Beauty

[ECBG]

I found a true brown shadow without any red at Lancome.  I told them I wanted the color of a brown crayon in a basic set of 8.

@cuddlesmama,The color I was referring to is Smouldering Brown.  It has no red.

[rochelleS]

@cuddlesmama If an Ulta is convenient, go check out Fiona Stiles quads. Several choices available with rich browns. These shadows are extremely pigmented and long lasting...very impressive.

[theresa]

• Nars - Fig beautiful color!! 

[wvumountiefan]

Makeup Geek has 2 that I like. Bada Bing and Aphrodite. They have swatches on their website on different skin tones. $6 each.

[Katcat1]

@cuddlesmama,  Laura Mercier has a wonderful Caviar Eye Stick shadow and there is a dark brown.  She also has a matte dark brown shadow. 

[JustJazzmom]

Urban Decay Secret Service is a dark brown.

 

[cuddlesmama]

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@Wannabeincali wrote:

I have the same problem! Oftentimes, I would buy a shadow and it would end up looking muddy on me.  I later learned that how an eyeshadow color shows up on your lids, all  depends on your lids' skin tone and shade.

To get the color you see in the pan, you can either use an eye primer, or you can try to figure out your skintone and shade. Then choose a tone and shade of brown to get you the end result you want.

For example,

A neutral brown matte eyeshadow on a very fair skin tone will look much as you see it in the pan, BUT on my medium neutral olive skintone? It will tend to look muddy, ashy, cool toned brown. My skin tone eats up red and copper pigments. For a neutral dark brown eyeshadow look, I need to pick browns that have a reddish or plum-ish, or  cinnamon brown tone. Once on my eyelid, they do look more likea true dark chocolate brown. 

My favorite dark brown e/s that actually look BROWN on me are:

-MAC Embark .....plummy dark brown

-MAC Ground Brown ....deep coffee bean brown that shows up as a pure rich brown on me. 

-MAC Espresso Brown ....slightly lighter than Ground Brown, but still dark. 

-CatCosmetics Espresso Brown .....this is probably my all time favorite brown shadow, or at least tied for 1st place with MAC Ground Brown! I love this for lining my eyes, or for smoking them out, or for defining the crease. All of the above blend well but this is the smoothest of the lot. So so beautiful!

If you are really into neutral eyeshadow looks, and want a palette, look at Kat Von D's Shade & Light palette! She gives you 3 base shades, plus 3 "sets" of eyeshadows (neutral, cool, and warm tones), and the shades include a pure black and pure white shadow, for endless shade possibilities. The shadows blend like adream! So so buttery! All of the shades show up true on my lids, with or without a base.  I wasted so much money on so many neutral eyeshadow palettes and I hated everyone, until I got this one. All of the others looked so grey brown muddy on me (UD Nakeds 1, 2, and 3, LORAC Pro, Two Faced Chocolates, etc). The KvD palette is gorgeous!

Note: 

All of the above mentioned shadows are mattes.

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         Thank you soo much for all of your recommendations!! I really appreciate the time           you put into this. I  am going to try the  Mac ground  brown and and into the Cat Cosmetics  (haven't heard of this company in years!) ones that you mentioned. I also have medium olive skin tone. Its funny we both have the same coloring with the same problem. I  Also I appreciate that you mentioning they are all mattes that is only what I would use for my eyeliner. And I do use a primer and the others that I used still looked muddy.Thanks for the recommendation on the KVD  palette I stay away from palettes because half of the colors I would l  would never use but hers being a neutral palette may be different.

[BarbiHollywood]

I like Bobbi Brown Mahogany for lining my eyes.  It can even be used on your brows.

[Wannabeincali]

@cuddlesmama

Hi!

Oh, I am so glad I could help! Yup....that medium olive tone is a killer sometimes. lol

I think of true olive skin and cosmetic colors in this way:

Imagine that makeup colors are....watercolors, as in paints.

And fair complexions are......a white canvas.

Olive complexions, esp true neutral medium olive skin, is similar to ......a TAUPE canvas.

You can easily see the nuances of color on the pure white canvas. You can appreciate the subtle differences between the watercolor's transluscent strokes of pastel pink vs rose vs mauve vs pastel green vs pastachio green vs olive green vs pale yellow vs buttercup yellow vs banana yellow. lol 

Now, attempt those same "transluscent, pale shades" on a taupe or olive beige canvas, and what do you see? MUDDY taupey beige-ish, maybe with a hint of pink or green or ??? Mainly you see nothing other than a muddy taupe. Sheer washes of color, blended and blended and blended over and over, just muddies up the color result. We need purer colors, ie, clearer tones, or brighter tones. We need COLOR. Or, if we want a more muted shade as a blush, or eye shadow, that is fine BUT it needs to be more opaque in order to show up. Or, as I suggested, you have to think more about the color you want and which pigments you need to get you there. Ex. You want to find a bronzer. You do not want to look orange. But when you buy a "neutral matte brown bronzer" you look as if you have mud on your face, right? Well that is because neutral olive skin tones needs extra warmth in brown makeup tones in order to read as neutral. So go with a slightly warm bronzer, to get that neutral result on a true olive skin tone. Whereas if someone fair were to use that same bronzer, they might end up looking orange-y. Most very fair skintones will need a very light beige brown bronzer, with maybe a hint of pale pink (if they are cool toned fair). For someone with a very warm deeper skintone (very dark tanned, or caramel coloring), the slightly warm toned bronzer you can wear, might look too dull or muddy on their very warm honey or caramel toned skin. They would need a more coppery brown bronzer. 

