Green is the offbeat shade that will dominate this year's beauty scene

Many people are going green with their beauty routines — no, we're not talking about reducing, reusing, or recycling (though we fully support that, too). Last year, beauty brands such as Urban Skin Rx and Humanrace started to embrace green in their packaging and branding. The shade has even been coined Gen Z green, replacing the millennial pink we once obsessed over. Now, green — both Gen Z and other shades — has jumped off our packaging and onto our face, nails, and hair to become a trending colour in beauty looks. 

Whether you're looking for something dark like hunter green or something brighter that resembles Nickelodeon's signature neon-green slime, there's a verdant shade for you. It makes sense that so many folks have recently been adorning their nails in dark emerald hues, adopting vibrant green skunk stripes in their hair, and covering their lids with lime green pigments. 

Don't just take us at our word; check out Chiara Ferragni's glittery-green graphic liner, which she showcased on the front row at Dior's SS 2022 Haute Couture collection. Bonus points if you can coordinate your liner to your two-piece suit, too. 

Makeup artist Katie Jane Hughes attributes the colour's rise in popularity — at least as far as makeup goes — to fashion brands like Bottega Veneta, which featured knit dresses, bags, and more in the colour for its Spring/Summer 2021 show. "They've made this kelly green colour extremely trendy in fashion," she shares. "I think a lot of things that people wear in makeup stem from fashion tones and colours." She also credits nostalgia, seeing as beauty trends from the '80s and '90s (when bright colours were all too common) have come back in style.

Hughes is of the mindset that green is a neutral colour, so she believes it's fairly easy to incorporate into any beauty routine. "Green is everywhere," she shares. "Even though it might not be something you consider a neutral, just reframe your mind and how you look at that colour."

Green seems to be one of the next "it" colours for beauty trends, so we chatted with beauty experts to figure out the best ways to incorporate the shade into your makeup looks, manicures, and hairstyles.

Adding Green to Your Makeup

Beauty is what you make it, so you're more than welcome to use whatever shade of green you choose. But if you're looking for a little help, New York City-based makeup artist Tommy Napoli suggests looking at your complexion. "I'd say it's best to find greens that really complement one's skin tone or contrast ones' eye colour," he says.  

For people with olive skin tones who are looking to ease into the colour, try khaki- or olive-coloured greens because those will look neutral on your skin, according to Napoli. He recommends shimmery pastel greens for deeper skin tones for bright payoff and an ode to early-2000s glam. 

Makeup artist Danessa Myricks agrees that working with your eye colour can help you find an ideal shade of green. To bring out the green in hazel eyes, try olive shades. Myricks and Napoli recommend yellow and gold-based greens, respectively, for hazel eyes. For blue eyes, she recommends darker, richer green tones like hunter green. 

On the other hand, Napoli says, "blue-based teal greens will make blue eyes look really electric." Green eyes can be tricky, according to Myricks, but she says that "if your irises are light, go with dark olive. If they're darker, try a jade shade." Any green will work well with brown eyes, but she especially loves blue-greens to bring out the warmth.

Florida-based makeup artist Lennie Billy, on the other hand, recommends finding colours that contrast your skin's undertone. People with cool undertones should try warmer greens, while those with warmer undertones should lean towards cooler greens (think olive versus turquoise). This will make the colours stand out against your skin. On the flip side, Myricks says you can work with shades that match your undertones for a softer look. Fair skin, as one example, can try pale pastel greens. 

If you're really stuck, Myricks recommends olive as the one must-have shade in your makeup bag because it works on all skin tones. "It has a beautiful earthiness to its tone that makes it so easy to integrate into a look regardless of eye colour or skin tone," she shares. "It feels the most like a wearable neutral."

There are multiple green shades that can work for your skin tone and style, so don't feel limited. All you'll need to do is a little swatching to figure it out. 

Green Eye Makeup Looks to Try 

Once you've figured out the green shades you're going to use, it's time to decide on the makeup looks themselves. A simple way to go is creating a sharp green eyeliner with green eyeliner. You can also mix different shades of green liners together for an ombré winged liner.

Napoli recommends mixing shimmery and matte greens for a monochrome look, and don't be afraid to really dip into the pigment and saturate the colour on your lid. Pair the blended-out shadows with black eyeliner and mascara to "make it a regal, sexy, fashion-forward statement."

You can also use colour theory to wear different colours at the same time. Myricks suggests pairing green shadows with darker purple ones because the shades complement each other well. "Try tapping a reflective green shadow or cream over a matte purple shadow," she shares.

If you're intimidated by the vibrant hue, Myricks recommends using green as an accent colour. Line your waterline with a neon or shamrock-green hue, for example. Billie likes blending a light-green shade in the inner corners of the eye, a rising makeup trend. For more intermediate makeup users, she recommends a halo eye look with shimmery green pigments blended right onto the middle of the lid.

For the bold and daring, try a graphic liner look, Billie says. With graphic liner, you can simply paint abstract shapes on your face in any way you choose. You can draw rectangles, dots, hearts, or add squiggles in multiple hues. 

