Earth-Toned Eyeshadow Looks To Give You A Warm, Subtle Look All Year Long

If you've ever taken a walk through the woods, biked along the beach, planted a garden, or taken a drive in the fall to see the changing leaves, you're already familiar with the colors of planet Earth. And, if you're into makeup, you've been more than inspired to incorporate earth-tones into your eyeshadow looks.

The palette of colors includes any shade that can be found in nature. Brown tones are at the center, representing all types of soil and other forms of nature, like tree bark. You'll also see gray, like the Earth's clay, cloudy days, and lighter hues that match the color of sand. On the brighter side, you'll find grass greens and red tones inspired by red clay and fall leaves. While the sky and ocean are part of nature, their blue hues are also cooler in tone and often left out of the palette, which focuses on softer, warmer shades. 

You can find eyeshadow palettes that include several of these colors to help you create your own earthy eye look. At Ulta, bareMinerals Mineralist Eyeshadow Palette in Sunlit has six colors for about $32, while Makeup Revolution Ultimate Desire Palette in Stripped Khaki offers nine hues for about $9. Because the colors are so neutral, you'll have no problem wearing an earth-toned eyeshadow look at any time of year, spring or fall, winter or summer. It's just a matter of finding a look to inspire you...

You've seen those reddish, terracotta pots on everyone's front porches, spouting flowers and other vegetation — that's where this eyeshadow look begins. Hailing straight from red-clay earth, the dark-red eyeshadow is paired with a gray-brown hue reminiscent of the earth found inside those terracotta pots. The earth-toned shadows are blended together on the bottom part of the lid, with the red going solo near the top and blending into just a hint of color under the brow. 

If earth tones make you think of rich colors, you're not wrong. But there's also a lighter side you can explore when it comes to earth-toned eyeshadows. Choose a muted brown, add a shade in the taupe family, and combine them with a cream-colored hue reminiscent of the ocean's pearls. The taupe shade is swept over the entire lid, with light brown added to the crease on one side for dimension. The pearly tone is used for highlights in all the right places.

For those who have adopted matte eyeshadow as your go-to love, you'll be happy to know earth-tones come in matte finishes, too. From terracotta red to earth-brown and even pearl white, there are non-shimmering shadows to complete your look. Sweep the red over the bottom half of the lid, brush on the brown just above it, and finish with the pearl in the inner corners and with a swipe just below the brow.

Most earth-toned eyeshadow looks lean toward the subtle, natural side, but there's always room for glitter. If you've ever seen a freshly mowed lawn covered in the morning dew, you've got your inspiration for this sparkling look. If you love the color green, use a creamy emerald-green shadow as the base, then topped with a glitter version of the same hue. A paler green is swept just under the brow, and in the inner corner, for highlight accents.  

If there's one color serving as the poster child for earth-toned eyeshadows, it's brown. It could be there's just a lot of brown found in nature, or it could be there are so many shades and tones of the color found in makeup that it's impossible not to find one or six you love. Bonus: Browns look good with other browns, so you can combine more than one for your earth-toned eyeshadow look. For instance, dark taupe blends with medium brown and light beige just perfectly.

Of course, camouflage is earth-toned — the whole point is for Army guys to be able to hide in Mother Nature's bounty. So it only stands to reason you can create a bold and eclectic earth-toned eyeshadow look inspired by the colors of camo gear. This is a great combo of eyeshadow to make your eyes pop. Yet, you can be slightly more subtle with your eye look by using a brown eyeshadow with a heavy green liner, or you can go full camouflage with spots of green and brown eyeshadow combined over the entire lid. 

What happens when you love more than one earth-toned color? You create an eyeshadow look that combines four of your favorites all at the same time. Start with a muted sunrise orange over most of the lid, add a dark brown in the crease and underneath the eye, swipe on a stripe of green just above the eye, and add a dab of heavenly white cloud in the inner corner. All the pretty colors, all together, all at once.  

Earth-toned eyeshadows are primarily neutral and a good choice for day looks. They also come in darker tones that are stunning in a smokey eye for nights out (after all, smoke is from nature). Start with a deep taupe or dark brown shade applied across the lid, then use a dark gray to build up the smoke in the crease and around the outer corner of the eye. 

Watching storm clouds roll across the sky is fascinating; logging all the shades of gray, you can incorporate into your eyeshadow look is a bonus. While the word "earth" may bring up visions of the ground, you can also look up for your nature inspiration, especially when it's raining. The warmer tones found in stormy skies can be translated to makeup in the form of light and dark gray eyeshadows blended over the lid. A touch of earth-brown at the crease and a bit of fluffy-cloud white as a highlighter complete the vibe.

If you live for a winged-eyeliner look, you can still find your happy place in a world with earth-toned eyeshadows. Grab a dark eyeliner (think tree bark instead of black ink), and do your wing thing. Blend shadows in shades of brown together over the lid, with a darker tone, focused along the crease and meeting up with the wing. A sandy beige or pearl-cream tone can be added under the brow, or you can fade the brown into a bare lid.