Let's face it, everyone loves smokey eyes. They're our go-to special occasion and evening look. When I'm out and about, I like to spend my time perving on other peoples' makeup (Oh get away outta that! You know you do it too) and I often see some lovely smokey eyes. In general though, they all have one thing in common - they'e taken ages and a lot of products (and sometimes a makeup artist!) to achieve.
Yes indeed; that's one way to do it. It isn't the only way though, so for the time or product-strapped among you, here's how to achieve a great smokey eye using four products:
Step One:
- Using a fluffy eyeshadow brush buff a dark grey cream shadow onto the eyelid. Take it quite high above the crease area and pull it out a little past the point where the eye end. You can use any dark cream shadow for this step, but just for a change, I'm using my Maybelline gel eyeliner in black.
- It's important when using gel liner as shadow, it's important to buff away most of the product on the back of your hand. We want a dark grey wash of colour, not panda eyes! Try to complete this step as quickly as you can - the liner will set in no time.
- Run your chosen shadow under your eye as well.
Step Two:
- Grab your favourite pencil liner in black - I'm using Avon's Super Shock liner - and draw a rather thick line along your upper lashline, wiggling it into the lashes to prevent any light spots. Don't worry if your line is messy. Take a pencil brush and blend the line into your shadow base so that it no longer looks obvious.
- Next, take the liner under the eye. Rather than drawing a heavy line, I like to dot the liner along my lower lashline and blend it. This keeps it from looking too heavy and aggressive.
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Step Three
- By this stage, things should be coming together - you'll notice though that the eye looks a little one-dimensional. Grab any metallic or sparkly shadow you're in the mood for (I'm using Mac's Reflects Pigment in Transparent Teal) and dab it over the lid with a flat brush or your finger. Make sure to blend the edges.
- Take your sparkly shadow under the eye with the pencil brush you used before.
Step Four
- Apply a couple of generous coats of mascara, and bang on a set of lashes if you want to amp up the drama. I've decided to forgo the lashes for a more toned-down version.
Done! This eye is best paired with lots of contouring and an understated lip. I'm using Clinique's Chubby Stick in heaping hazelnut.
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What do you make of this smokey eye? Will you be trying it out?
