Plum is the eyeshadow colour Nikol Johnson says you can wear as your signature for decades, not just one season. In this tutorial she builds a soft, romantic plum eye around the returning Naughty Nancy 3-Well Palette — a fan-favourite reformulated with a light, middle and deep plum shade — then matches the lip to the same plum family and debunks the idea that only warm skin tones can wear purple.
Key takeaways
- Plum and mauve are among the most flattering eyeshadow families for mature skin because they add warmth, depth and romance without the harshness of black or charcoal.
- Naughty Nancy is a returning fan-favourite, reformulated in a three-well format — a light, a middle and a deep plum shade — that simplifies placement for any skill level.
- Cool and neutral skin tones can absolutely wear purple — Nikol debunks the common "warm skin only" advice and wears the palette on her own cool-neutral complexion.
- Eye primer is the foundation of every plum eye: it neutralises lid discolouration so the purple reads true to shade instead of muddying into brown.
- Matching the lip to the eye in the same plum family creates a cohesive, pulled-together look without either feature competing for attention.
- A plum waterproof eyeliner lifted at the outer corner gives mature eyes structure and definition — skip the "no liner over 50" advice entirely.
What is the Naughty Nancy palette and why is it coming back?
The Naughty Nancy 3-Well Eyeshadow Palette is one of the most requested products in the Nikol Beauty catalogue. Nikol originally created it for her Aunt Nancy — a woman who loved colour but could never find a purple palette soft enough for everyday wear. The first edition sold out repeatedly, and the reformulated version returns with upgraded pigment, a three-well layout (light, middle and deep plum) and the same talc-free, cruelty-free Italian manufacturing as the rest of the five-palette collection.
What makes it a fan favourite is the tonal range. The three wells live in the same pink-plum family but span from a sheer mauve wash to a rich, smoky grape, so one compact handles everything from a subtle daytime eye to a soft evening look. You use each well for a specific job — the light shade brightens, the middle shade colours, and the deep shade defines — and they blend into each other seamlessly because they share the same undertone. That effortless coordination is what keeps the palette in restock queues.
Can you really wear plum eyeshadow on cool or neutral skin?
Yes — and Nikol feels strongly about this. One of the most common pieces of makeup advice says purple eyeshadow is only for warm skin tones, but Nikol pushes back on that rule throughout the video. She has cool-to-neutral undertones herself and wears plum regularly, both on camera and in everyday life. The idea that cool skin cannot carry purple comes from confusing intense violet (which can clash with blue-pink undertones) with soft plum-mauve (which is essentially a cooled-down rose with depth).
Plum actually complements cool and neutral skin because it shares the same blue-based warmth. On warm skin it reads more berry; on cool skin it reads more grape — both are flattering. The only version that risks looking off is a very orange-based burgundy on very pink skin, and even that is a matter of intensity, not a hard rule. Nikol's advice: if you love the colour, wear it. Start with a sheer wash of the lightest well, see how it sits, and build from there. Nobody else gets to decide what colours work on your face.
How does Nikol build the plum eye step by step?
Nikol always does the eyes first so any fallout lands on bare skin and can be cleaned away before she applies concealer and base. Here is the exact sequence from the tutorial:
- Prime the lids. Swirl a small amount of Eye Primer onto a fingertip, tap it into the centre of the lid, then blend from the inner corner and the base of the lashes up toward the brow bone. Keep primer on the lids only — not underneath the eye.
- Place the middle shade. With a flat shadow brush from the Essential Brush Set, press the middle plum across the centre of the lid, then sweep down toward the inner corner and out to the outer corner. Press to pick up pigment rather than dragging.
- Deepen the crease. Switch to a small tapered brush and press the darkest plum along the lash line, then work it into the crease with a windshield-wiper motion. If you have hooded eyes, carry the colour slightly above the crease so it shows when the eyes are open.
- Blend. Use the Eyeshadow Blending Brush to diffuse every edge upward so there are no hard lines. The goal is a gradient from deep at the lash line to soft at the crease.
- Brighten the brow bone. Sweep the lightest shade across the brow bone as a highlight. This lifts the arch and creates visual separation between the colour and the brow.
- Curl and line. Curl the lashes before lining so nothing disturbs the liner later. Run Plum Waterproof Eyeliner along the top lash line, thickening at the outer corner and flicking gently upward. Line about three-quarters of the lower lash line and soften with a short smudge brush.
- Apply mascara. Wiggle Volume Up Mascara at the base of the lashes and comb slowly through to the tips, catching every lash.
How do plum shades compare to neutral and smoky palettes on mature eyes?
