Eyeliner can give your eyes a more dramatic, finished look, but the exact look that it gives will depend on the color eyeliner you choose to use.
So, brown vs black eyeliner – what’s the difference? Brown eyeliner looks more natural on the eyes and gives the illusion of thicker, fuller lashes, while black eyeliner can be used for more clear definition and for a bold and stunning look.
While black eyeliner is a popular makeup accessory found in many women’s makeup bags, brown eyeliner is becoming more popular thanks to the natural definition and fuller look it gives to eyes and eyelashes. However, the one you choose does depend on what look you are after, and your complexion and eye color.
To help you decide which is the better option for you, we have covered just about everything you need to know, and how you can go about choosing the best one next time you want beautifully defined eyes!
Which Color Works Best?
There is no clear answer as to which color would work best overall, but each does have its own benefits and downfalls.
The first one we will cover is brown eyeliner. Brown eyeliner, whether in pencil, liquid, or gel form, can help to give beautiful definition to the eyes, without being too dark and overwhelming. This makes it a great choice for eyeliner newbies or those who love a soft, subtle, or neutral look.
Brown eyeliner is also a great option for switching between daytime and nighttime looks, settling into both perfectly. It is easy to apply and user-friendly as it does not show mistakes as clearly as black eyeliner. It is quieter and more natural than black eyeliner and is the right choice if you want something more subtle.
Black eyeliner is what you need if you want high definition on your eyes and clean, sharp lines that show clearly. Black eyeliner can be intimidating to work with, as mistakes can be shown easily, so it’s not the best to start with if you’re just getting into makeup.
However, for those with a steady hand, black eyeliner can make the eyes pop with a gorgeous cat eye or be blended out for a smokey look. Using black eyeliner will also help to make your lashes look fuller.
Black eyeliner can be worn during the day for more casual looks, but it can be a little harsh. You just need to play around to find a way to give a more natural look to black eyeliner, if that’s what you’re after.
One tip we have for you is to create thin lines instead of bulky wings that may overpower your natural eye shape. Use black eyeliner when you want to create a dramatic look for a night out.
Why Should I Choose Brown Eyeliner?
You may be thinking of staying away from black eyeliner because you’re not super into the bold look or want to try something new.
Brown eyeliner is the perfect way to change up your look without overdoing it.
However, if you’re in the camp that needs more convincing, here are some reasons why you should choose brown eyeliner, and the numerous benefits it can bring you!
Subtle Definition
Brown eyeliner gives much more subtle definition than black eyeliner. It blends easily into the eye line and lashes and does not stand out as much as black eyeliner might.
Brown eyeliner is ideal to use for a day out when you want to give your eyes some definition, but you do not want it to be too dramatic or don’t feel like doing a full makeup look. It can easily look like natural definition, and when it is time to transform from day to night, you can add a little more brown liner to give a fuller finish.
The subtle definition is a definite bonus for those who do not necessarily want to look like they are wearing eyeliner, but who want the fuller look.
Lengthens Eyelashes
Black eyeliner can often cause your lashes to look a little lost, and you would need to apply more mascara to lengthen them more.
Brown eyeliner on the other hand actually makes your lashes look longer, and gives them a fuller look too.
Your lashes will look fuller and longer, and your eyes will look bigger as well thanks to the natural definition that brown eyeliner gives. You could even get away without having to put on false lashes when using brown eyeliner, which can cut down your getting ready time quite a bit each day!
You Can Create Bold Looks
While brown eyeliner can give you subtle definition, you can still use it to create bold looks, just like black eyeliner can.
Brown eyeliner is often soft to create a subtle look, but it can be dark enough to give bold definition, and to give an elegant cat-eye or similar if you wanted.
There are different shades of brown eyeliner that you can choose from, so if you want a darker look, you could just opt for a darker brown eyeliner. It comes in multiple shades for different occasions.
Matches Every Eye Color
Brown is common eye color, and brown eyeliner and brown eyes are an obvious match made in heaven! Hazel, chocolate, brown, green, and dark brown eyes are brought out with the right brown eyeliner.
Even though brown eyes and brown eyeliner match perfectly, blue and green eyes also look beautiful with brown eyeliner too, so you really can’t go wrong.
Brown eyeliner is also more subtle on different skin tones, dark, medium, and fair, and will not clash too much with your natural looks.
Multi-Purpose
Brown eyeliner is obviously used to line your eyelids and add definition to the base of your lashes. It does so in a beautifully subtle way, which is why it should be a staple in your makeup bag. Having brown eyeliner can cut down on many other accessories.
Not only is eyeliner a good choice for your eyes, but it is a great option for giving a fuller look to your eyelid crease and eyebrows as well. Choose a brown color that will look great on your eyes and brows too, so you can get it all done with one handy pencil!
Why Should I Choose Black Eyeliner?
Now, as much as we love brown eyeliner, there’s a reason black eyeliner is such a classic and timeless choice.
Black goes with every eyeshadow color and skin tone under the sun, and it’s the easiest way to take your eyes from “blah” to “wow!”
Here are some of the great benefits that black eyeliner has to offer.
Dramatic Looks
Black eyeliner is the ultimate option for when you want a dramatic eye look. It gives a definite line and the dark color really pops out, even from far away.
There’s nothing worse than spending hours getting all done up, only to see the pictures later and find that you might as well have worn a bare face because the camera didn’t pick up any pigment around your eyes from afar. Black eyeliner is the perfect solution.
If you are wanting to achieve a really dramatic, elegant look, then black eyeliner is the best option. It takes a steady hand, but you can create a great upper lid lining or extended line to add definition to your eyelid and to create a fuller look when using false lashes or a great mascara.
Clean Lines
Black eyeliner does give beautifully clean lines. Pencil, gel, and liquid liners can create clean, straight, and strong lines, which is great for building up an elegant look.
