Black eyeliner may forever be the queen of cat-eyes and winged eyeliner looks, but brown eyeliners are definitely a versatile addition to your collection. Being able to suit cool and warm skin tones, brown eyeliners are a great way to explore a greater variety of makeup styles. They can even multi-task as eyeshadow or brow liners!
Why should I use brown eyeliner instead of black eyeliner?
While black eyeliner is great for a bold and sharp look, it can be a little too intense for more natural makeup styles. Black eyeliner may also make your eyes appear smaller if applied too tightly.
In contrast, brown eyeliners come in a variety of shades that can complement different eyes and skin tones beautifully. The brown hues can blend more naturally into your lashline for the illusion of greater depth and contoured eyelids without looking too fake. With its softer tone, brown eyeliners will make your eyes seem naturally bigger and more defined.
Browse our favourite shades of brown eyeliners below.
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From amongst its greatly varied hues, this gel eyeliner features several shades of soft browns for various skin tones including Ro(Cocoa) and Sunset. The formula is moisturising with ingredients such as vitamin E and rosehip seed oil to help nourish and benefit the delicate eye area. It glides smoothly across the skin and achieves a long-wearing, intense payoff that is budge-proof once it sets.
This super creamy pencil applies perfectly on the skin and sets into a long-lasting finish all day long. The shade Demolition is a deep, cool-toned brown that works excellently as a replacement for black eyeliner to add definition and dimension to the eyes.
With an oil-free formula that is meant to be sweat, oil and water-resistant, this drugstore gel eyeliner is creamy and easy to work with when layering or creating dramatic looks. The Brown shade is a rich and warm brown that complements most Asian skin tone beautifully.
This liner’s unique, ergonomic design is just one of the many reasons why it is one of the best Korean eyeliners in the market. Laneige Finger Graphic Liner’s size and grip handle is made to fit a women’s hands snugly, allowing for more precision and control to help get the perfect line.
The foam tip is thin and flexible whereas its formula is long-lasting, making the liner a winner in many book.s Moreover, its Brown shade is a fairly neutral matte colour to suit most palettes.
This series of pencil eyeliners have brown shades that come in a variety of finishes including matte, satin and metallic, giving you numerous options to complement different looks. We’d recommend Matte Brown, Satiny Taupe and Diamond Brown as your daily go-to. They are all soft, creamy and pigmented yet smudge and transfer-proof when set.
This award-winning eyeliner needs no introduction. Famous for its highly pigmented satin black shade, Kat Von D’s warm and rich brown shade ‘Mad Max Brown’ is also well-deserving of the holy grail status. Its thin brush tip allows for extremely thin and sharp lines. You’ll also love the formula for its matte and waterproof finish
Using this dark, neutral brown would be a great option for those looking to replace their black liners with a more natural look. The soft and silky formula works well for precise application and dries down quickly into a transfer and smudge-proof finish. It has a high colour payoff and can be used on the waterline as well.
Apart from the thin pencil tip that does not require sharpening, another benefit of this kohl liner from MAC is the all-day staying power even when used on the waterline. ‘Brownborder’ and ‘Photogravure’ are both warmer brown tones that are fairly matte to suit an everyday look.
One of Korea’s bestselling pen liners, this felt-tip liner gives you maximum control to create fine and sharp lines with each swipe. The ‘Kill Brown’ shade has deep and rich pigments that is waterproof and long-wearing, and does not smear even for those with hooded eyelids.
Get an intense and quick-drying formula that will last all day when you add this eyeliner to your vanity table. The superfine marker tip delivers a waterproof formula with great precision, giving you a mess-free application that will last all day long.
Famous for its budge-free formula, you won’t have to worry about messing up your waterline with this smooth and creamy eye pencil.
It comes in several shades of brown including ‘Shade’, ‘Blitz Brown’ and ‘BLK Coffee’. But, we recommend the colour ‘Shade’ as it’s a deep matte brown that will fill in your waterline without making your eyes appear too small.
Deep, dark brown eyeliners blend gorgeously into deeper skin tones and give a wonderfully natural finish. For such a colour, you can get it in Bobbi Brown’s waterproof, humidity and sweat-resistant gel eyeline to achieve beautifully defined eyes even with seemingly no makeup. The eyeliner’s ‘Espresso Ink’ and ‘Caviar Ink’ are both neutral deep browns that will amplify the eyes seamlessly.