Neutral gold eyeshadow, like a gold gloss, is universally flattering and helps brighten the eyes, helping you look more bright-eyed and awake. "Gold eyeshadow is more eye-catching than just brown eyeshadow, but not as intense as a purple. Gold eyes are more of a whisper than a scream, which is nice," says Maderich. The Bobbi Brown palette comes with five shades, so odds are good that you'll find one you love. You can use each as a separate eyeshadow, or you can swivel a fluffy blush brush over the palette and use as a flattering highlighter on your cheekbones.
"A shade of pinky brown is a really good neutral, because it adds definition to the lips but won't overpower your face or even your natural lip color," says Maderich. And since this shade has neutral undertones, it's a universally good pick for every skin tone. Insider tip: You can use this pinky-brown lipstick to correct or reshape thin lips. "Women always complain about a lack of an upper lip. I hate it when people use red lipstick to reshape their lips -- it usually makes them look like Joan Crawford," says Maderich. "With a pinky shade of brown, you can overdraw your lips and it'll look pretty darn natural."
Bonus: "Pinky-nude is a beautiful color to wear if you have rosacea," says Maderich. "If you wear a lip color that's too red or too blue, it'll bring out the underlying redness in your cheeks."
While black is often every woman's go-to eyeliner shade, Maderich says he doesn't like black on everybody. That's because a lot of black eyeliners have blue undertones. On the other hand, "a nice dark chocolate brown eyeliner looks good on everybody." Guerra agrees. Her favorite choco brown liner is MAC Eye Kohl in Teddy, because "it doesn't lean too red, making it the perfect all-purpose eye enhancer. Reddish tones can make your eyes look tired." Apply the liner to your top lashline for a natural look, or smudge it out with a brush to make your eyes really stand out.
It's a cult favorite for good reason: This peachy pink blush with just a hint of golden shimmer is flattering for most skin tones, because everybody has a little pink, peach, or gold in their skin, says Maderich. "The sheer bit of gold always makes the skin come to life. Whenever I'm in a hurry, I always reach for this blush, because I know it'll make anybody look good."
"Don't be afraid of the green undertone of this long-wear cream eyeshadow," says Guerra. "The shimmery greenish-gray makes the perfect smoky eye -- without the harshness of black eyeshadow." She shares tips on how to wear the shadow below:
Step 1: Apply to your lids using your fingertips. Step 2: Smudge a black or brown eyeliner over it and blend. Step 3: Top with black mascara and you're done. Step 4: For bonus drama, top with another universally flattering shade, Benefit Velvet Eyeshadow in Where There's Smoke, $18.
Tell me if you've been here before: You see a picture in a magazine of a stunning fuchsia pink lipstick that looks AMAZING on the model, so you promptly rip out the magazine page and hightail it to Sephora with one mission: To get that fuchsia lipstick.
But after 30 minutes of trying on eight different "fuchsia" lipsticks, you end up walking out of Sephora clutching your makeup equivalent of a security blanket -- your go-to sheer pink lip gloss.
Look, we love having options -- but the endless number of hues and ever-so-subtle variations of peaches, pinks, and corals often have us breathing into a brown paper bag before resorting to our usual neutral makeup shades.
Don't be fooled. This goldmine of products isn't your typical "safe" makeup roundup. We pumped celebrity makeup artists David Maderich and Christina Guerra for the products they use on all of their celebrity clients, from pale-skinned Julianne Moore to chocolate-complexioned Kerri Washington. They say these 11 universally flattering makeup picks work well on every skin tone -- including yours. So, what's first on their lists these days? The universally flattering fuchsia lipstick, of course.
