STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

Elle · Hermes

Black or Brown?

brazilian · Dooney & Bourke

I have slightly olive skin with dark brown hair. I wear black mascara. If i wear eyeliner I wear brown...I do think black is too dark for my taste. For pictures sake I would say black.....or maybe a darker brown than you usually use. Maybe when you go get the makeup have a sa do one eye in black and one eye in brown. It's your wedding and you want to be comfortable and feel beautiful...so do whatever you think looks best. Good luck!!

bex · Chanel

i have fair/medium skin tone and blonde or light brown hair (depending on the season).

it depends on my make-up, but for brown/taupes i usually wear a medium brown eyeliner. when doing a "smokey" eye, i use a dark grey liner.

i always wear Black mascara (Dior show). i've never thought it was too harsh.

Lilykind · Hermes

I have almost jet black hair and dark brown eyes. I have a medium skintone with yellow undertones. I wear black mascara...I'd wear clear if I could find a good clear one because I don't need the color. My lashes are jet black so it seems silly to try and make them look lighter.

I wear Stila's smudge pot in black as eyeliner. Honestly, I think anything lighter would look funny, though I do like wearing copper-ish eyeliner occasionally

-- Edited by Lilykind at 13:59, 2006-07-07

Kitty · Hermes

I have extremely pale skin, dark brown hair, and green eyes...

I usually wear a gray smokey eyeshadow and then line the top of my lid with black liner. I also use black mascera. I just like the way black liner makes my green eyes pop.

However, i also wear a lot of brown eyeshadow..but I still use black liner and mascera.

blubirde · Chanel

I have a very light skin tone and sometimes dark, sometimes light hair. I usually wear a dark brown (with gray undertones) eyeliner and the blackest mascara I can find. My eyelashes literally disappear without mascara and I've never thought black looked too dark on me.

sfclinevandy · Coach

I have fair skin with very dark hair and brown eyes. My brows and eyelashes are black so I wear black eyeliner and mascara. Sometimes I'll spice it up and wear navy or plum eyeliner but I never wear brown because I think it kinda clashes with my naturally black lashes and brows.

halleybird · Hermes

I have very fair skin with yellow undertones, and I don't wear black eyeliner either. I usually wear a brownish-grey shadow (as liner) or my bronze smudge pot. For nighttime or dressy occasions I wear the grey smudge pot. I try to buy brown mascara, but honestly I don't think it looks that different from the black, at least not on me.

You should wear what you're most comfortable in. You could always try a dark grey or even black shadow as liner instead of a pencil -- the line will be much softer and less obvious.

Kitty · Hermes

halleybird wrote:

You could always try a dark grey or even black shadow as liner instead of a pencil -- the line will be much softer and less obvious.

That's what I do. I've found it to look a lot less stark. Also, if you want it to be more of a crisp line, you can just add a bit of water to the shadow.

atlgirl · Gucci

~raises hand~ I can!

I have super-fair skin, and my hair is a very dark-brown-almost-black color. And my eyelashes/brows are black. I have never worn brown mascara in my life. I always look for "very black" on the package. :)

-- Edited by atlgirl at 16:47, 2006-07-07

laken1 · Hermes

I have dark hair & an olive complexion - I always wear black eyeliner & usually black mascara. Sometimes I layer brown & then black - brown supposedly thinkens & black lengthens - so I will do brown & then black. Mostly I'm too lazy to keep up with & apply both though!

if I wear any other color eyeliner than black I feel like I don't have on makeup at all.

Elle · Hermes

Since so many of you do wear black, I went out and got black eyeliner and black mascara. I figured I'd experiment for awhile first so I wouldn't freak myself out doing my makeup for the wedding itself.

I'm happy to report that black doesn't look nearly as bad as I'd thought. However, it looks really weird and out of place if my hair is down - like I have on 'fancy' eye makeup and everything else is casual. Hair up though, it looks great! And since I'm wearing my hair up for the wedding, black it is!

Lilykind · Hermes

Elle wrote:

I'm happy to report that black doesn't look nearly as bad as I'd thought. However, it looks really weird and out of place if my hair is down - like I have on 'fancy' eye makeup and everything else is casual.

That was my first reaction too. Way back when, I used to wear MAC shadestick in sharkskin (smoky gray) as eyeliner. When I tried black eyeliner for the first time it took some adjusting. Now I feel nekkid without it, even if all I'm wearing is a hoodie, jeans, and flips.

NCshopper · Hermes

Elle wrote:

Since so many of you do wear black, I went out and got black eyeliner and black mascara. I figured I'd experiment for awhile first so I wouldn't freak myself out doing my makeup for the wedding itself. I'm happy to report that black doesn't look nearly as bad as I'd thought. However, it looks really weird and out of place if my hair is down - like I have on 'fancy' eye makeup and everything else is casual. Hair up though, it looks great! And since I'm wearing my hair up for the wedding, black it is!

Good! Glad you found something you like!

I have dark, dark, dark brown hair that is, for all intents and purposes, black. My eyelashes and brows are black too, so I wear black mascara and black (or purple) eyeliner. Brown just looks weird on me--it's too light. And since the point of eyeliner and mascara is to make it look like your eyelashes are thicker and thus draw attention to your eyes, I think getting the color as close to your lashes is the best bet for natural looking makeup.

Christine · Coach

Don't know if this will help you, but I have fair skin and dark blonde hair, and I wear black mascara and a dark shimmery brown shadow as liner.