It happens from time to time: you see a color that's just too gorgeous to pass up...or you receive a color that's almost perfect...but it's too dark/vibrant/glam/all three for everyday wear (especially if you work in a low-key, conservative office). However, you don't have to relegate That Color to the bottom of your makeup drawer, buff it into invisibility, or even hide it among your kids' "dress-up" supplies.

Underpainting

Apply it damp (foiling) to your crease or inner lid. Don't buff it away, just soften the edges a tiny little bit. Let that layer dry. Then carefully apply your all-over color right on top of it. This works best for dark blues/greens/purples underneath pinks/peaches/taupes. You may have to experiment around a bit to find under/over combinations that work well; but you may come up with some really amazing, interesting looks.

Accents

A small dab of the color on the corner of the inner eye lets you wear the color without wearing enough of it to set off the Dress Code Squad's Nonconformity Detector. It's all but hidden when your eye is open, but it is visible - and does change your look.

Liner Pigments

Use a color, any color, as an eyeliner - either by itself or over a liner pencil (both for extra adhesion and an extra boost of color.) If that still won't work for your particular problematic color, mix the standout with some matte black pigment powder and make yourself a "blackened" liner shadow. Bare Escentuals has done just that with their Black Ruby and Black Emerald liner shadows - you can do the same with that screamingly bright blue, or that arrest-me-red shadow that's too dark for use as a blush.

Glaze

Kind of a cousin-technique to the underpainting: use a light wash of this standout color to provide a base coat (wet application) or even a superlight finishing layer (dry application).

The above tips don't get into ideas like mixing the pigments wholesale - though if you've tried just about everything and can't get it to work, that may be your best bet.

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