Every woman of any skin color is met with her own challenges when it comes to choosing makeup that is appropriate for them and truly highlight their best features. While it is generally thought that only fairer skinned women can wear almost any eyeshadow color under the sun, the fact of the matter is that women of all skin tones can wear eyeshadow colors of any shade!

More than anything, it is the underlying skin tone that determines the eyeshadow you should wear, not the color of your skin. If you are a fair woman with a blue undertone to her skin or a darker skinned woman with a cool undertone, you will both be able to generally pull off the same type of makeup. Likewise, if you are a pale woman with a warmer skin tone or if you are a darker skinned woman with orange or golden undertones, you will both be able to pick makeup shades from the same “makeup” color families.

One thing that darker skinned women can definitely pull off well is using more bright, vibrant eyeshadow shades while still looking pretty and natural (rather than gaudy and clownish). Here’s an example of how to apply eyeshadow for dark skin:

1) Prepare your skin as you usually would, by cleansing, moisturizing, and applying concealer over your eye area to help conceal any blemishes and to even out your skin tone.

2) Next, it’s time to apply the “base” eyeshadow shade. For this, take a lighter shade of eyeshadow – for sake of example, let’s say gold – and brush the shimmery eyeshadow right from the inner corner of your eye to the outer corner.

3) Now it’s time to use a darker, more “defining” and rich shade of eyeshadow (remember, this depends on your skin tone rather than skin color). Begin by creating a “V” sort of shape from the corner of the eyes. Take the color from the inner corner and drag it from the brow bone right down to your eye lid.

4) Be sure to blend the colors into each other to give the most natural look possible.

Remember, what ever color it is that you are putting in the crease of your eye can be any shade. It is always the best idea to apply some sort of “base’ shimmery shade to really help define your eyes (silver tones tend to work well with cooler skin tones, whereas golden tones are beautiful when applied on warmer skin tones).

The base will also help make your eyes appear larger and more doe-like. If you are applying darker or more vibrant eyeshadow shades and you are not quite sure how intense you want your look to be, apply only small amounts of eyeshadow to your eyes at a time. You can always apply more if you want to enhance your look!

To fully complete your eyeshadow for dark skin, it is always best to follow up with a black or gray eye liner and draw a very fine line along the upper lashes, and the bottom lashes if you would like a slightly more dramatic effect. Follow up with two coats of volumizing mascara and you’re good to go!