It does create more definition than a brown liner, and if you are wanting more than a natural look, black eyeliner will help out.
It is the best option for a smoky eye look when going out at night to really knock your eye makeup out of the park!
What Eyeliner Should I Choose For My Eye Color?
Eyeliner can help to make your eye color pop, and it is important to match your eyeliner to your eye color. There is a bit of wiggle room depending on the type of look you are after.
Below are the different eye colors, and the eyeliner colors that work best with each. Take a look through to find some great tips on how to use eyeliner to bring out your eye color best!
Brown Eyes
Brown is the most common eye color in the world, but there are so many variations of brown eyes, such as light, dark, chocolate, amber, honey, and more.
Having brown eyes is a great bonus, as they go with so many different makeup colors. If you are looking to achieve a natural look with your brown eyes, brown eyeliner is absolutely perfect. It will give definition to your eyes while not appearing intense.
Have a look at if you have any different accents in your eyes, such as gold flecks or bits of green, and match the eyeliner with this to make your eyes really pop.
Brown eyeliner is perfect for brown eyes, but black eyeliner can also be used for elegant, sharp looks.
Green Eyes
Green eyes are gorgeous, and they can pop beautifully with the right color eyeliner. The opposite color of green on the color wheel is red, which means that any eyeliner with a base of red can be perfect to make green eyes pop.
This includes eyeliners with a brown-red shade, burgundy, mahogany, and maroon. Using a brown eyeliner with red undertones can highlight the natural color of green eyes and create a magical look, with your natural eye color as the star of the show.
For daytime looks, a brown eyeliner such as mahogany will be perfect, but for a bolder nighttime look, you could choose red, maroon, or even purple!
Hazel Eyes
Hazel eyes have a mix of brown and green, and this dual-tone color makes a perfect base for different colored eyeliners. Just about any eyeliner color can go with hazel eyes.
Brown, purples, and dark green can all be amazing color eyeliners for hazel eyes. Usually, hazel eye colors have different specks of color, and you can bring these colors out by the color of eyeliner that you use.
You could even get a little more adventurous and use copper or bronze eyeliners, which will be great for a night out!
Blue Eyes
Blue eyes lend themselves to many different eyeliner colors, and it also depends on the different flecks of color in your own eyes.
For warmer blue eyes, you could choose a rich and warm eyeliner, such as metallic shades, like copper, or a bronze-brown.
For cool blue eyes, silver, grey, dark blue, and purple eyeliner colors can be gorgeous too. A black liner can bring great definition to blue eyes and create a dark, dramatic look that can be accentuated with some glitter! The dark eyeliner will contrast nicely with light blue eyes, creating a striking look.
But if you have blonde hair and blue eyes, brown eyeliner will work best for subtle daily wear without making your eyes look too harsh.
Should I Wear Brown Or Black Mascara?
When it comes to mascara, the color options you have are not as varied as those of eyeliners. The two most popular options, if you aren’t going for a very bold color, are brown and black.
Your mascara choice is quite important, and you should consider your lash color and your skin tone when choosing which color might be best, to ensure that your lashes are given beautiful definition, but that they still look fairly natural if you don’t want them to be too over-the-top.
Fair-skinned complexions and pale lashes should ideally choose a brown mascara for more subtle daily wear. Brown mascara will give you natural-looking lashes, with beautiful definition and length, without looking too overwhelming.
Darker complexions, or darker lashes, can stick to black mascara. Adding brown mascara to black eyelashes will not add too much definition to the lashes, and the brown could even lighten them a bit and make them look unnatural.
Choose a mascara that is a shade darker than your lash color if you are wanting your lashes to have more definition and to be lengthened, without having them look too dark and not natural.
However, if you are wanting a dramatic look, then black mascara can be used by anyone! Black mascara on fair skin and fair lashes can give a bold, gorgeous lash finish and help to highlight your eye shape perfectly as well.
Should I Apply White Liner?
You can apply white eyeliner or a flesh-toned eyeliner to the inside of your water line to make your eyes appear bigger. First, use a black eyeliner under your lower lash line, and then apply a white or flesh-toned liner on the water line.
This layering of black and white creates a frame around your eye and gives the appearance of bigger eyes. This is a really handy trick to know to create the perfect illusion!
Black Or Brown Eyeliner
Whether you choose black or brown eyeliner will depend on the look you are going for, your complexion, and your eye color.
For a natural, subtle look, brown eyeliner is perfect. It creates a defined eye and gives the base of your lashes a fuller appearance. Brown eyeliner can easily go from a relaxed daytime look to a bold nighttime look.
Black eyeliner, on the other hand, can help to create dramatic looks with clean, definite lines. Black eyeliner can be a little trickier to apply, as mistakes are more obvious, but once you have a black liner cat eye down, you can enjoy bold and beautiful eyes!
If you want to have both colors on hand for a more subtle day look and a more dramatic one at night, we love this liquid liner that comes in a brown and black option.
Related Questions
What color eyeshadow makes brown eyes pop?
To make brown eyes pop, cobalt, teal, turquoise and other blue color eyeshadows can be used. These work beautifully against brown eyes, and you can get really creative with the shades you use.
Alternatively, for a warmer look, you could choose copper and gold tones, which are especially great against warm brown, golden eyes.
Is brown or black eyeliner better for green eyes?
Brown eyeliner with some red undertones is best for green eyes. Green and red are opposite from each other on the color wheel, making them complimentary colors, so the two help each other stand out, and make your green eyes pop.
Should blondes use brown or black mascara?
If you have blonde hair, and light eyelashes, then brown mascara might be a good choice. However, you could always choose black for a dark, bold look.
Up Next: Brown Vs Black Mascara
