Next time someone complains about your lengthy beauty routine, just explain that every time you put on make-up you are dealing with the complicated concepts behind colour theory. Rather than choosing your eyeshadow colours on a whim, you can incorporate some of the science behind colour theory that will help make your eyes pop.

In the past month, we’ve been focusing on make-up colours that complement certain eye colours based on the colour wheel. Choosing the shadow colour that complements your eye colour works to play up the colour of your eyes. While you are free to choose whatever colours and shadows speak to you, sometimes its nice to have the option to play up your own, natural features.

Check out the make-up colours that will complement your eye colour and a few favourite products that will work for each.

If you have blue eyes…

On the colour wheel, directly opposite from blue is orange. While orange isn’t necessarily an everyday (or even yearly) shadow choice for many of us, coppers and browns are. These shades will bring out the blue in your eyes and offer a lot of choices in the make-up world. In the summer, it’s great to lose the blacks and grays and opt for brown and bronze shades in the smokey eye look, perfect for those blue-eyed beauties. A great bronze shadow is NARS in Galapagos. It’s a bold bronze since it is so heavily laden with gold shimmer, but it makes a great summer shade especially when you go island hopping.

If you have brown eyes…

Consider yourself lucky since almost all shades will look great on you! If your eyes are lighter brown, try to pick up on the subtle colours and tints in there and play up those colours. If they are deep brown, then you really can’t go wrong with any shadow colour. Looking to make a statement? Check out the bold cobalt blue of NARS in Outremer.

If you have green eyes…

The colours that will make green eyes pop most are shades of purple. This is great for those who want to take a page out of Rachel McAdam’s book and jump on board the plum make-up trend. While there are definitely purples that you should reserve for special occasions, you can also find some shades of purple that can be worn on a daily basis. This Lancôme shadow palette in tulle offers some options of fairly neutral purples that are perfectly acceptable for everyday wear.

If you have hazel eyes…

Like brown eyes, hazel eyes allow a variety of shadow colours. We suggest using black liner to accentuate the eyes and going with more purple hues to bring out the green.

— Cosmopolitan Magazine