Vivid orange hair is a big trend this year with celebs and regular people embracing this look with enthusiasm. When we talk about orange hair, we’re talking about bright unnatural orange locks rather than ginger or red hair that happens naturally.
Bright orange hair makes you stand out in a crowd. It turns all eyes on you when you walk into the room, and it screams confidence.
As with most vivid hair colors, your orange hair might take some getting used to. You might find that your clothes and makeup don’t match the new look, and you might need to make some updates to the rest of your style to elevate it to your new bright color.
So, what are the best makeup looks for orange hair? Makeup that looks good with orange hair is balanced and uses complementary, monochromatic, or analogous colors to make your hair color pop.
In this article, we will go over what that means and give you some ideas on how you can pair eye makeup and lip colors with your orange hair for the best effect.
What Colors Go Well With Orange Hair?
Let’s talk about color theory. Color theory is a practical combination of art and science that’s used to determine what colors look good together.
When it comes to orange hair – or any bright hair colors for that matter – the colors in your makeup need to be picked out strategically to ensure that they look good with your hair color.
You don’t want to use makeup colors that clash or look washed out due to the color of your hair.
So what colors go well with orange hair? There are a few different color combinations that look really nice with orange:
Complementary Colors
Complementary colors are colors that are opposite from each other on the color wheel. For example, the complementary color of orange is blue.
The exact shade of blue depends on the shade of orange. If your hair is more of a red-orange, then the complementary color for that is a light warm blue, almost a teal color.
If your hair is more of a yellow-orange, then the complementary color of that is a darker indigo-blue.
So one way to pick out a makeup theme for your orange hair is to go with a complementary color. For example, you could find a blue eyeshadow and use it as a pop of color in your makeup look. It will look really awesome with orange hair!
Monochromatic Colors
If you’re not looking to add too much of another color to your overall look, a strategy you can use is finding a monochromatic color for your makeup.
Monochromatic colors are colors that are similar to each other. For example, if you have bright orange hair, a monochromatic color would be another shade of orange that’s similar to the color of your hair.
Monochromatic colors are the same color but in different shades. So, if you choose to go monochromatic with your look, you’ll end up with a nice conservative makeup look that brings attention back to your hair.
You could go with light orange eyeliner or deep orange lipstick to complete your look. It will go perfectly with orange hair and will keep all the attention on the orange hues in your look.
Analogous Colors
If you’re feeling brave and don’t mind a very “colorful” look, then analogous colors are a great way to make your makeup choices!
Analogous colors are a set of three colors that are found near each other on the color wheel.
So, if your hair is orange, you want to find the closest colors on each side of orange on the color wheel to pick out your makeup look.
Colors that are analogous to orange are red and yellow. So, you could wear red lipstick and yellow eyeshadow with your orange hair to make a really impactful look.
You could also just focus on putting the two analogous colors in one place, such as the eyes, and create an ombre eyeshadow look by combining red and yellow.
How To Do Makeup For Orange Hair
To summarize, makeup colors that will look great with orange hair are blue, orange, and a combination of yellow with red.
Now that you have a good understanding of what makeup colors go well with orange hair, it’s time to put that knowledge to practice!
When creating your makeup look, there are a few things to consider:
Focus On One Area
Putting bright colors on every surface of your face can look a little much, especially in everyday life. And considering you already have a big bright color in your hair, it’s best to focus on one area when it comes to wearing bright makeup colors.
Traditionally, there are two areas of the face that you can put an accent on:
- The eyes
- The lips
Decide which of these areas you want to accentuate. Picking one area doesn’t mean you won’t be wearing makeup on the other area. If you pick to wear blue eyeshadow, you can still wear lipstick! You’ll just opt for a more neutral color lipstick so that it doesn’t take attention away from your eyes and your hair.
Once you’ve picked the area of focus, it’s time to create your look.
Create The Base
As with any good makeup look, you want to start with a good base. This means moisturizing the skin, wearing a primer, and putting on your usual face makeup such as concealer and foundation.
Your concealer and foundation should not be affected by the color of your hair. The concealer and foundation should always match your natural skin tone and your undertones.
This is also where you’d want to put on other makeup, such as an eyebrow pencil if you usually wear it and blush.
If you plan on wearing dark or bright eyeshadow colors (like the blue eyeshadow we discussed), you’ll want to make sure to wear a primer over your eyelid to make sure that the eyeshadow stays put.
Create The Accent
Now it’s time to focus on the accent area you picked earlier. Here are some examples using the colors and accent areas we discussed above:
Blue Eyeshadow Look:
If you chose the complementary color palette and you chose your eyes as the accent area, here is how you can create that look.
- Select a blue-toned eyeshadow that is the opposite tone of your orange hair.
- Using an eyeshadow brush, put the blue eyeshadow over your lid up to the crease.
- Use a lighter blue or grey color to blend with your eyeshadow and pull it slightly up over the crease and under the brow bone.
- Use a neutral highlight color to accentuate your brow bone and the inner corner of your eye.
- Use black or dark blue eyeliner to line your top lash line. You can do a cat eye look if you’d like by drawing the line slightly further than your lash line towards your temple.
- Use black or blue mascara.
- Keep your lips neutral by using a nude lip color.
Here’s a great tutorial for a blue eyeshadow look from Denitslava Makeup.
Blue Eyeliner Look:
For a more casual (but just as trendy) version of the look above, you can opt to put the focus on your eyeliner rather than eyeshadow:
- Start with a neutral eyeshadow in brown or beige.
- Swipe a bright blue liquid liner above your upper lash line. Cat eye would look great here.
- Wear blue or black mascara.
- Keep your lips a neutral color.
Here’s a great blue eyeliner tutorial from An Kook on YouTube.
Orange Eyeliner Look:
Bright eyeliners are super trendy right now, and this orange eyeliner look will be stunning with your orange hair.
- Swipe a neutral beige or brown eyeshadow over your eyelid and buff it into the crease.
- Use a neutral highlight to accentuate your brow bone and the inner corner of your eye.
- Take a bright orange liquid liner and line just above your upper lash line. It will look great with a cat eye look, so feel free to extend the line past your eye and upwards.
- Wear black mascara.
- Keep the rest of your makeup neutral, such as a clear gloss on your lips, to keep all the attention on the eyeliner.
Here’s a great orange cat eyeliner tutorial from Nicole PV on YouTube.
Orange Lip Look:
For this look, the focus will be on the lips and we will be using the monochromatic color scheme by choosing an orange-toned lipstick.
- Keep your eye makeup neutral: beige or brown eyeshadow with brown or black eyeliner and mascara.
- Use a dark orange lip liner to line your lips.
- Swipe orange lipstick over your lips.
- Wear a peachy-hued blush to play off the color of your lips.
Here’s a great full look tutorial from Lamia Dagher on YouTube.
Red And Yellow Eye Look:
This eyeshadow look relies on the analogous color scheme and creates a very hot tropical look on your eyes. This would look great for a night out with your orange hair!
- Use a bright yellow eyeshadow to cover the eyelid and inner corner of the eye.
- Use a bright red eyeshadow to blend from the middle of the lid toward the outer lid, and buff some of the eyeshadow up over the crease. The goal is for your outer eyelid to be red and blend into the yellow on the inner eyelid.
- Use a thick black eyeliner to line the upper lash line.
- Use black mascara.
- Wear neutral lipstick or red lipstick for a bolder look.
Here’s a great tutorial from An Kook on YouTube.
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