Shop With Style

Sure, every once in a while, a good va-va-va-voom makeup look is great, but who doesn’t want to look pretty every day? If you’ve got brown eyes, then we just so happen to have some great tips for achieving a beautiful natural look that’s perfect for every day!

1. Cleansers – No makeup look can begin without a clean face. Even if you cleanse your face of makeup the night before, it’s always good to use a gentle, mild cleanser every morning before you apply makeup again. Great options: Juice Beauty Organic Face Wash and Neutrogena Fresh Foaming Cleanser.
2. Eyebrows – If you aren’t paying attention to your eyebrows, you are missing one of the most crucial parts of any natural makeup for brown eyes look…or any look, for that matter! Brows should be groomed with a well-defined arch. Invest in a good eyebrow shaping kit. Great options:  Benefit Cosmetics Brow Zings, Nyx Eyebrow Gel, and Anastasia Beverly Hills Five Item Brow Kit.
3. Shadows – Using natural makeup for brown eyes, your shadow color choices can make or break the look. Know which colors work best in your shade. For example, perfect colors in makeup for dark brown eyes would include bronze for a natural tone, or a bright sapphire blue for a pop of color. Medium brown eyes should look for subtle or bright plums and purples. And light brown eyes, opt for shimmery taupe or a lively teal, or even fuchsia!
4. Liner – Depending on the shape of your eye, you can find dozens of tutorials and how-to videos online outlining the proper eye makeup techniques that will help make them look their best. But if you are aiming for both a natural look and a natural product, you can find both in every price range. Great options: Any of the Almay liners, liquid and pencil, Physician’s Formula Eye Booster 2-in-1 Lash Boosting Eyeliner + Serum, Bare Minerals Round the Clock Waterproof Liner, and NVEY Eco Organic Cake Liner.
5. Mascara – When looking for natural makeup for brown eyes in mascara, it’s best to search for paraben free cosmetics and organic formulations whenever possible. One of the best organic mascara products on the market, which also happens to be one of the most readily available is the Physician’s Formula Organic Wear 100% Natural Origin Mascara, and at a budget-friendly price of around $10, you can’t beat it.
6. Lashes – Don’t think that because you want a more natural look, using more natural products, that you can’t add some glamour with natural looking false eyelashes! You can find human hair lashes, as well as natural mink eyelashes in several beauty stores and online. Whether you opt for partial lashes, individual lashes, or the flair from full lash strips, you can go subtle, go over-the-top, and everything in between! Great options: Ardell Fashion Lashes, and Eylure Naturalites Eyelashes.

See? With just a little forethought and specific shopping, you can find your best natural makeup look for brown eyes!

Nothing quite beats a drop-dead-sexy pair of stilettos, not only in terms of what they can do for an outfit, but also what they can do for your confidence! But, if you’ve ever tried to walk in a pair for any length of time, you also know they can be equal parts beauty and medieval torture device. The good news is, there are a few simple things you can do to make any high heels more comfortable.

• Gel insoles – Yes, those little gel inserts you’ve used in flats, boots, maybe even in sneakers can work wonders in a pair of heels. You can either cut down and shape an ordinary insert, or find those made especially for high heels. There full-shoe inserts, those made only for the heel area, or those made for the toe area, depending on where you feel the most pressure when you walk. If your shoes allow for that extra bit of room to add a comfy gel insert, do it!
• Opt for heels with straps or ties – It seems a small thing, but even well-fitting stilettos can annoy you with a bit of slip in the heel area, causing you to drag your feet while walking just to keep them on. And that on-and-off friction can also lead to blisters and chafing. Straps or ties help the heels to not only stay on, but are adjustable to add to your comfort throughout the day.
• Stretch ‘em – Even if you bought them in your correct size, even if they are of the highest quality, some heels just need to be stretched out a bit. There are wooden forms you can insert into them yourself, turning a dial to spread the form, which then stretches your shoe over a short period of time. You can also take them to a cobbler (yes, there are such people in your area), who can stretch them out for you.
• Tape ‘em – Okay…this is going to sound a bit odd…but it is said to work wonders. Tape your 3^rd and 4^th toes together (counting from your big toe). There is a nerve that runs the length of the leg and ends there, which can contribute to foot pain if it’s pinched in shoes. By taping those toes together, it alleviates the stress on the nerve.
• Shoe shop at the end of the day – As you walk through the day, your feel swell. That’s a fact. If you shoe shop at the beginning of the day, your feet are obviously not as “big” as they are going to get. Any shoe you buy, even if it’s in your correct size, will not feel or fit as they will after walking all day.
• Pick a shape that’s easier – No, this doesn’t mean you have to give up stilettos. However, you might find that platform stilettos will feel loads better on your feet. It’s a bonus that the platform pump is hugely popular now, and will no doubt be so for many years to come (some classics just never go out of style). Platforms cut down on the angle and pressure coming down on the ball of your feet, while still managing to give you height. A slightly rounder toe, or a toe that ends in a longer point, will also give you some wiggle room…literally…which will add to your comfort.

You’ve got some great pieces in your wardrobe. You know you do. So then why is it that every time you open your closet, you either A) find you have absolutely nothing to wear, or B) stick to your same ol’ “safe” outfits. It might all come down to a very simple reason: you are not taking full advantage of color matching. Once you start looking at colors, and new ways to combine them, a world of possibilities with your existing wardrobe will open up before your eyes!

• Complimentary Colors – Unless you remember high school art class, you might need to get on Google for this. On the color wheel, a complimentary color is one that can be found directly across from your current color, and it is combo guaranteed to look fab. See? It’s science!
• Think Ombre — Admittedly, this is the easy way out, but it will work in a pinch. It might even get your color matching juices flowing! Just as ombre uses varying shades of the same color, try pairing differing hues of the same color in pastels, jewel tones, earth tones, etc.
• J. Crew Cheat Sheet – When in doubt, hit the catalogues! It works to find inspiration in almost anything… decorating, interior design, gardening…so why not fashion? J. Crew in particular is fantastic at coordinating items resulting in the most beautiful array of colors and patterns you’ve ever seen! It’s almost guaranteed that even if you don’t have the exact pieces J. Crew is using, you most likely have the colors. So look at how their experts are pairing the colors, and follow their lead.
• Look to Your Prints – Some of your favorite, most unlikely, most delightful color combinations might be hiding right in front of your eyes! Maybe it’s in your closet, or your accessory drawer, or maybe it’s something straight from a fashion mag or your favorite designer’s runway show. Prints! You know ‘em, you love ‘em…and they can unlock all kinds of winning color combinations for you. Also pay attention to the proportion in which each color is used. Make the most-used colors the inspiration for your big pieces, and let the lesser-used colors inspire you for small pieces and accessories.
• Black and White – It’s classic for a good reason: it works! Pairing black and white is not only striking, but it works on a scientific level, since these two colors are opposites on the color wheel. And they also combine to provide an epic base for adding a pop of color in shoes, belts, jewelry, bags, and other accessories (just do us a favor…don’t take it too far and go all Cruella Deville on us).