Best Green Makeup Products  

Though we haven't yet seen green blush (not sure that'll ever take off, TBH), there are plenty of eye and lip products on the market. Starting with shadows, you can opt for a monochromatic green palette, like the Huda Beauty Wild Obsessions Eye Shadow Palette in Python, which Billie recommends. She also likes  Natasha Denona's New Mini Gold Palette, and Melt Cosmetics's Smoke Sessions Eye Shadow Palette.  And Napoli likes the Maybelline New York City Mini Eyeshadow Palette in Urban Jungle because its unique shades look great on most skin tones. 

Don't be afraid to have fun with multidimensional greens, too. Myricks suggests her brand's duo-chrome Twin Flames liquid eye shadow. We love the shade Soulmate.

To line your eyes, Napoli advocates for Pixi's Endless Silky Eye Pen in the matte shades Sage Gold (deep olive) and Matte Khaki (moss green). For an eye pencil with a shimmery finish, Billie loves the Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Pencil in the metallic-green hue Electric Empire. 

If you're looking for a liquid alternative, Billie loves the water-activated Suva Beauty Hydra FX Liners in the neon green Fanny Pack. You can also use one of Danessa Myricks's Colorfix pigments, of which Hughes is a big fan. We love Secret Garden in hunter green. 

For the lips, try MAC's Retro Matte Liquid Lip Colour in Young Attitude a vampy teal green or Gucci's Rouge à Lèvres Mat Lipstick in the jade shade, Valentine Verdante.

Green Manicures

Whether it's olive or emerald, green makes the perfect nail polish colour in any context. In the past, nail artist Sigourney Nuñez told Allure that green was a nail colour reserved for holidays like St. Patrick's Day and Christmas. But she says that the COVID pandemic pushed people to embrace green manicures all year round. "More people are gravitating toward those nature-inspired versions of [green] that inspire zen," she says. 

You don't have to stick to simple manicures in one solid colour, by the way. Try a green gradient manicure, which we predicted would be a big trend, instead. Nuñez says all you have to do is pick one green hue and pair it with a couple of similar green shades. You can also do the opposite and pair a green hue with contrasting shades for more of a Skittles-style manicure. 

Another approach is to play around with negative space, which is one of her go-to nail-art techniques. On a natural nail, add different shapes of green polish to only certain sections of the nail. You can paint an angled French tip, a half-moon shape, or abstract shapes with one green shade or multiple hues. 

Nail artist Gina Edwards recommends using green as an accent colour with a contrasting base colour for a statement-making manicure. You can try a blue or orange base with polka dots in a lime green hue for example. She likes multicoloured French manicures as well. Use green as the base with neon tips or add green tips to a coloured or neutral base. She says you can also play around with the finish and add a chrome effect to a green manicure with nail polishes.

Additionally, you can adhere 3D decals, another big nail trend for 2022, to your nails. She recommends trying green gemstones, even if you add just a few. But why stop there? Try other green nail accessories, like teddy bears, fluffy pom poms, and even flower charms. 

Best Green Nail Polishes 

Edwards loves deep jade and olive green nail polishes. We recommend Nailberry's L'Oxygéné Oxygenated Nail Lacquer in Glamazon and Essie's olive nail polish in Win Me Over. 

How to Dye Your Hair Green 

Yes, green hair might be intimidating, but if you're not ready for the commitment, ease into the trend with temporary hair sprays and masks from brands like Good Dye Young. You can make a statement with lime-colored hair or try minty hues for a pretty pastel style. Darker greens are a more subtle option. 

If you're not a light blonde, bleaching your hair is necessary for the best colour payoff, according to hair colourist Nikki Ferrara. Because going blonde can require some intense processing, she recommends leaving it to the professionals (as do we). "Some of these [green] shades can really wreak havoc on a porcelain sink or tub with staining," she adds. She advises bringing inspirational photos to your hair colourist so they can customise a shade for you.

Dyeing your whole head green is extremely fun, though — last year, I tried a shamrock-green hue on my hair, and 10 out of 10 would recommend it to a friend — but you can experiment with different placements. Dyed roots are a good option; just look at Billie Eilish. Before she bleached, then dyed her hair brown, the singer was known for her neon-green roots that faded into a jet-black colour.

There's also the skunk stripe trend, which basically involves a single strip of hair dyed in a contrasting colour from the rest of the head. You can try it as money piece highlights or anywhere else you see fit. Another alternative is dyeing just the underside of your head green. Mixing different colours together for an ombré style works well, too. The bottom line is there is no limit to the styles you can try with green.

Best Green Hair Dyes 

Ferrara recommends using hair dyes from brands such as Manic Panic and Arctic Fox, which are known for their rainbow assortment of hair colors. We suggest Manic Panic Classic High Voltage Hair Colour in Venus Envy and Green Envy for a true green colour. Arctic Fox's Semi-Permanent Hair Color in Phantom Green is a darker emerald hue. 

For pastel green shades, Good Dye Young's Semi-Permanent Hair Color in Wondermint is perfect. If you're looking for a more temporary option that washes out after a few shampoos, there's Good Dye Young Poser Paste in Kowabunga and Bleach London's Super Cool Colour in Green Juice. If you're not interested in bleaching your hair, Revolution has Green Envy that work for brown hair, though the colour won't appear as vibrant.  

As evidenced above, green can be incorporated into your beauty in a myriad of ways that work for you and your personal style. Whether you're looking to go big and bold or just want a subtle addition of colour, the first step is just finding which shade works best for you. 

This feature originally appeared on Allure.