Matching Up: How to Match Your Hairstyle With Your Makeup

You’ve chosen your outfit and accessories and you’ve spent ages making sure your makeup is just right, but how do you choose the best hairstyle to match your makeup?

Blondes

Matte, nude shades can make fair-haired and blonde girls look tired and washed out. This is a big no no.

The best makeup to match your blonde hair is to opt for eyeshadows with a slight shimmer (or glitter) and berry shades on your lips and cheeks to ‘lift’ your natural complexion. These colors and the shimmer effect will prevent you from looking too washed out.

Brunettes

Pale foundation shades can make brunettes look pale, especially if your brown hair is a darker tone.

The contrast between a pale complexion and dark hair can make you look washed out or ghostly, but this can be avoided by using makeup with warm tones, such as purples, burgundy, browns and navy.

Redheads

Green tones really suit redheads suit (a lot of people know this already), but other fab shades include peach, copper and browns.

These complement the fiery hair color really well in clothes as well as make up colour choices.

Dark

If you have black hair and dark skin tones, plums and shimmery makeup hues look great as does dark kohl eyeliner. If you have dark hair but fair skin, avoid looking too goth-like by adding sheer plum tones to your cheek and lip makeup.

The key to finding color matches is to experiment. Get your friends over and have a pamper evening, trying out different makeup and hair styles while relaxing!

Now that you know what makeup colors and shades suit different hair colors, it’s time to match your makeup to your hairstyle and vice versa. To do this, it’s best to think of the overall ‘look’ you are going for.

Power Dressing

If you’re wearing a power suit, leather trousers or tight, little black dress and some stilettos, you need your hair and makeup to match this powerful image.

A slicked back, high ponytail and dark eyes are the combination that best complement this strong look while smokey eyes look amazing with a sleek high ponytail or high bun. Get the look by using eyelash curlers, extending mascara, dark eyeliner along the bottom and top line of the eye and a dark eyeshadow.

Other makeup options include shades of brown, dark purple, dark green or navy.

Feminine and Flirty

If you’ve styled your hair with some loose, feminine, soft and bouncy curls or braided it into two French braids and finished with a nice bow, you’ll want cute makeup to match your look.

Your best bet is to choose pastel shades like dusky pink, sky blue, peach or lilac.

These girly shades look great with this overall look. Add a touch of eyeliner to match your eye color (so blue if you have blue eyes), but not too much, and extend your lashes with curlers and mascara. A nude lip gloss finishes and complements this hairstyle as does a pink or peach blusher on the cheeks.

Clubber

Hitting the nightclub or getting ready for a festive party? If you have your hair in a cool ‘night out’ style, such as a messy bun, tight curls or fixed up on the side of your head and secured with fashionable grips, you need some funky makeup to finish the look.

Step your makeup up a notch to what you’d wear in the day to really compliment your ‘going out’ hair. One way to do this is by adding glittery shades or a dark lip. Go heavier with your makeup than your ‘day face.’ Consider trying purple hues in your blush, a dark lipstick or glittery eyeshadow and opt for thickening mascara and a dark or glittery eyeliner.

Sporty Casual

If you have your hair in a practical style for sport, such as a tight bun or swinging ponytail, you’ll want minimal makeup (if any). If you’re actually doing exercise, no makeup is probably the best option, but if you can’t go bare faced, opt for nude and natural tones as well as light coverage.

If you’re just opting for a casual and sporty look, rather than actually going to do any sport, then makeup can really match the sporty hairstyles (think cheerleader high ponytail and bow/ribbon).

To match this hairstyle, go for pastel shades or light colors. Pinks, peaches and beiges are perfect.

Simply curl your eyelashes but do not use mascara or eyeliner, emphasize a high cheekbone with a pink blush, go for a natural lip shade and two shades of eyeshadow (slightly darker on the lid and a very light beige or peach under the brow).

This make up suits a sporty hairdo and outfit and is natural and fresh. Accentuate certain features such as a high eyelid or high cheekbones. The idea is to look bare-faced, even if you’re not, and it is simple to achieve.

Share your own hairstyle and makeup matching tips in the comment section below!