The Reason Princess Diana Wore Strong Blue Eyeliner Was Actually Genius

The '90s had no shortage of style icons, from Naomi Campbell to Jennifer Aniston. But the undisputed crown of pop cultural relevance must go to the late Princess Diana, who spent most of the decade redefining her identity away from the royal family. The Princess of Wales was loved primarily for her kind heart and charity work, but let's not beat around the bush: Her fashion and beauty game had a lot to do with her enduring legacy. After all, this is the woman who made bike shorts and bixies cool — particularly impressive when she was expected to do no more than maintain the same royal sartorial standards that had been in place for centuries. We're still taking style notes from Diana decades later, and the best tip of all was one of her earliest beauty moves. 

Some of the most iconic photos of the princess from the '80s show her with electric-blue eyeliner, which certainly isn't royal protocol. As it turns out, this was more than Di celebrating one of the biggest trends of the era. The blue shade was strategic, specifically used to highlight her blue eyes. Speaking to Vogue Australia, Diana's makeup artist, Mary Greenwell, revealed that accentuating her natural features was the assignment, and the princess understood it. "I loved enhancing her beauty, making her look glamorous for the red carpet and then making her look and feel relaxed in her own skin the rest of the time," Greenwell explained. "She wore make-up extremely well." 

A picture's worth a thousand words, and the evidence is clear that the blue liner did its job perfectly for Princess Diana. So, it was surprising for fans at the time when she suddenly switched up her makeup routine, leaving her signature blue behind by the time the '90s rolled around. 

Princess Diana could have continued wearing blue eyeliner until her life was tragically cut short in 1997, and we wouldn't have said a word. But the '90s brought a lot of changes for the princess, including a high-profile divorce from King Charles III (then the Prince of Wales). Princess Diana's wardrobe changed after leaving the royal family, and sadly for the blue-liner fans, her go-to eye makeup was kicked to the curb. According to Mary Greenwell, she convinced the princess to ditch her favorite hue simply for aesthetics. "I think beiges and browns are just so much prettier. Simple as that," she shared with Yahoo! Beauty in 2017. Even though Diana "loved to exaggerate her gorgeous eyes and wear loads of mascara," Greenwell noted that the ultimate goal was to have her looking "subtle and appropriate for the occasion." Contrary to what some might have expected from one of the biggest celebrities in history, Diana "felt no need to be showy," per Greenwell.

Those who knew the princess personally might not have been so surprised that she bid adieu to her '80s makeup, as she was far from set in her ways when it came to her beauty game. "She loved makeup and loved experimenting," Greenwell added. "It wasn't to the point of going from green eyeshadow to blue eyeshadow, but just experimenting with ways to bring her eyes out more. It was just much more about really getting her to look absolutely beautiful all the time." While Diana might have ultimately decided to lose the blue, it was still a genius choice for emphasizing her blue eyes, and the rest of the beauty world should still follow suit.

Naturally, the best way to replicate this aesthetic is with a swipe of strategic liner. We recreated Princess Diana's blue eyeliner look with a budget find that was giving '80s it-girl, but any option will do. Green-eyed babes can use the same logic with green liner, which will complement their eyes in the same way, but they can also highlight that color with a contrasting liner, such as red. Blue eyeliner also works for green eyes, but the result won't be quite as strong as blue on blue. Blue eyeliner works for brown eyes, too, and will draw attention to the area thanks to the contrast. But to make brown eyes look browner, follow Diana's idea and match your liner — brown isn't as harsh as black liner and brings out the brown tones more efficiently. Hazel is the one eye color where blue liner probably won't serve you as well. Instead, brown or green liner will highlight those natural shades within your eyes, and if you're looking for a stronger contrasting effect, reach for purple.

One of the reasons why Diana's eyeliner was so alluring was because it fit perfectly with the rest of her makeup, particularly when it came to her lips. "But she always looked great with a soft mouth, rather than a hard red," Mary Greenwell told Vogue Australia. "She looked amazing in red once in a while, but she looked lovely with a muted, berry mouth. She had wonderful eyes that you could accentuate, and her skin was amazing." The makeup artist added that Diana opted for less product during the day and a heavier look at night. To follow in her footsteps, keep the rest of your makeup on the lighter side and let your complementary eyeliner be the star of the show. Looking for more icon-approved beauty tips? Here's why Princess Diana always kept her hair short.