How To Get The Perfect Smokey Eye
I have a daily routine that is very much me, and I feel comfortable in it. I have the parted to the side, slicked straight hair, the girl next door classic makeup look and my style of dress is conservative with a slight trend to it. However, the fun thing about makeup and fashion is that we can change it whenever we want. For example, whenever I go out to concerts, my floral blouses and nude eye shadow color will not do.
It is not good to copy exactly what you see from others when it comes to styles you might like, but rather to notice what you like from others and then somehow make it your own. It is great to feel original with the right makeup for the right event. Even if it is not your norm, you can still feel comfortable in it if you make it your own.
I went to a concert last week and realized I had been doing the same black eyeliner look for years and wanted something different. I see a lot of women with the rocker-chick smokey eye look, which they pull off very well. I am always leery of what I can and cannot pull off, so I decided to try out a smokey eye look that I would feel comfortable with.
Create the look for yourself:
The key lies in mastering the look, then making it your own by applying more or less and noticing what shades of eye shadow look the best on you.
You should always start with an eye shadow primer. I use Urban Decay’s Eye Shadow Primer Potion. Not only does it keep your eye makeup on for 24 hours, but it also intensifies the dark eye colors because you are applying them over a lighter base then your own skin color.
From there you will need to apply a shimmery color to the inner corner of your eyelids. It can be gold, silver, cream, etc. Any color will do as long as it has shimmer. Adding shimmer to these corners will liven your eyes making the dark colors appear more intense, which is the look you might want if you are going to a concert or any other event where you want to steer away from your daily makeup routine. Check out Lorac’s PRO Palette 3 as I chose all my eye shadow colors for the look from this palette. For my shimmery color I used the bronze shade called, medallion.
Pick two colors from the shades of grey to black that will be your middle eye color and outer corner color. I picked Lorca’s silver (truffle) and black (jet black). I applied the silver to the center of my eyelid, then the black from the center to the outer. You can spread and blend as much or as little as you like.
Then with the darkest color you chose (for me that was jet black), you need to outline the bottom of your eye with it. Not your lash line, but right underneath it.
Now with a gel liner — I recommend Smashbox’s Jet Set Waterproof Gel Eyeliner in deep black — outline your upper lash and lower lash lines.
Lastly, with a black eyeliner pencil, go over your lower lash line and blend it with the gel eyeliner. Blending it creates the smokey look. Because you applied the eye shadow underneath your lower lash line, it creates the look of the smokey eye having more of a smudge to it, which also makes your eyes appear bigger.
You can experiment with the colors and with the order in which you apply them, but the most important thing is to blend the gel eyeliner with the pencil eyeliner and make sure you have that feathered, smudged look.
All of these techniques together will give you the perfect smokey eye that works just for you, starting with your favorite shades from shimmery colors to the blackest of blacks.
Born and raised in the DMV, Emma Blancovich has a big appreciation for discovering things to do around town, such as new restaurants to try and supporting the local music scene by attending live shows. During the week she is an editor for trade associations, but on the weekends you can find her hiking up trails with the latest fitness gadgets then getting ready for a night out using the latest beauty and health products.