The Lipstick Page Forums Beauty Blog: Building an Eyeshadow Wardrobe: Part Two, Browns and Nudes Building an Eyeshadow Wardrobe: Part Two, Browns and Nudes Posted by Dain, Tuesday, May 17, 2005 12:17 AM (Eastern) Nothing's more basic, right? These are shades that quite virtually mimic the natural tones of skin, lending variation and depth to the simplest of colors. Actually, none of this is true. First off, brown is NOT a simple color. It's a complex mix of impure tones, and it requires a mixture of all the primary colors (red, blue, and yellow) to come into being (if you had pure pigments in equal measure, the resulting mixture would be black, not brown, but this is hard to do... there's always some impurity). The variations are nearly endless: there are peachy browns, mauvey browns, grey browns, greenish browns, golden browns, rose browns, ruddy browns, plum browns, orange browns... god, you name it. And you can always make it pastel, so that you have beige in all its incarnations, add whatever veneers of shimmer and frost you like, or even make it metallic. (For a more complete consideration of the various colors within this family, I've written an article about color on Beautystreet.) Secondly, if any experience with foundation has told you anything at all, there is no such thing as a true "skin" verisimilitude. Nothing looks like real skin like real skin. Brown and beige makeup is poetic license; it is nude, rather than bare. It is—how shall we say it?—heightened reality, an exaggeration of nature's colors. And last: I can't wear browns for the life of me! I don't particularly know why; my hypothesis is that I'm too pale, my eyes too Asian (it doesn't take well to eyeshadow in general, unless it is done sheer), but it doesn't really make sense, really. In any case, I can wear beiges just fine (I've a fond love for champagnes of all types), but browns... browns look dirty on me, no matter how well-balanced. Too warm, and it's ruddy. Too cool, and I look like I've rubbed my eyes in gravedirt. Too shimmery, and... well, that's always rather silly looking. Even neutral shades have got too much red, too much grey... some very inimicable to my coloring. Gad, who knows? It's a tough terrain to traverse, so mine are very, very carefully chosen, and must pass the rigorous test of not looking like sh*te on me (perhaps I mean that literally). Anyway, it's a short list: gilt champagne: NARS Cyprus peachy nude matte: NARS Key Largo sheer bronze gleam: NARS Key Largo nutty brown shimmer: MAC Rich Ground Fluidline (not sure about this) plum-stained dark brown: Trish McEvoy Aubergine 0 Comment(s)    Email this post Rants, raves, and musings on all things cosmetic. Profile | Current Blog Site Feed (Atom) Previous Articles ·· FOTD ·· Building an Eyeshadow Wardrobe: Part One, The Foundation ·· What I bought today (5.14.05)... ·· Dior 5-Color Eyeshadow ·· Things I'm loving now (5.13.05)... ·· Dr. Hauschka, holistic skincare ·· NARS Cleo ·· NARS Rated R ·· NARS Babylon ·· Stephane Marais Cream Foundation Archives TheBroadroom.Net's Beauty Blog (archive) April 2005 May 2005 June 2005 July 2005 August 2005 September 2005 October 2005 November 2005 December 2005 January 2006 February 2006 March 2006 April 2006 May 2006 June 2006 July 2006 August 2006 September 2006 Links Colleen's Adult Acne Blog Fashiontribes Daily