What Causes Amber Eyes? The Science Behind This Rare & Dazzling Eye Color

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Plus, how to accentuate your amber eyes with makeup and glasses

Co-authored by Mark Cannon, OD and Dan Hickey

Last Updated: September 3, 2025 Fact Checked

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• How rare are they?
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• Causes
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• Amber vs. Other Colors
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• Accentuating Amber Eyes
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• Amber Eyes Symbolism
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• Health Considerations
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• Tips

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Amber eyes are warm, vibrant, and radiate an intoxicating golden-brown hue that makes them stand out in a crowd. But what exactly causes this unique eye color, and just how rare is it? We’re here to break it all down for you. Keep scrolling to learn how common amber eyes are, the genetics that cause them, and how they compare to other eye colors. We’ve also got tips from pro makeup artists and eye health professionals about how to accentuate your dazzling golden eyes and protect your vision. Keep scrolling to learn more!

What do amber eyes look like?

Amber eyes have a vibrant golden-brown or copper color that’s solid throughout the entire iris (unlike hazel eyes, which have a mix of colors). There is typically also a light brown ring around the iris. Amber eyes are rare, with about 5% of people having them, and are caused by the reddish-yellow pigment pheomelanin.

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Section 1 of 6:

How rare are amber eyes?

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   Only about 5% of the world population has amber eyes. After green and gray eyes, amber-colored eyes are the third rarest eye color in the world. How likely you are to see someone with amber eyes depends on where you live. Amber eyes are more common in the regions around Pakistan, the Balkans, southern France and the Iberian Peninsula, Italy, Hungary, parts of the Middle East, Colombia, and the Southern Cone region of South America (Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay).

   Meet the wikiHow Experts

   Mark Cannon, OD is a board-certified optometrist with over 10 years of experience.

   Alicia D’Angelo is a makeup artist whose work has been featured in Today.com, Forbes.com, VH1, MTV, Entertainment Weekly, Refinery 29, and NYXCosmetics.com.
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Section 2 of 6:

What causes amber eyes?

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   Your genes produce 2 kinds of melanin that interact to form amber eyes. Melanin is a pigment made by your body that determines your eye, skin, and hair color. There are 2 types of melanin present in your eyes: eumelanin (a blackish-brown pigment) and pheomelanin (a lighter, reddish-yellow pigment). People with amber-colored eyes have a higher concentration of pheomelanin in them compared to “normal” brown eyes, giving their irises their distinctive warm, golden glow.

   • Fun fact: Your iris has 2 layers, and nearly all humans have dark brown pigment in the back layer. The amount and types of melanin in the front layer influence how light scatters inside your eye, affecting its overall color. (For example, blue eyes have no or very little melanin in the front, so when light reflects off the dark brown back layer, it appears blue). This is called the Rayleigh effect.
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   All eye colors are caused by a complex interaction of genes. You might remember making Punnett squares with dominant and recessive traits in biology class to predict a person’s eye color based on their parents’ eyes. While genetics definitely play a huge role in determining your eye color, it isn’t quite so simple as pitting one dominant allele (a mutated form of a gene) against another recessive one. Scientists think there are actually 16 different genes that influence your eye color.

   • The OCA2 and HERC2 genes are the most important for eye color. OCA2 creates a protein that helps make and store melanin (the pigment that determines eye color), and HERC2 controls whether the OCA2 gene is “on” or “off.”
   • When HERC2 turns OCA2 off, there is less melanin in the eyes, and the color is generally lighter.
   • Other genes that impact eye color include the SIP, IRF4, SLC24A4, SLC24A5, SLC45A2, TPCN2, TYR, and TYRP1 genes.
   • All these interacting genes mean that a person’s eye color can’t be 100% accurately assumed based on the parents’ eye colors alone. Parent eye colors like blue, green, and sometimes even dark brown can all mix to create a child with amber eyes.
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Section 3 of 6:

Amber vs. Other Eye Colors

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   Amber vs. brown Brown eyes are darker than amber eyes and contain higher concentrations of eumelanin (a dark brown pigment). True brown eyes also stay the same color regardless of lighting, but amber eyes may look more brown, golden, or bright depending on how the light hits them. There’s also a bigger color difference between the pupil and iris in amber-colored eyes.

   • How common are brown eyes? Brown is the most common eye color, with up to 79% of the world population having it.
   • Amber eyes may look similar to light brown eyes. True light brown eyes are less vibrant or intense than amber and have less of a golden or yellowish color.
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   Amber vs. hazel Hazel eyes contain brown, green, and gold colors, whereas true amber eyes have a solidly golden or yellow hue. This is because hazel eyes have less pheomelanin than amber eyes, giving them a more muted look overall. Amber eyes also have a unique light brown ring around the pupil that gives them a more vibrant look. Like amber eyes, hazel eyes can also take on slightly different hues in different lighting.

   • How common are hazel eyes? Hazel eyes are about as common as amber eyes, with around 5% of the world population having them.
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   Amber vs. blue or green Blue and green eyes have little to no melanin in the front of the iris, giving them their lighter and distinct colors. Green eyes contain more eumelanin than pheomelanin, while amber eyes are the opposite. Green eyes also have more melanin in them than blue eyes, which take on their color from an almost total lack of melanin in the front of the iris.

