The Hair Colors That Will Make Your Brown Eyes Stand Out

For brown-eyed girls, their genetic destiny is a mixed blessing. Sure, there's that fun Van Morrison song, but darker eyes tend to fade into the background in a way that blue and green eyes don't. There are, however, a few tricks you can use to help them stand out. The most obvious is makeup, like choosing the best eyeliner colors for brown eyes, but the right hair color can make a huge difference as well.

So how do you choose? We asked the experts, including Leslie Shores, master colorist at Eric Marshall Salon in Nashville, Tennessee, and Tiffanie Richards, master colorist at Louise O'Conner Salon in New York City. When it comes to selecting a hair color to bring out a client's brown eyes, Shores exclusively tells Women, "I like to also take into mind their skin tone and natural hair color," to help guide the options.

The exact shade of brown is also an important factor. "If you really look, there are so many different tones in most people's eyes," Shores continues. "I follow the distinct color of the flecks each person has in their eyes to also help guide me in choosing a hair color that is custom for them." When it comes to specific shades, both master colorists agreed that warmth, depth, and richness are the keys to making brown eyes pop.

Good news! If you have brown eyes, you probably have brown hair, so you're already several steps closer to your ideal color. You might just need to turn up the heat a notch if your brown hair leans more mousy than mousse-y, like with a rich chocolate brown. "Rich chocolate brown is one of my favorite choices for brown eyes because it creates depth without competing with the eye," Richards exclusively tells Women.

The key is to really define the tones in your eyes. People who have more understated, cooler-toned brown eyes may want to consider an equally subdued hair color to keep them from battling it out, but those with more golden tones can go full steam ahead with layers of color you would find in a baker's display case. "The similar tones [of chocolate brown] make the warmth in brown eyes look richer, especially when the color has a subtle caramel or chestnut dimension," Richards confirms.

You may think your brown eyes preclude any chance of finding out if blonds have more fun, but that's not necessarily true. "Depending on the skin tone and the texture of their hair, a lot of dark-eyed people can pull off shades of blond, especially beige if you can get them this light without damage to their hair," Shores exclusively tells Women. This is especially true for those with lighter brown eyes. "For medium to light brown eyes, I prefer gold caramel and amber tones to really match the natural tones of their eyes," Shores continues. "It looks so beautiful to match the flecks and different shades in their eyes and enhances their overall appearance and skin color."

Richards is also on board the caramel train. "Warm caramel blond can make brown eyes look noticeably brighter," she exclusively tells Women. In fact, she thinks it looks great with darker brown eyes, too. "The golden tones create contrast against the deeper eye color, almost like adding a little light around the face," she points out. The secret to pulling off blond hair with brown eyes, Shores says, is to keep it warm. "Normally, the darker the eye color, the warmer their hair will pull when going lighter, so I normally suggest embracing some sort of warmth in the hair," she says.

If you're ready to really stop traffic with your hair and your eyes, Shores exclusively tells Women that copper and ginger tones will help you accomplish both. "Copper is especially beautiful on brown eyes because of the warmth it shares with brown irises," Richards further explains. Again, this is a combination that depends heavily on your unique kaleidoscope of tones. "That coppery contrast can bring out the amber honey or reddish flecks that are sometimes hidden in brown eyes," Richards points out.

When it comes to red hair, however, there's a wide world of options available to brown-eyed girls. "This eye color can also really pull off almost any shade of red," Shores insists. In fact, those with darker brown eyes might want to consider darker red shades. "Violet and auburn tones of red will have the darkness in the hair complement the dark of their eyes," Shores continues. If you lean toward a more Gothic style, there's never been a better excuse to go blood red.

"Deep espresso creates a more dramatic effect," Richards tells Women exclusively. "The darker hair frames the eyes and makes the whites of the eyes appear brighter, which can make brown eyes look deeper and more defined." This is a good color to choose if cooler tones in your eyes rule out chocolate brown, and Shores especially likes it for darker eyes. "For dark brown eyes, rich dark espresso or black all over color complement," she exclusively tells Women.

However, with such dark colors, take care to make sure the contrast isn't too stark. "I think it's important to add in dimension so you can really light up the darkness," Shores continues. "It will add richness and depth to the eye color." One easy way to do that is to add highlights. "With darker shades, add light brown balayage off the root mixed into the hair to make it look natural," Shores instructs. It just so happens that caramel balayage on dark brown hair is a hair color trend that will be everywhere in fall 2026, so opting for a highlighted deep espresso will make your brown eyes stand out and keep you on trend.