Rainbow Eyeshadow for People Who Usually Wear Brown

I blame Euphoria, happily. When the HBO series arrived in 2019, makeup artist Doniella Davy gave its characters glitter tears, neon wings and color in places nobody had put it before, and suddenly bright eye makeup looked like self-expression rather than a costume. Seven years later, the idea has settled into something easier to wear.

Rainbow eyeshadow does not have to mean every color at once. For those of us who usually wear brown, the smart move is a single bright shade, a cobalt or an emerald, worn the way you would wear a brown. Blue brings out brown eyes, green and plum flatter hazel, and warm coppers and corals make blue eyes look brighter. I went deeper on a related idea in Rainbow Flip Flops: The Plain Brown Pairs and the Braidy Ones, Plus Designer Thongs.

Hung Vanngo, the makeup artist behind the brand, built his Color Story palettes as the gentlest way in, each one around a single color family. Brilliant Blue runs from deep navy to pale sky, and Generous Green and Yellow moves from forest green to a soft butter yellow, so you can go subtle or bold from the same palette.

Pat McGrath's Mothership palettes are the showpieces. Mothership IX is pinks, corals, gold and lilac, and Mothership XII mixes lush greens and luminous lilacs with neutrals. Natasha Denona's Retro Glam pairs soft greens and pinks with nudes, the easiest of these to wear to the office, especially the soft sage green. AORA México's MÍRAME is talc-free and properly bright, with a vivid blue, pink and green among its nine shades. Kaja's Eye Bento is a stacked trio, and Taro Bubble Tea is lilac and plum with a sparkle, small enough for a pocket.

Sticks and liquid shadows are how I wear color on a weekday. You swipe, you blend with a fingertip, you are done, and there is no fallout on your cheeks.

Anastasia Beverly Hills' Glidr stick in Greenergy is a teal green that lasts 12 hours without smudging or flaking. Laura Mercier's Caviar Stick in Tailored Denim is a soft, washed blue, the most wearable bright here, and it blends beautifully. Bobbi Brown's Long-Wear stick in Lavender is a muted mauve that reads almost neutral, ideal for a first step.

Tower 28's GoGo Shimmer Stick in Garden is a lilac shimmer with a cooling feel, made to go on without irritation. Danessa Myricks' Colorfix in Evergreen is a deep green shimmer that works on eyes, cheeks and lips, and it is waterproof once set. Violette_FR's Yeux Paint in Violette Sauvage is a rich purple liquid shadow that doubles as a liner.

If you prefer powder, Sephora Collection's Colorful Eyeshadow singles are the low-commitment way to try a color, and Astral Blue is a shimmery navy that behaves like a smoky brown on the lids.

My trick for any of these is to put the color right along the lash line and smudge it up, rather than painting the whole lid. It looks intentional rather than theatrical, and it works as well at a desk as it does at a party. Add a coat of black or brown mascara and the color does the rest.

If a whole lid of color feels like too much, start with a line. A colored liner is the smallest possible commitment, and it changes a face more than you would expect.

Urban Decay's 24/7 Glide-On pencils are creamy and waterproof, and I picked two, a shimmery green and a bright cobalt blue called Chaos. Make Up For Ever's Aqua Resist pencil in Versatile Purple is a rich purple you can blend for a smoky look before it sets, and the Aqua Resist Color Ink in Pink Blaze is a hot pink liquid liner with a precise tip, for a graphic wing.

Sephora Collection has two worth knowing. The 12 Hour Colorful Contour pencil in Peacock Blue is a vivid teal, and the retractable liner in Matte Lime is a yellow-green that looks electric next to brown eyes. Danessa Myricks' Infinite Chrome micropencil in Emerald is a color-shifting green, and Marc Jacobs' Drawn This Way gel liner in BooBoo is a deep teal blue with 24-hour wear.

Blue and teal liners are the easiest to wear, because they read almost like black from a distance and turn into color up close. Try one along the lower lash line with your usual mascara. Then, when that feels normal, move up to a wing, and finally a line of color on the top lid with a second shade underneath.

The fastest way to make color look grown up is to choose one shade and keep everything else calm. Bright eyes with a sheer lip, soft cheeks and groomed brows look deliberate. Bright eyes with a bold lip and heavy contour look like a costume.

Pick the color that flatters your eyes, use it where you would normally use brown, and blend the edges well. A thin layer of eyeshadow primer underneath helps bright pigments stay true all day. Wear it on a Tuesday before you wear it to a wedding. Once you have tried a cobalt liner or a green stick for a week, brown will start to look like the unusual choice.