A client once sat at my makeup table, pointed at a purple shadow, and asked, won’t that make me look like I got punched? It is the most common worry about purple makeup, and it is exactly backwards. Placed right, purple is one of the most flattering colors you can wear; it makes the whites of your eyes brighter and your skin look more awake, not less.
These fifteen looks prove it, from a barely-there lilac wash to a deep eggplant smoke and a bold plum lip. Each comes with how to build it, where to place it so it flatters, and which shade of purple suits which skin tone, because there is a purple for everyone.
Find Your Purple
| You Want | Reach For |
|---|---|
| Subtle and wearable | A soft lilac wash or a deep purple tightline. |
| A statement lip | A bold plum or berry, with the eyes kept quiet. |
| A statement eye | An amethyst wing, eggplant smoke, or violet ombré. |
| A pop of fun | Iridescent cheeks, grape glossy lids, or festival glitter. |
Soft Blended Lilac Wash
The gentlest way into purple is a soft lilac wash blended across the lids with hazy, diffused edges. It is barely-there color that brightens the eyes without shouting, the purple for someone who is sure purple is not for them. Keep it sheer and soft and it looks like a wash of light rather than a statement.
- Diffuse a soft lilac with a fluffy blending brush, no hard edges.
- Keep it to the lid and a touch in the crease.
- Pair with glowy skin and a nude lip. See natural eye makeup.
Bold Plum Lips, Minimal Skin
A bold plum lip against minimal, fresh skin is grown-up glamour at its easiest. The deep purple-red carries the whole face, so the eyes stay soft and the skin stays glowing. It is striking, modern, and far more wearable than people expect, and clients ask me for it more than any other purple.
Line and fill the lips with a long-wear plum and keep everything else quiet, a wash of glow, a little mascara. Plum looks incredible on deep skin, where its richness has real depth, while a slightly berry-leaning plum flatters cooler, fairer tones. See pink makeup.
Good to Know
Purple gets a bad rap for looking bruised, but that is about placement, not the color. Kept off the under-eye and on the lid, cheekbone, or lip, purple actually brightens the whites of the eyes and flatters most complexions. The only spot to avoid is directly under the eye, where any dark shade can read tired.
Sharp Amethyst Wings
Swapping black liner for a sharp amethyst wing is a small change with a big payoff, a crisp, jewel-purple line that flatters more than black and makes the eyes pop. It is the easiest way to wear purple if you already love a winged liner.
Use a long-wear purple liquid or gel liner and draw the same wing you always do, resting your elbow for control. Amethyst and violet liners make brown and green eyes especially vivid.
Sultry Eggplant Smoky Eye
An eggplant smoky eye is the moodier, richer cousin of a black smoke, a deep eggplant purple smudged around the eye for drama with a little warmth. It is sultry and sophisticated, the purple smoky for evening, and it suits every eye color.
- Pack a deep eggplant on the lid and smoke the edges soft.
- Add a touch of shimmer at the center to lift it.
- Keep skin glowy and the lip nude. See glam makeup.
A flattering purple eye, step by step:
1Prime
Set the lid so the color grips and does not crease.
2Place
Build the purple on the lid and crease, never under the eye.
3Brighten
Add a dot of shimmer at the inner corner to lift the whole eye.
Lavender Monochrome Glam
Monochrome lavender sweeps one soft purple across the eyes, cheeks, and lips so the whole face glows in a single tone. It is dreamy and modern, and far easier than a full eye look since one cream product does most of the work.
Tap a lavender cream blush on the apples, the lids, and the center of the lips, keeping the finish dewy. Adjust the intensity for each area so it looks soft rather than flat.
- Use one lavender cream on eyes, cheeks, and lips.
- Build the intensity where you want it, blend the rest soft.
- Keep skin dewy so it glows rather than sits flat.
Iridescent Violet Cheek Glow
An iridescent violet highlighter sweeps a color-shifting purple-pink glow high on the cheekbones, so the skin flashes violet as you move. It is the playful, futuristic way to wear purple, a glow rather than a full look, and a fast way to test the color without committing to a full eye.
- Tap an iridescent violet highlighter on the tops of the cheekbones.
- Blend the edges so it melts into the skin.
- Keep the eyes simple so the cheek glow leads.
The fastest way to talk someone out of fearing purple is to tightline it. They never see the color, just brighter eyes and thicker-looking lashes, and suddenly the scary shade is their new everyday liner.
Berry Lip-and-Cheek Stain
A berry stain used on both lips and cheeks ties a face together with a fresh, just-bitten flush of purple-pink. The stain sinks into the skin so it looks like natural color rather than makeup laid on top, which is the whole appeal.
Blend a stain fast before it sets
Tap a berry cream or liquid stain onto the apples of the cheeks and blend fast before it sets, then press the same onto the lips. Work quickly, since stains grab, and build in thin layers.
It is the look I love for a fresh, low-effort flush of color, prettiest in warmer months. See soft glam makeup.
Metallic Lavender Cut-Crease
A cut-crease carves a sharp line through the crease and packs a bright metallic lavender on the lid below it, so the color looks crisp and reflective. It is the most precise, editorial purple eye, dramatic and graphic.
