What Eye Colors Are the Most Attractive?

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Explore what makes different eye colors so alluring

Co-authored by Amy Bobinger, BA

Last Updated: October 1, 2025 Fact Checked

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• Attractiveness of Each Color
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• Factors Affecting Attractiveness
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• What determines eye color?
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• Video

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People’s eye colors are as unique as they are—but which ones are most attractive? Spoiler alert: there’s no clear winner here. Beautiful eyes come in all colors, and preferences can vary a lot from one person to the next. We’re taking a look at what’s beautiful about every eye color, plus how attractiveness is determined and where your eye color comes from.

What’s the most attractive eye color?

No single eye color is objectively the “most attractive”—personal and cultural preferences impact what someone will find desirable. That said, some people find blue, hazel, and green eyes especially attractive, possibly due to the relative rarity of blue and green eyes and the color-changing appearance of hazel eyes.

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Section 1 of 3:

What do people find attractive about each eye color?

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1. 
   1
   Hazel Hazel eyes are a unique blend of gold, green, and brown. Hazel eyes can seem to change colors in different lighting, giving them a cool “chameleon” effect that people often find attractive. Hazel is frequently cited as the most attractive eye color because of these qualities.

   • Hazel eyes are often one color around the pupil, another in the center of the iris, and a darker shade around the edge.
2. 2
   Green Green eyes are the rarest eye color—only about 2% of people in the world have green eyes. Like hazel eyes, the appearance of green eyes can often shift based on lighting or even what the person is wearing. The beautiful color and rarity make green eyes one of the most attractive eye colors.

   • Green eyes are sometimes confused for hazel, but hazel eyes tend to have more brown.
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   Blue Blue eyes are often considered a classic sign of beauty—and no wonder. They can range from icy pale blue to a rich ocean blue and everything in between. This is another relatively rare color, with only 8–10% of people having blue eyes. Many people find blue to be the most attractive eye color because of the rarity and variety of lovely shades.

   • It’s believed that blue eyes have only been around for about 6,000 to 10,000 years.
   • In one study, men with blue eyes were found to prefer photos of women with blue eyes over those with brown eyes. Other participants, including women and brown-eyed men, did not demonstrate the same preference.
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   Brown Brown eyes might be the most common color, but that doesn’t mean they have to be plain. Brown eyes have depth and richness, and can even make people look more trustworthy. Many people find rich, dark brown eyes to be extremely alluring.

   • People with brown eyes have more melanin in their iris, resulting in the darker shade.
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   Amber Amber eyes are sometimes confused with hazel, but they’re actually a unique shade all their own. While hazel eyes have flecks of green or even blue, amber eyes are a rich blend of brown and gold. This unique golden hue is considered to be attractive by many.

   • This is a rare color—only about 5% of people have amber eyes.
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   Grey Grey eyes sometimes look pale blue, but they usually have hints of brown and gold. This unique shade can give eyes an attractive, intense look, and is especially striking in people with darker skin tones. The rarity of the grey eyes makes them quite attractive to many people.

   • Grey eyes are also rare, with only about 3% of people having this color.
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Section 2 of 3:

What factors influence the attractiveness of eye colors?

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1. Rarity and cultural preferences are the biggest factors. What’s considered attractive is extremely subjective. Some studies have found that people are most attractive to others with their own eye color. Some people might find certain eye colors more attractive because they’re the predominant color in their region, while others might prefer colors that tend to be rarer and more unique.

   • Some studies have found that having a bright sclera (the white area outside of your iris) is actually a better predictor of attractiveness than the color of your eyes.
   • Conventional beauty standards in the West often tout blue eyes as being the most desirable. This, combined with the rarity of blue eyes, could play a part in why many people identify blue as the most attractive eye color.

Section 3 of 3:

What determines eye color?

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1. 
   Your eye color is determined by melanin and complex genetics. People used to believe that eye color was controlled by a single gene, meaning it was extremely unlikely that two parents would have a child with a drastically different eye color than their own. However, scientists have discovered that eye color is actually controlled by at least 10 genes.

   • The actual color is determined by the amount of melanin in the iris. Darker colors like hazel and brown are caused by more melanin in the iris. Interestingly, blue eyes are the result of a lack of pigment—the iris scatters light in such a way that it appears blue, much like the sky.
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