The next best thing to wearing all black is wearing all gray. I love monochromatic outfits in shades of steel, dove, graphite, silver, etc., etc., so much, but they do have a tendency to wash me out if I’m not careful. Lots of colors look great with gray (red, pink, blue, etc.), but my favorite combos with this neutralest of neutrals are gray and green, gray and orange, and gray and purple. So here are three beauty looks using those colors that literally could not be easier, even for total makeup neophytes! You can wear these separately or combine them; no matter what you’re gonna look bangin’.

I. The Two-Toned Green Eye

What you’ll need:

• An eyelid primer (this is the one I used, in Sheer).
• Two green eye shadows. (I used the Kelly green from e.l.f.’s Studio Endless Eyes Pro Eyeshadow Palette and the metallic green (Loaded) from Urban Decay’s Dangerous Palette.)
• The mascara of your choice.

How to do it:

1. Prep your eyelids with some primer, which will prevent your hard work from sliding off over the course of the day.

2. Swipe the lighter green over your whole entire eyelid.

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3. Apply the darker green on the outer corners of your eyes and right below your brow bone (in the crease, if you have one).

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4. Apply some mascara and that’s it!

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II. Juicy Orange Lips

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What you’ll need:

• Lip balm or lip moisturizer.
• A lip liner in a neutral color.
• Not one but TWO orange lip colors: a matte one (I used M.A.C.’s matte lipstick in So Chaud) and another that has a glossy sheen to it (mine’s Vesuvius Liquid Lipstick in Vesuvian Coral, by Lipstick Queen).

How to do it:

1. Start with smooth, moisturized lips.

2. Use your lip liner to line your lips, then fill them in all the way—like the eye shadow primer in the first look, this will help your makeup stay on for longer.

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3. The next layer of color is your matte lipstick.

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You can stop here if you prefer the matte look, but if you want your lips to look super juicy, proceed to step 4:
4. Top it all off with a layer of gloss.

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III. Dark, Dramatic Nails

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What you’ll need:

• A base coat and top coat.
• A dark purple nail polish. (I used Essie’s Under The Twilight.)

I don’t need to give you instructions for this one, do I? Just apply your base coat, two coats of color, then your top coat, letting each coat dry before moving on to the next one.

See, I promised you this would be easy! Now get out there and shine. ♦