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If your makeup routine could use a little more colour, TikTok has a trick for that. Enter eyemaxxing, the viral beauty trend that uses basic colour theory and strategic makeup placement to make your natural eye colour look richer, brighter and more defined. The idea is simple: look at your eye colour, find the shade that sits opposite it on the colour wheel, then use those complementary tones in your makeup to create contrast. Blue eyes? Reach for copper and bronze. Green eyes? Try plum, berry or burgundy. Brown and hazel eyes? Purple, mauve and gold can bring out those hidden flecks. While the internet may have given the technique a very TikTok-friendly name, makeup artists have been using colour theory to enhance the eyes for years. Ahead, everything you need to know about eyemaxxing, plus a few makeup picks to help you play with the trend.
What is eyemaxxing?
Think of eyemaxxing as colour theory for your makeup bag. The trend is all about identifying your natural eye colour and choosing shades that contrast with it, making your irises appear more vibrant without actually changing their colour.
The trick comes down to the colour wheel. Shades opposite each other create contrast, which can make the colours beside them look more intense. That means warm orange, copper and bronze tones can make blue eyes stand out, while purples, plums and berry shades can emphasize green eyes. For brown and hazel eyes, there’s a little more freedom, but mauves, purples, golds and warm metallics can help highlight the different tones in the iris.
And you don’t necessarily need to go all-out with colourful eyeshadow. A swipe of complementary liner, a wash of shadow or even a coordinating blush can bring the same colour-story idea into your look.
Makeup picks to try the trend
Eyemaxxing is all about directing attention to your eyes, and a little strategic contour can help define the rest of the face without competing with your eye makeup. This easy-to-use cream contour blends over both liquid and powder makeup, making it a useful finishing touch when you’re going for a more sculpted look.
A little colour goes a long way with this viral liquid blush. The weightless formula delivers high-impact pigment with just one dot, so it’s ideal when you want to coordinate your cheeks with the complementary tones you’re using around your eyes. Choose a shade in the same warm, rosy or berry family as your eye makeup to pull the look together without overwhelming it.
For a softer take on the colour-theory trend, this cream blush melts into skin and builds from a sheer wash of colour to a more noticeable flush. The Toasties Collection is particularly suited to warm, autumnal makeup looks, making these little pots an easy way to echo copper, terracotta and toasted tones elsewhere in your makeup.
Give your eyemaxxing look a softly sculpted finish with this silky powder blush. Its buildable, velvety formula lets you layer on a complementary hue without overpowering your eye makeup, while the blurring finish keeps the overall look polished and diffused.
Take the eyemaxxing colour story beyond your eyes with this whipped lip-and-cheek mousse. The hazy matte formula gives cheeks a soft-focus flush that can echo your complementary eyeshadow shade, while the matching lip colour creates an easy monochromatic finish.
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