The rainbow in your eyes

PHOTOGRAPHY Koen Hauser • MAKEUP Sandra Govers for Ellis Faas Cosmetics & Kevin Murphy @Angelique Hoorn Management • HAIR Daan Kneppers @NCL Representation • MODEL Symilone @Jill Models • PHOTO ASSISTANT Ninette Schosstack

I SEE, SISLEY | Make up - Foundation: Phyto-Teint Expert Foundation € 85,00 • Blush: Phyto-Blush Eclat € 56,00 • Mascara: Phyto-Mascara Ultra-Stretch Mascara – Deep Black € 42 • Eyebrows: Phyto-Sourcils Perfect Eyebrow Pencil – Brun € 37 • Lips: Phyto-Lip Shine – Sheer Nude € 31

Yes, you can wear contacts to change the color of your eyes, but apart from that the irides escape the whims of fashion. They have their own way of contributing to facial beauty. They can be stunning even on a plain face. And the most beautiful woman that ever lived, known for her captivating eyes, possibly only had one.

The famous sculpture of the Egyptian queen Nefertiti shows a woman with strong black lines around her eyes and prominent black brows. If you stand before her, which you can do in the Berlin Neues Museum, you’d be surprised by the fact that her right eye socket was left hollow by the sculptor. There is only the white of her eye. Her left eye does have an iris, but it is hard to define the color.

Still, Nefertiti is undoubtedly beautiful. Which is strange, because eye color is one of the defining elements of a beautiful face. Or is it? Just like we hardly notice in Nefertiti’s face, that she is lacking an iris, we almost never talk about the color of an iris when we talk about eye makeup.

An iris can be blue, brown, grey, hazel, green or almost black, and of course this affects the perception of a face. But it seems to have no consequence for the colors we apply around the eye. A thick blue eyeliner with a light blue iris, can look just as good with a brown iris. The shade you put on an eyelid can work with every eye. That’s what makes the iris so different to skin color. A light skin works better with some colors, just like a dark skin has its own optimum palettes. You always take your skin color into account when you apply eye makeup. Not so the iris. Named after the Greek goddess of the rainbow, the iris has its own unique way of bringing beauty, even when you style it with heavy smoky eyes.

SISLEY Phyto Eye Twist €36.95