Each colour family serves a different mood and moment. The practical question most women ask is whether plum replaces their neutral palette or adds to it — and the answer is that it adds a dimension neutrals cannot reach on their own.
| Factor | Plum / mauve palette | Neutral taupe palette | Dark smoky palette |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mood | Romantic, warm, slightly dramatic | Polished, professional, invisible | Bold, evening-forward, high impact |
| Wearability over 40 | High — adds depth without heaviness | Very high — disappears into the skin | Moderate — needs careful blending |
| Undertone friendliness | Flatters cool, warm and neutral undertones | Warm taupes suit most; cool greys can look ashy | Charcoal can flatten cool skin |
| Daytime versatility | A sheer wash works for day; build up for night | Seamless day look in minutes | Generally evening; too dense for casual day |
| Lip pairing | Plum liner + gloss or nude lip | Nude liner + natural lipstick | Nude or bold lip depending on intensity |
| Best starting palette | Naughty Nancy (3-well plum) | Le Bottled Blonde (3-well taupe) | Sweet Carol (3-well plum-brown) |
Most women in Nikol's audience keep a neutral and a plum palette as a pair. The neutral handles work, errands and casual weekends; the plum handles dates, dinners, weddings and any day you simply want more colour. Learning both palettes uses the same technique — prime, place, blend, define, line — so the switch is effortless once the muscle memory is there.
Why does Nikol say women over 50 should not skip eyeliner?
This is one of her strongest opinions in the video. She says the advice telling women over 50 to ditch eyeliner makes her a little crazy, because liner gives mature eyes structure, definition and a visual anchor that shadow alone cannot provide. Without liner the eye can look unfinished — the shadow blends out into the skin with no frame.
Her technique is what makes liner work at any age. Instead of a thick, flat line that weighs the eye down, she keeps the pencil tight to the lash base, thickens slightly at the outer corner, and flicks upward. She lines only about three-quarters of the lower lash line so the inner corner stays open and bright, and she softens everything with a smudge brush so there are no hard edges. The result is a lifted, defined eye that looks intentional without looking heavy. Everyone's anatomy is different, so she encourages adjusting the thickness and placement to whatever feels right for your eyes — the point is not to abandon liner entirely.
How do you match the lip to a plum eye?
Nikol keeps the entire look in the plum family so the eye and lip feel connected rather than competing. She lines with Cameo Waterproof Lip Liner — a rose-plum shade that echoes the eyeshadow tone — and fills the entire lip so the liner acts as a base colour. For a gloss finish she tops it with Manifest & Glow Lip Gloss, which lightens any colour underneath into a soft, dimensional sheen. For a softer lipstick effect she fills the lip with the liner and layers Rose Lip Balm on top.
The principle works with any plum eye: pick a lip that lives in the same temperature and saturation range as the shadow. If the eye is a sheer mauve wash, a nude-pink lip is enough. If the eye is built up to a smoky grape, a deeper berry liner grounds the lip. Matching within the same family creates unity; mixing families (say a plum eye with an orange lip) can make both features look disconnected.
How does Nikol finish the base and cheeks after the eye?
With the eyes done, she cleans up any fallout with an oil-based eye-makeup remover on a cotton pad — this is why she does eyes before concealer. She brightens the under-eye area with Just Peachy Color Corrector pressed into the inner corner and blended outward, then calms redness with No Redness Beauty Stix wherever she sees pink or red tones.
She applies BB Cream (or your preferred base — foundation, CC cream or tinted moisturiser) buffed in with the Foundation Buffing Brush, adding Creamy Concealer only where needed. She sets and brightens with Nikita Banana Brightening Powder using a flat brush, adds a plum-toned blush on the apples to echo the eye, and finishes brows with the Skinny Brow Pencil in light, natural strokes.
What are the most common mistakes when wearing plum eyeshadow over 40?
- Choosing a plum that is too red. Overly warm, orange-based burgundies can clash with cool undertones and read more like irritation than intention. Stick to blue-based plums and mauves — the kind in Naughty Nancy — which register as romantic rather than inflamed.
- Skipping primer under plum shades. Purple pigment is one of the first colours to shift on bare skin because it interacts with natural lid discolouration. Without primer, a beautiful plum can turn grey or muddy within an hour.
- Packing the darkest shade too high. The deepest well belongs at the lash line and outer corner, not swept all the way to the brow bone. On mature or hooded eyes, too much depth above the crease looks heavy. Keep the deep shade low and blend upward gradually.
- Using black liner with a plum eye. Black creates a harsh line that interrupts the soft plum gradient. A plum or dark-brown liner integrates with the shadow and maintains the cohesive, romantic tone of the look.
