We all love black liner, but even the most precise kitten flick can start to feel samey if you wear it every day. A slim pencil in a rich, metallic brown is an easy way to mix things up: slick Hourglass’s 1.5mm Mechanical Gel Eye Liner in Bronze (pictured, £16, Cult Beauty) sharply along your upper lashes, or blend Stila’s Smudge Stick Waterproof Eyeliner in Lionfish (£16, Marks & Spencer) into a warm smoky eye.  

Blue liner can feel fresh and joyful (a thick azure swipe) or understated and elegant (a dark navy kohl). Glossier’s Colorslide pencil in Adult Swim (pictured, £13) – a favourite of Stylist’s beauty director Shannon – is a bit of both: an intense indigo that calls to mind Van Gogh’s The Starry Night. Want something subtler? Try Urban Decay’s Glide-On Eye Pencil in Sabbath (£12.80), a matte midnight blue that easily subs in for black. 

There’s something very glamorous – and *whispers* festive – about a rich green eye. Bobbi Brown’s Gel Eyeliner in New Black Ivy (£20) is a dark forest tone, Marc Jacobs Beauty’s Ultra-Skinny Gel Eye Crayon in (Steel)etto (pictured, £20, Net-a-Porter) is more teal, while NYX’s Slide On Eye Pencil in Golden Olive (£6.50, Boots) has a lovely khaki shimmer. All will look excellent with a black dress and a dirty martini. 

Plummy burgundy liner may seem daunting, but it’s ultra-wearable on dark skin – and makes green and hazel eyes pop brilliantly. Our beauty editor Lucy sang the praises of Victoria Beckham Beauty’s black Satin Kajal Liner in a recent Stylist Loves Beauty email, and she’s into Bordeaux, a matte dark red shade, just as much (pictured, £20). Wear with a bright lip like Eva Green for a deliciously 70s going out-out look. 

OK, it’s not as jazzy as burgundy, but a slate eyeliner is a key bit of kit. Why? Because while jet black kohl is great for nights out, it can look a little Evanescence at the bus stop at 8am – especially if you’re tired and/or hungover. A soft grey pencil like Nars’s High-Pigment Longwear Eyeliner in Haight Ashbury (£15.20, John Lewis) will add definition without looking harsh: just add blush and balm.