Pretty Brown Eyes

Brown eyeliners don't get a whole lot of love.  When it comes to framing the eyes, black is easily the most popular color used, day or night.  But what if your look calls for something a little softer and not as stark or contrasty?  What if you're wearing a neutral eye or a light wash of color on the lid and want to keep the look light and romantic?  A brown pencil eyeliner just might come in handy.  My five minute face has always included a "brownie" and after trying different brands and various hues, I have found two gems that will work well with many skin tones -  Revlon's Sueded Brown and Prestige's Agate.

Prestige is a company that has a wide range of cosmetic products and their lip and eye pencils are among my favorites.  Agate is a dark, ashen, chocolate brown with multicolored shimmers and is a part of their Skin Loving Mineral line.  The shimmer is probably due to the minerals it contains and/or a pearl, which is somewhat subdued on the eye, but its reflective nature can be seen in certain light.  Agate glides on without tugging and gives off rich color in one swipe.

Agate taken in direct sunlight.  Can you see the shimmer?

The second brownie I'm in love with is Revlon's Sueded Brown, which is a rich, cocoa brown with bronze pearl.  It is a lighter shade of brown than Agate, but goes on just as smoothly and is just as gorgeous.  The pencil also comes with a smudger on the end.  And just in case you're curious, Sueded Brown is a perfect dupe for MAC's Teddy Eye Kohl.

Sueded Brown in direct sunlight.

Agate (left), Sueded Brown (right) in direct sunlight.

Agate (left), Sueded Brown (right) in direct sunlight.

Agate above, Sueded Brown below.

Agate (above), Sueded (below) in direct sunlight.

What I adore about these eyeliners is that neither of them is a flat, boring brown.  I also love the fact that both show up on my dark brown skin, a claim that I cannot make regarding a lot of the other liners I've tried from more prestigious brands.  Most of those would just disappear on my skin and leave my eyes looking naked like they hadn't been lined at all.  (As a shade reference, my skin is MAC NC50/Revlon Caramel/Clinique Nutmeg.)  But these jazzy browns are perfect for adding a little smoke, sparkle and spice to your look... and deep enough in color to keep you from having to rely on black all the time for a little drama.

Both Prestige and Revlon can be found at various drugstores, including drugstore.com and Ulta; Agate retails for about $5, Sueded Brown retails for about $9.