With prom season dawning on us, thousands of anxious teenage girls are gearing up for the big night, and I’m sure some of them are at a loss as to what to do with their makeup! Some ladies will go to professional artists and salons to get the perfect look, but a good amount of girls will be prepping and primping on their own. To help you figure out what look you might want to consider with what color dress you’re wearing, I went through and picked out some random prom dresses in an assortment of colors and then matched them up to past looks I’ve done that might work with them.
Remember, it’s your big night, so there’s nothing wrong with doing a few dry runs or practices before the real thing!
For lighter colored dressees: Light Neutral, Darker Neutral
For darker colored dresses: Dark Neutral, Cool Neutral, Dark Gold
Soft yellow to brighter yellow dresses can be played up or down, depending on how dramatic you want to go. Use soft pastel yellows for a feminine, withdrawn look, or use brighter colors like warm corals and oranges to brighten up your eyes. Golds are an excellent way to play with dark/warmth. Soft Yellow, Gold Tones, Light Gold, Sunset Eyes
Darker dresses, like this teal number with black overlay, can always go with an extremely natural, neutral eye, or it can have a coordinating, dark, dramatic teal eye. You can also play with different color combinations, but putting the focus on whichever teal shadow you choose. Minty Teal, Bright Teal, Dark Teal, Dark Greens
Bronze/brown dresses go well with so many different looks, but I particularly love them with bronzy, autumny looks that give depth and add drama to your eyes. Red and Brown, Chocolate Brown, Bronzy Gold, Light Gold, Gold/Orange, , Gold/Purple
Neutral/beige dresses allow wearers to be very versatile with their eye makeup, but it is a good idea to decide whether you want to be soft or bold! Then you can play with different looks from there. Soft Mattes, Soft Pinks, Bronzy Gold, Light Gold, Bold Fuchsia, Purples
Pink prom dresses, depending on the shade of pink, can go well with deeper or lighter pinks, but it is a good idea to do the opposite of whatever color your dress is to throw in some contrast. Even having a light pink dress as shown above, using a light pink as part of the inner lid but a darker pink or purple on the outer lid and really open up those eyes. Deep Purples, Soft Purples, Soft Pink, Bright Pinks, Gray/Pink
Green dresses, like pink ones, also depend on the shade of green. Olive greens go better with looks that are darker in their warmth compared to pastel greens, which will find a better match with more minty pastel eyeshadow colors than a camouflage green. Light/Dark Green, Spring Green, Green/Pink, Golden Green, Golden Olive, Light Green/Teal, Warm Greens
Bold dresses, like this teal one, are best subdued by natural/neutral make-up with a light lip to keep the focus on the dress. However, if you want to go all out, by all means, pick a coordinating teal look – nothing wrong with that choice! Minty Teal, Bright Teal, Dark Teal, Light/Dark Green, Smokey Gray
Darker, color-rich dresses work lovely with similar dark, dramatic make-up, but can also be lightened and brightened by using a soft wash of a shimmery beige/cream shadow with black mascara and liner. Dark Teal, Gray Blue, Bright Blue, Deeper Blue, Smokey Gray
White dresses can be versatile, but sometimes the style of the dress can force you into a corner where softer is better than a darker, smokey eye. You want to take note of your dress and play with what works with it best. Soft Purples, Soft Pinks, Dark Browns/Mauve, Warm Multi-color, Creamy Neutral, Neutral
Black dresses are classic, aren’t they? And they allow you to wear any color you want on your eyes or lips or both. There really aren’t any constraints when it comes to the classic black number. Soft Purples, Soft Pinks, Warm Pink/Purple, Green/Pink, Rich Gold, Warm True Green, Deep Olive Green
Red and burgundy dresses go the way of the dark, color-rich gowns do: you can lighten by going extremely soft or neutral, but you can continue to add drama and flair by pairing it with a rich eye, whether it be a deep red shadow or more autumny hues.
