Complementary or Contrasting colours are those opposite each other in the colour wheel . When placed next to each other they create the strongest contrast and make each other pop. With this in mine, this is what our lesson was based around. Having run out of time during the lesson we went home and practised the look at home!
If someone has blue eyes, by using gold or bright yellow eye shadow on that model, it will amplify the blueness of her eyes. The gold eye shadow colors will make her blue eyes stand out more than any other colors. This can be seen in the picture below...
Another example of contrasing makeup colours can be seen below with a dark mossy green eye paired with a vibrant red.
Below you can see Branka's demo on a fellow classmate, picture provided by N. Doke. She decided to use yellow over the lid, with a vibrant grape purple on the lower lashline. A strong black cat eyeliner, and white on the waterline broke up the colours.
For my own variation on the look I decided to use blue and orange as you can see below. I used a burnt orange colour from my Morphe eyeshadow palette over the lid and then smoked this out slightly with a dark orange/brown shade. In doing this, I was able to make the eyeshadow look more wearable. I then placed a bright blue on my outer waterline. I was careful not to blend the two colours together otherwise it would create a neutral tone. Similar to Branka's demo I used a black flick liner and white eyeliner pencil in the waterline to break up the two colours. I think this look is very effective and the idea of using two colours opposites on the colour wheel works really well in making the eye pop and creating a statement look.
References:
http://sharonthemakeupartist.com/colour-theory-in-makeup/
https://tommybeautypro.wordpress.com/2013/01/05/makeup-101-colour-theory-make-up-artistry/