When it comes to makeup, red is bold. Pink is sweet. Purple is chic. And brown is? Retro-fuelled ’90s goodness. Below, products to use that will help you incorporate the colour for everyday wear.
1. Brows – Use a milk chocolate-coloured brow pencil
We usually pick up a brow pencil shade that’s similar to the colour of our brows to fill in and define them. That, or we use a brow tint or brow mascara to lighten or darken our brows (usually the former, since Asians have dark hair) to match our hair colour, especially if we have coloured hair. To make your look more interesting, try using a light brown brow pencil to fill in your brows and leave your eyebrows intact. The contrast of colours creates depth and adds dimension to your look, and prevents it from looking too bland. We like the Shu Uemura Hard Formula in #07 Walnut Brown, which is smudge-proof and long-lasting, and deposits just the right amount of colour with each stroke so your brows never look overdone.
Shu Uemura Hard Formula, $33 from Shu Uemura.
2. Eyeshadow – Use a matte dark chocolate shade on the outer corners of the eyes
Forget the usual smoky eye, and use a matte dark chocolate-toned eyeshadow to get a blurred-out, intense cat-eye look like what celebrity makeup artist Hung Vanngo did on Hollywood actress Jennifer Lawrence here. We admit that you’ll need some serious skills to get your graphic eyeshadow looking half as good as Vanngo’s, but since practice makes perfect, you can start working on it now. To recreate the look, we like the Activist shade from the Tarte Tartelette In Bloom Clay Palette, which comes with 11 other complementary chocolate shades for you to create different looks and bring you from day to night. Plus, with an average 4.5-star rating from over 500 reviews on Sephora’s Singapore site, we know the eyeshadow’s going to hold up in our humid weather and that this is definitely one eyeshadow palette you won’t regret adding to your makeup stash.
Tarte Tartelette In Bloom Clay Palette, $59 from Sephora.
3. Eyeliner – Use a brown eyeliner to create a graphic eyeliner look
Don’t just replace your usual black eyeliner with a brown one. Use the latter to draw a graphic eyeliner look like the one shown in the video above. You can even opt to not fill in the space, to make the look stand out even more. Recreate the look with the Marc Jacobs Beauty Highliner Glam Glitter Gel Eye Crayon in Glitz Blitz, a waterproof gel eyeliner. Once applied, the formula takes 15 seconds to dry into a smudge-proof line. If you find the glitter a bit much considering the graphic look, use a matte brown eyeliner instead.
Marc Jacobs Beauty Highliner Glam Glitter Gel Eye Crayon, $38 from Sephora.
4. Mascara – Wear a brown mascara with a colourful eye look
If you’re game (and skilled) enough to wear a rainbow-coloured eye look, opt for a brown mascara instead of a black one. The contrast is less intense, so it is a little easier on the eyes and lets the colourful makeup stand out. Otherwise, skip the colourful eyeshadow and use brown mascara on its own – you don’t even need an eyeliner – for an even more natural no-makeup makeup look. Try the Hera Rich Long Lash Waterproof Mascara in #47 Lash Brown. Its fibres coat each lash and lengthens it without clumping.
Hera Rich Long Lash Waterproof Mascara, $45 from Hera
5. Lips – Use a milk chocolate shade with a semi-matte finish
It’s definitely not as basic as a nude lipstick, yet it’s not as in-your-face as other darker shades. If you’re wearing this colour on your lips, you don’t need to put on a smoky eye or a graphic eyeliner to make it look chic. And instead of keeping to black, white or beige outfits, elevate the look with a body-hugging dress of the same shade, like pop icon Rihanna here. Our recommended shade is Fenty Beauty’s Stunna Lip Paint Longwear Fluid Lip Color in Unveil (no surprises there) – which is the exact chocolate shade @badgalriri is wearing in the picture. It gives intense colour payoff, doesn’t flake or dry up lips and is flattering on most skin tones.
Fenty Beauty’s Stunna Lip Paint Longwear Fluid Lip Color, $36 from Sephora.
