Colour-Blocked Eyeshadow Is The Instagram Beauty Trend You Need To See

Sometime around the turn of the 20th century, Dutch painter Piet Mondrian started working with stark lines and geometric shapes in bold, high-contrast colours, a form of abstract art he called Neo-Plasticism — and what we now know colloquially as colour-blocking. The art world was never the same... and neither was fashion, for that matter. Who could forget Yves Saint Laurent's iconic 1965 collection featuring shift dresses directly inspired by some of the artist's tableaus?

All these decades later, and you'll still find colour-blocking everywhere from couture shows to the aisles of Forever 21. But it's not just the fashion world that's pulled inspiration from the simplified shapes and primary colour palette: The style can be seen in the work of some of the beauty industry's most talented makeup artists, too.

Whether it's a desire to leave behind the ubiquitous cat-eye, an homage to Mondrian, or just for pure, unadulterated fun, we're loving the effect. Ahead, check out seven colour-blocked looks we can't wait to copy.