Olive skin is pretty, but also hard as heck to find the right cosmetic colors, esp foundations. With foundation, you DO want to find as exact a match as you can. At least there are a lot more options for olive tones now, then years ago. The problem now is that they have lumped "caramel" or "tanned" complexions in with olive -- when it used to be that olive complexions were only those that were beige in neutral to neutral cool tones. It gets complicated when dealing with non olive makeup SAs at the counter. 

I think you WILL definitely love Kat Von D's Shade and Light palette. Those colors do show up very true on my skin tone. And they still work when I am faux tanned.

This is the palette: (NOT my photo)

The colors in the photo are a bit darker and warmer than they are in real life.

The yellow at top left, is much paler. The middle top shade is actually more taupe. The peach at top right is not as vibrant. Bottom row: the 3 on the left are very neutral in real life. The middle 3 are cool tones (an ashy dark brown, a black, and a white). And the 3 on the right are not quite as reddish as they look in the pc. It really is a PERFECT neutral brown toned palette. Use the black to deepen shades. Use the white to lighten them up. Play with various shade blends of the browns. I LOVE this palette!! And as I said before, it blends soooooooooooooo beautifully! 

CatCosmetics:
Email Cat. She is such a doll! She will answer any questions, and will help you pick the perfect shades (if you need anything other than that brown). I LOVE LOVE LOVE her palettes! I am OBSESSED with her: Working Kit Palette, and her Bronze, Sculpt, & Highlight Palette!

WORKING KIT PALETTE:

Everything in her palettes is amazing!! The quality and pigmentation are as good as, and I think even better, than MAC, NARS, Stila, Lorac, or just about any other dept store brand. I never get allergic reactions to her eyeshadows, as I do with some others. They apply beautifully. There is no fallout from her shadows. The blushes are gorgeous and make your skin radiant.....and you know how we olives can tend to look a bit sallow when pale. NOT with her palettes! The blushes are amazing. Glowy, but not shimmery. Oh, and get her Orgazzle blush, too. Gorgeous, but not in this palette. That lipgloss? It is evvvvverything! Seriously, beautiful against olive skin! z

TIP:
If you do buy this palette, SWITCH OUT the black eye shadow to the far left spot. When I got this palette, I would invariably get some of the black shadow on my brush while trying to pick up the blush color. I ended up with a sooty face on more than a few occasions. lol They are magnetic, but you can easily use a pin to pluck the e/s pan out.

2.

I have this palette too! This is her Bronze, Sculpt, & Highlight palette! OMG, LOVE!
The bottom left e/s is the ESPRESSO brown I told you about in my other post. It is gorgeous as a liner, or as a smokey eye, or a cut crease shade!

TIP: 
The bottom right pan is a creme light pink lip gloss. It is verrrrrry sheer. Meh for me, as my lips are very pigmented and I like to nude them out. It is ok, but nothing fabulous. IF you like a more pigmented lip, opt for the other shade she has...I think it is a shimmery coppery shade. That isn't my shade either, which is why I chose the pink. I really just use it more as a lipbalm, or as a sheer gloss over my MAC nude lippies. 

You really do NOT need both palettes, as some of the colors are found in both. The Catnip Bronzer is in both. The Whiskers blush (light, glowy coral pink) is in both. But as I am crazy over her cosmetic line and the colors on my skin tone, I bought both. I have already replaced a few of the shades --- which is amazing because I NEVER hit pan with any of my other eyeshadows or bronzers. I do with hers because they are now my go to shades. I can go from a natural beachy makeup look, to full on glamour girl smokey eye and nude lip, with either or both palettes.  

Ok, enough about Kat v D and CatCosmetics! lol
I am not affiliated with either....though I wish I were! haha

I almost did not see your post to me because you didn't do the " @ " thing at the beginning of your post, so I did not get notified. But if you ever want any other recs that I love on my medium olive skin tone, post to me and I will reply.

PRICING DISCOUNTS:

CatCosmetics often has 20% or 25% OFF codes. She just had one for Easter. If you are going to purchase from the site, wait for one of those sales to come up. I am sure there will be one around Memorial Day! Sign up on her site to get notification emails for sales.

Take care!