- Ignoring the lip entirely. A bold plum eye with an unfinished lip looks unbalanced. You do not need a statement lip — a matching plum liner worn sheer or topped with a nude gloss is enough to tie everything together.
- Believing the "warm skin only" rule. This stops cool- and neutral-toned women from ever trying plum, when in reality soft plum-mauves are among the most universally flattering shades. Test it with a sheer wash before you decide it does not work.
Can plum be your everyday colour or is it only for evenings?
It can absolutely be everyday — and that is exactly Nikol's point when she calls it a colour you wear for decades. The lightest well of the Naughty Nancy palette sweeps on as a soft, barely-there mauve wash that reads as a warmer, more interesting version of a neutral. Pair it with a thin line and one coat of mascara and you have a weekday eye that takes the same time as a taupe but feels more alive.
The difference between day and evening plum is simply how far you build the darkest well. For day, skip it entirely or press one light layer into the outer corner. For evening, build it along the lash line and into the crease, smudge the eyeliner into a soft haze, and add a second coat of mascara. You go from office-appropriate to dinner-ready without removing anything or switching palettes. That range is what makes plum a signature colour rather than a special-occasion one — it scales from whisper to statement with the same three wells.
The bottom line
Plum is not a trend — it is one of the most flattering, versatile colour families a woman over 40 can own. The Naughty Nancy palette makes wearing it easy: three coordinated wells, a seven-step application, and a colour that works on cool, warm and neutral skin alike. Match the lip, lift the liner, and wear it as often as you want. Ready to add plum to your routine? Shop the eyeshadow collection, explore the full eyes edit, or browse all makeup to build a complete look.
Frequently asked questions
What shades are in the Naughty Nancy palette?
Naughty Nancy contains three plum shades in one compact: a light mauve, a medium plum, and a deep grape. They are coordinated so each well blends into the next, giving you a complete eye from a single palette. The reformulated version is talc-free, cruelty-free and made in Italy.
Can cool or neutral skin tones wear plum eyeshadow?
Yes. Nikol debunks the "warm skin only" advice throughout this tutorial. She has cool-to-neutral undertones and wears plum regularly. Soft plum-mauve shades share the same blue-based warmth as cool skin, so they complement rather than clash. Start with a sheer wash and build up once you see how the colour sits on your lid.
Is plum eyeshadow too bold for daytime?
Not at all. The lightest well of Naughty Nancy sweeps on as a subtle mauve wash that reads as a warmer version of a neutral. Pair it with a thin line and one coat of mascara and you have a weekday eye that takes the same time as a taupe. Build the darker wells for evening when you want more depth.
Should women over 50 wear eyeliner with plum eyeshadow?
Nikol says absolutely yes. Liner gives the plum eye structure and definition that shadow alone cannot provide. She keeps the pencil tight to the lash base, thickens at the outer corner, flicks upward, and lines only three-quarters underneath so the eye looks lifted. A plum liner integrates with the shadow for a cohesive finish.
How do you match your lip to a plum eye look?
Stay in the same plum family. Nikol lines with a rose-plum waterproof lip liner, fills the lip, and tops with a gloss that softens the colour. The matched temperature creates a cohesive look without either the eye or lip competing. For a sheer plum eye, a nude-pink lip is enough; for a built-up smoky plum, a deeper berry liner grounds everything.
What is the difference between Naughty Nancy and Sweet Carol palettes?
Both live in the plum family, but Naughty Nancy leans pinker and more romantic while Sweet Carol is deeper and warmer, closer to a plum-brown that bridges into smoky territory. Naughty Nancy suits someone who wants a soft, rosy plum; Sweet Carol suits someone who wants a richer, more dramatic plum with warm undertones.
How do you prevent plum eyeshadow from turning grey on the lid?
Eye primer is essential. Purple pigment interacts with natural lid discolouration more than any other colour family, and without primer it shifts grey or muddy within an hour. Apply primer from the lash line to the brow bone, let it set, and the plum reads true to shade all day.
Why did Nikol create the Naughty Nancy palette?
She made it for her Aunt Nancy, who loved colour but could never find a purple palette soft enough for everyday wear. The original edition sold out repeatedly, and the returning reformulated version upgrades the pigment while keeping the same soft, romantic plum tones that made it a favourite. Three wells simplify placement so anyone can wear it confidently.
Can you wear Naughty Nancy on hooded eyes?
Yes. The matte-to-satin textures sit smoothly on hooded lids without emphasising the fold the way heavy frost can. Nikol carries the deepest shade slightly above the crease so it remains visible when the eyes are open, and she angles everything upward toward the tail of the brow to create a lifting effect.