Cut the crease clean with concealer, then press the metallic lavender on with a fingertip for the most payoff. The sharper the cut line, the more striking the lid color looks.
What is your purple?
1I am nervous about color
A lilac wash, a purple tightline, or an orchid inner corner. Flattering and barely there.
2I want one bold feature
A plum lip, an amethyst wing, or an eggplant smoke. One statement, the rest quiet.
3I want full color
Lavender monochrome, a violet ombré, or a glitter festival eye. Purple, all in.
Orchid Tear-Duct Pop
A dab of bright orchid shimmer at the inner corner of the eye is a tiny purple detail with an outsized effect; it opens the eye, catches the light, and adds a pop of unexpected color in about five seconds. It is the easiest purple on the list.
Tap an orchid or light-purple shimmer right at the tear duct and blend it slightly up the lash line. It works over any eye look, bare or bold, and brightens tired eyes instantly.
Plush Grape Glossy Lids
Glossy grape lids press a juicy purple over the lid and seal it with a clear gloss for a wet, editorial shine. It is high-fashion and a little high-maintenance, since glossy lids crease and transfer, but nothing else looks quite as runway.
Glossy lids are for photos, not all day
Pack a deep grape shadow or cream on the lid first, then dab a lid gloss over the top just before you head out. Keep the rest of the face matte so the wet lid is the event.
Save it for photos and short evenings, since the gloss will not last all day, and reapply as needed. See euphoria makeup.
Violet-to-Pink Ombré Eyeshadow
A violet-to-pink ombré blends a deep violet at the outer corner into a soft pink at the inner, a gradient that looks like sunset on the lid. It is romantic and colorful without being loud, since the two shades melt together.
Blend where the two shades meet
Pack violet on the outer third and pink on the inner third, then blend where they meet so there is no hard line. A little shimmer over the top catches light.
Few looks carry bright color this prettily, soft enough for day yet bold enough for night. See blue makeup.
Velvety Matte Aubergine
A velvety matte aubergine washes a deep, brown-purple across the lid with a soft, powdery finish, no shimmer, just rich color. It is the sophisticated, grown-up purple eye, the one that works at the office and at dinner alike.
Blend a matte aubergine over the lid and into the crease, keeping it soft and diffused at the edges. A matte finish looks more refined and less costume than a shimmer in a deep shade.
Pair it with clean skin and a nude lip, and it becomes a neutral you happen to have done in purple.
Pastel Lavender Floating Crease
A floating crease draws a single pastel lavender line just above the crease, leaving the lid bare so the color hovers. It is the soft, dreamy take on a graphic eye, romantic rather than sharp, and a fresh way to wear purple.
Leave the lid bare so it floats
Draw the line with a pastel lavender liner or wet-packed shadow, following your natural crease and keeping it thin. The bare lid below is what makes it modern, so resist filling it in.
On deeper skin, a brighter or more pigmented lavender shows up best, since pale pastels can disappear without enough saturation.
Deep Purple Tightline Trick
The subtlest purple trick of all is tightlining the upper waterline in deep purple instead of black. No one will see the color directly, but it makes the lashes look denser and the whole eye more rested, a quiet enhancement that flatters everyone.
Press a deep purple or plum pencil into the upper waterline, right at the root of the lashes, and add mascara over the top. The purple is invisible as a line but works its magic in the reflection.
It is the purple I tell skeptics to start with, since it gives all the flattery of the color with none of the commitment.
Ultraviolet Glitter Festival Eye
For full impact, an ultraviolet glitter eye packs a bright, almost-glowing violet across the lid and tops it with cosmetic-grade glitter for a festival-ready statement. It is loud, joyful, and made to catch every light.
Pack the ultraviolet shadow first, then press cosmetic glitter onto a sticky base over the top, keeping it to the lid. Use cosmetic-grade glitter only near the eyes, never craft glitter.
Set the under-eye first, since glitter fallout loves to settle there, and lean into the brightness, it is the whole point. See festival makeup.
Who It Suits Best
The real secret to purple makeup is not the look but the shade, because there is a purple that flatters every single person. Warm, golden, and deep skin tones glow in rich plums, eggplants, and aubergines and warm-leaning violets, where the depth has real richness. Cooler and fairer complexions suit soft lavenders, lilacs, and orchids. If a purple ever looks ashy or bruised on you, you have the wrong undertone or the wrong placement, not the wrong color.
Eye color matters too: amethyst and violet make brown and hazel eyes especially vivid, while a deeper plum flatters blue and green. And remember the one rule that keeps purple flattering: place it on the lid, cheekbone, or lip rather than beneath the eye. Start with a soft lilac wash or a purple tightline, and build from there as your confidence grows.
There Is a Purple for You
If purple has always felt like a risk, the truth is that the only way to get it wrong is the wrong shade in the wrong spot. Match the depth to your skin, place it on the lid, cheek, or lip, and purple turns from intimidating into one of the most flattering colors in your kit, waking up the whole face.
Start where it feels safe, a soft lilac wash, a plum-tightlined eye, an orchid inner corner, and work up to the bolder looks as you fall for the color. There really is a purple for everyone; the fun is finding yours.
