Choosing the right makeup look for a night out or a special occasion is a key part of creating a cohesive and flattering look overall. Based on your outfit, you can create a makeup look that complements your choices or is the focal point on its own.
For certain outfit choices, it is best to select a makeup look that enhances and complements that color and fabric, rather than taking away from it.
Metallic fabrics, like silver, are an example of an eye-catching material that stands out on its own, without the need for makeup enhancements.
With that in mind, creating a cohesive makeup look that adds enough warmth to the skin to avoid your complexion looking washed out, while also not using products that will create an overly frosted appearance, can be the best choice of products.
Once the correct colors and products are selected, you can choose what type of look you want to create with your makeup.
So, what are the best makeup looks for a silver dress? The makeup looks that complement a silver dress the best are going to be looks that use neutral, earth-toned shades or pops of cool-toned reds, as these will enhance and match the silver of the outfits and accessories without washing you out.
When using colors that are complimentary and have the same undertone as the outfit, the overall look will be cohesive and balanced. There are many styles of makeup that can be paired best with a silver dress, and below we’ll discuss in depth the top looks and colors to wear that will make your silver dress shine!
Silver And Color Theory
Silver is a cool-toned, metallic shade. It can work with many different types of makeup looks and color combinations to create a dynamic effect.
Depending on the type of makeup you are going for, and the type of event you are wearing the silver dress to, you can work with colors that are in the same family in order to complement the dress, without taking away from it or clashing against it.
When using neutral shades to create your makeup look, the overall effect is subtle, flattering, and cohesive.
Because silver is a cool-toned shade, keeping the color selections for your makeup within the neutral family, meaning there are not overt warm or cool undertones but a balance of both, the makeup is able to enhance the dress and your features without washing you out or creating a look that is too frosty.
Incorporating pops of color can work with a silver dress as well, such as a bold red lip, but works best when there is a cooler undertone to complement the color. Earth-toned shades, such as mauves, bronze, and taupe will work with silver, as they add some color and a bit of warmth without creating a clashing dynamic.
Colors like plum and berry can work as well, because while the colors are more vibrant, they also have a cool undertone that keeps the look in the same family.
Different Makeup Styles
Whether you are a beginner or an expert at makeup, there are many different looks you can try out to see what you prefer with your silver dress.
The best way to find a makeup look that will work for you is to determine which feature you want to be the focus, and then select the colors and create the look from there.
A silver dress on its own is a statement, so choosing one feature to be the focal point of the makeup will prevent the makeup and the dress fighting for attention.
The most common makeup looks generally focus on either a bold eye and a neutral lip, or the opposite of a bold lip with a neutral eye.
Either option is an ideal choice to pair with your silver dress for a night out. Within both of those makeup looks, there are colors that can be played up to create vivid pops of color, or neutral and subtle.
Both options will complement the dress, without fighting it for attention, and allow you to shine as bright as the silver you are wearing.
The Best Makeup Colors For A Silver Dress
After determining whether you want to create a makeup look with an eye or a lip focus, you can then begin to determine which colors you want to incorporate into your look.
It is also important to keep in mind the textures of the colors you are selecting as well, whether it be a frost, shimmer, matte, or somewhere in between. The finishes of the products are just as important as the colors, because they can either help enhance or compete with the silver dress in the overall look.
Both eyeshadows and lipsticks are available in an array of different finishes. Some examples of these are shimmer, matte, gloss, or glitter, and all of which are available for both eyes and lips.
When it comes to pairing these finishes with a silver dress, it is best to keep them in a satin, matte, or light shimmer variety, rather than a texture that is overly glittery or metallic.
As silver is a metallic color by itself, when pairing a metallic shade with the dress, the look can become overly frosted. In order to keep the look balanced, selecting a shade that has a subtle shimmer, in terms of eyeshadow, will give the eyes enough dimension and light, without clashing with the dress.
As far as lip products go, using a gloss or a matte texture would both compliment the dress.
As far as colors go, the above-mentioned earth-toned shades are a safe bet. Using eye shadow colors in the mauve, bronze, or taupe color family will suit the silver dress well but will not wash out your complexion with too many cool shades being the focus.
Mauves are a particularly great shade for eyeshadows, because they enhance any eye color, and they provide just enough color with the subtle pink or purple undertone to warm up the face just enough.
Taupe and bronze shades work well also because they consist of many different hues that can suit any skin tone, while also providing a more subtle metallic finish that will work with the silver.
If you are looking to incorporate pops of color into the look, whether it be on the eyes or lips, selecting shades that have a cooler undertone, like pinks, purples, or berries, will be a perfect selection with the silver dress.
These colors are vibrant enough to create the dramatic pop you are looking for, while having that same cool undertone that compliments and enhances the silver of the dress. A berry lipstick, for example, is an ideal way to create a statement lip while offering a subtle switch from the classic red.
However, red lipstick can also work with a silver dress to create a classic, old-Hollywood type of glam. If you are wanting to pair your dress with a red lipstick, it is best to look for a shade that has a blue undertone, rather than an orange undertone.