   • How common are green eyes? Green is one of the rarest eye colors on Earth, with only about 2% of people having it.
   • How common are blue eyes? Blue eyes are the second most common after brown eyes, with up to about 9% of the global population having them.
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Section 4 of 6:

Making Your Amber Eyes Pop

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   Makeup The right eye makeup colors can really accentuate the unique color of your eyes. If you want them to appear more intense and vibrant, makeup artist Alicia D’Angelo says that eyeshadow with “earth tones like greens or golden shimmers will bring out the amber in the eye, which will make the eye color seem lighter.” But what if you want to add more depth and darkness? D’Angeloa adds, “Any contrasting shade like pink, purple, or blue will draw more attention to the eyes and make the eye color appear a richer, deeper brown.”

   • For eyeliner and mascara, classic black or brown will define the eye (with brown giving a softer look). Metallic gold or bronze can also make your amber eyes shimmer more intensely.
   • Highlighting the inner corners of your eyes can also make amber eyes seem more voluminous.
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   Glasses Choose frame colors that match or complement your amber eyes. Matching tones create a more subtle and harmonious look, while a contrasting color makes your eyes pop more. To match, choose frames in the gold, copper, or warm tortoiseshell family. For a nice contrast, try on a color on the opposite end of the color wheel, like blue (light blue complements light amber eyes, while darker blue or purple accentuates more intense amber eyes).

   • Classic black frames also create sharp, pleasing contrast.
   • For sunglasses, a green or brown tint works well with the natural color of your eyes.
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   Hair, clothes, and accessories When you’re picking an outfit, earthy tones like green, brown, and rust will enhance the natural warmth of your eyes in a harmonious look. Alternatively, bright colors and jewel tones like emerald, sapphire, and amethyst will create contrast and make your eyes pop more. When it comes to accessories, gold jewelry will bring out the amber hues, while hats and scarves in complementary colors can frame your face and make your eyes pop more.

   • Hair colors with warm undertones (auburn, caramel, golden blonde, etc.) bring out the warmth of amber eyes, while highlights in complementary shades can add more dimension to your look.
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Section 5 of 6:

What do amber eyes signify?

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   Spiritually, amber eyes are associated with wisdom and psychic abilities. Perceptions about color and spirituality change over time, but the golden hue of amber eyes is often connected to spiritual wisdom, piety, and psychic connections to the divine or higher powers. For example, in native American spirituality, amber-colored eyes symbolize the potential for shamanic abilities or the gift of connecting with the spirit realm.

   • The spiritual essence of amber eyes may come partly from the animal world. Culturally significant animals like wolves, owls, cats, and some reptiles also have amber or yellow eyes. Since animals are closely related to human mythology and spirituality, the shared eye color could be seen as a symbolic connection.
   • Regardless of culture, amber eyes are often seen as rare, unique, and captivating.
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   Psychologically, amber eyes stand out to us because they’re unique. Common eye colors like brown don’t seem as compelling to us as rare shades like amber, so humans definitely tend to notice when someone has golden-hued eyes. Perhaps because they’re so captivating, amber eyes are also associated with personality traits like warmth, confidence, and charisma (although there’s no definitive proof that eye color is at all associated with your personality).
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Section 6 of 6:

Amber Eyes and Your Health

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   Amber eyes may be more at risk for certain eye conditions. Because of their higher pheomelanin content and lower melanin levels compared to darker eyes, amber eyes are more susceptible to UV damage than regular brown or dark brown eyes. This means they’re more prone to developing certain conditions, including uveal melanoma and age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

   • Uveal melanoma is a type of eye cancer that starts in the ocular cells that produce melanin. Light colored eyes (like blue or green) are the most susceptible, and amber eyes are also at a higher risk than brown eyes.
   • Age-related macular degeneration is a disease of the retina that impacts your central vision. Again, light-colored eyes (like blue, green, and light amber) are more susceptible than dark amber or brown eyes.
   • Additionally, amber eyes (and other light-colored eyes) are more sensitive to light in general.
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   Sunglasses, eye exams, and a healthy lifestyle can protect your amber eyes. Good eye care can protect your vision and make your eyes as vibrant and colorful as they can be. According to board-certified optometrist Mark Cannon, OD, the most important things you can do are “wear sunglasses when appropriate, never sleep in your contacts, and get an annual eye exam, even if things seem OK.”

   • Your overall health is important for your eyes, too. Dr. Cannon explains that you should “stay in good physical shape. Some types of glaucoma are more common when the cardiovascular system is compromised.”
   • Natural health care specialist Ritu Thakur, MA, adds that “A balanced diet enriched with protein, vitamin A, C, and omega-3 fatty acids is very helpful in maintaining good eyesight. Include leafy vegetables as much as you can in your diet, and give priority to having more citrus fruits.”
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• Celebrities with amber eyes include Justin Bieber, Jennifer Garner, Nicole Richie, Jennifer Lopez, Jane Seymour, Eliza Dushku, and Darren Criss.
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• While you can’t change your eye color, you can wear amber colored contact lenses to try out a new look!
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