushes, hit the comments and tell us which trend you’ll be trying out first!