Keeping the texture of the red lipstick matte as well will further help to create that classic glamour you are wanting to achieve.
Best Makeup Looks for Silver Dress
Out of the many makeup looks that you can create to compliment your silver dress, there are a few classics that will always work. In keeping with the bold eye and neutral lip trend, a classic smokey eye with a nude or neutral lip is an excellent pairing.
With smokey eyes, it is about creating a gradient of color from light to dark that creates the “smokey” effect, and any colors can be used to achieve this look.
If you are wanting to go with a classic smokey eye look, using neutral shades that include bronze, neutral brown, and black will be ideal.
This neutral color family works on any skin tone and for any eye color and can be made to be as dramatic or a subtle as you desire. However, if you are looking to create a smokey eye but want to do so with a pop of color, incorporating rich purple and plum shades will be vibrant and flattering.
Smokey eyes create a sultry and alluring focus on the eye, no matter what colors are selected to be used. When pairing a smokey eye with a lip, it is helpful to keep the lipstick shades within a neutral or nude color family to avoid pulling focus from the eye.
Using a subtle pink, mauve, or mocha shade that is similar to your natural lip color, but more enhanced, will work well with the more eye-focused look. Looking for shadows in a matte or soft shimmer texture will create the best smokey eye, while a satin or gloss texture can create a plump and well-hydrated appearance with a natural lip.
Conversely, if you like to focus on the lip and want to create a look with that feature in mind, you can start by choosing what bold lip color you want to experiment with. For example, a deep berry-colored lip will be flattering and dramatic, while offering a twist on the classic red.
Either a gloss or matte finish can work with a statement lip, a matte texture will have more staying power throughout your event and will require less touch-ups, which is important when using a bold shade.
If a bold, berry lip is the look you’re going for, using a neutral, soft eye look in mauve or earth-toned shades will complement the lipstick perfectly.
The mauve shades will compliment any eye color, while still having a cooler undertone shade, that provides a subtle hint of color that will warm up your skin tone. Using a mix of soft shimmer and matte eye shadows will provide a light-reflecting effect on the eyes, which will pair well with the matte texture of the lip.
Finally, creating a classic glamourous makeup look with a clean winged eyeliner and a bold red lip never goes out of style, and works for any type of event.
A winged eyeliner, or cat eye, paired with a red lip is an even balance of focus on both the eye and lip that works together, without competing for attention. Keep the eyeliner clean and sharp when creating the cat eye, with a subtle neutral shade to define the crease that is one to two shades darker than your skin tone.
To finish the look with a red lip, look for a color that has a blue undertone to pair with the silver dress perfectly. If you want to create a classic, old-Hollywood type of look, using a matte texture for the red lip would be best, while also having longer staying power.
However, if you want to give the look a modern twist, you can go for a high-shine lip gloss to provide the lip color.
While focusing on the lips and eyes are important, and often what we tend to think about the most, it is also crucial to keep your complexion’s appearance in mind. With silver being a cool-toned shade, it is easy for the skin to appear washed out in comparison to the metallic.
Whether you are creating an eye or lip focused look, it is important to also remember to add a wash of bronzer or blush on the skin to warm up the complexion and give a sun-kissed appearance that will pop against the silver.
Makeup To Avoid With A Silver Dress
While we have discussed in depth what colors and textures work for a silver dress, it is also important to keep in mind what colors may clash with a silver dress.
Although most tones and colors will work well with the silver, colors that are too warm in undertone can tend to clash. Avoiding colors like metallic that are a yellow-gold will help with creating a complimentary makeup look.
As far as lip colors go, red lipsticks that are an orange undertone can work better with gold or champagne-colored dresses, rather than silver.
In terms of textures, intense metallics or glitters can compete with the metallic of the silver dress, rather than compliment it. Those textures can also give a more frosted appearance, which can further create a washed-out complexion.
Conclusion
A silver dress is an eye-catching ensemble that can stand out on its own. Because the metallic shade creates its own statement, how you accessorize and complete the look can be a fine line between being too much and being just enough.
While some occasions may call for an over-the-top look, sometimes it is also best to let the dress speak for itself.
Whether you are an expert or beginner with makeup, a fun part of a special evening out is not only choosing what dress you want to wear, but choosing how you want to do your makeup as well.
If silver is the color of the evening, it may be tempting to want to pair the metallic dress with the same silver-tones on the eyes or in a frosted lip. However, to create a modern, complementary, and cohesive makeup look, the best shades to choose are ones that are neutral earth-tones, with mauve, bronze, or taupe undertones.
Classic shades, like a red lipstick, will also work beautifully with a silver dress, but it is best to keep those shades, and any other berry or mauve lip colors, with a cool, blue undertone, in order to work well with the silver metallic of the dress.
Wearing a silver dress on a night out is fun and exciting, and creating a complementary makeup look with the correct shades will enhance the appearance overall!
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