BEAUTYFUL Beauty Tips

The Smokey Eye.
Some call it the Little Black Dress of the makeup world — sexy, fun, flirty, and definitely attention-grabbing. It’s also the number one request I get as a makeup artist. And with the right tools, products, and application techniques, it can be just as easy as slipping into your knock ‘em dead little black dress.

My Top Ten Smokey Eye Tips

1. Start with the eyes

It may seem natural to apply your face makeup first, but doing your eyes first will save you time (and possibly frustration). Since you’re probably going to get some shadow fallout and smudging, it’s much easier to do a quick swipe with some makeup remover on bare skin than on skin that’s already been made-up.

2. Use a primer

I recommend using a primer under all of your shadows, but it’s especially important with a smokey eye. The primer gives a smooth, even base, which is necessary for all the blending that goes on with a smokey eye. Primer also makes the shadow last longer and prevents creasing.

3. Have a good selection of colors in the same color family

You can do a black smokey eye, a silver one, a teal one — whatever you want. But since the point of a smokey eye is to have the colors form a gradient — from darkest to lightest — it helps to have a variety of shadows to work with. For example, if you’re doing a black smokey eye, you’ll want a dark black shadow, a lighter black shadow, a couple of grays, and a white or silver (for highlight).

4. Keep an eyeliner handy

Eyeliner accessorizes smokey eyes like killer heels do for the LBD. I recommend pencil, crayon or gel formulas, as liquid liners dry quickly and are harder to smudge. You’re going to need a liner to line the top lashline, the bottom lashline, and the waterline. But relax, you don’t need to draw a perfect line, because the liner is meant to blend right into the shadow. When doing a smokey eye.

5. Use a few good quality brushes

You’ll need a flat shader brush to apply shadow to the lid, a mid-sized brush for the crease, a pencil brush to work on the tearduct and lashline, and a fluffy brush to blend and apply highlight color.

6. Blend, blend, blend

The last thing you want are obvious lines where one color has ended and another has begun. Use that fluffy brush to blend out any harsh lines. When blending the crease color, use small circular motions to “smoke it out.” Gently wipe the brush on the back of your hand to remove color before blending each new section.

7. Apply a shadow slightly lighter than your skin to the browbone

After you have applied the lid and crease colors, dip the fluffy brush into the shadow and sweep it across your browbone, using a windshield wiper motion. You want the skintone shadow to slighty overlap the top of the crease shadow.

8. Apply a highlight color

You don’t need much — just a dot on the center of the browbone (blended out to the end of the brow), some above the tearduct, and some under the tearduct. This brightens up the eye, which is important with heavy eye makeup looks.

9. Go for lots of lashes

Load up that mascara on your top lashes. Wiggle the wand at the roots to build volume, and, holding the wand still, blink into the wand to add length. Apply a little mascara to the bottom lashes, but keep it minimal. I find that using a regular formula on the top lashes works well, but I usually apply a waterproof formula to the bottom lashline, since those lashes are more likely to cause smudges when the eye waters.

10. Don’t forget the rest of the face

I like at least a medium coverage foundation with a smokey eye, some bronzer, a little blush, and a neutral lip. Pinky beige or nude lip colors, whether gloss, lipstick, or a combination, work best.