Smokey eye tutorial

One of the most important looks in any makeup lover’s repertoire is the smokey eye.  Deceptively simple, the smokey involves dark shadows smoked out around your eye and a misstep can take you from Kate Moss to a panda pretty quickly.

Smokey eyes vary from person to person but the most typical of a smokey eye involves an equation of something quite like this: 

Dark shadow all over lid + Blending shade + Dark shadow under lid = Success!

The shadow doesn’t have to be black and it doesn’t even always have to be dark.   Medium toned shadows smoked out can add a nice definition for a day time look and dark ones at night have that nice sultry flare.  But I’m all about doing and looking how you want so these rules are always made to be broken.

What I want to show you in some easy steps is how to recreate that smokey look, what tools you will need and what will help keep it going all night.  Because warm browns suit my tones the best, that’s what I’m going to work with.  You can feel free to substitute your own colours and create something tailored to your skin tones and eye colour.

Generally when working with smokey or heavily applied eyeshadow looks I apply my eyeshadow and then my base makeup.  Some dark shadows have a tendency to have a lot of fallout and I don’t want those flecks all over my foundation.  Other options include over powdering under your eyes and then blending it away, or using shadow shields.

1.  Prime your eyes.  I have oily lids so theBalm’s “Put a Lid on It” primer keeps my shadows from fading and creasing throughout the day.  This is not always required, but I recommend it.  Primer keeps your makeup lasting longer and can make colours more vibrant on the lid.

2. This is where I apply my transitional shade.  It’s typically a shade just a touch darker than your skin, and by applying it first it can aid in any later blending that will need to be done.  I take a large fluffy brush and focus the shadow directly into my crease.

3. Using patting motions, apply the darkest shade onto the lids focusing the colour heaviest on the lash line and bringing it up into your crease.  This highly varies by eye shape.  I bring mine up a little higher due to deep set eyes but if you have a lot of lid space to work with you can keep it lower.

 

4.  Taking the same blending brush used earlier, blend the edges of the darker shade into your transitional shade.  If it’s too dark, take some more of your transitional shade and blend it downwards into the darker shade.  We don’t want to keep blending upwards because that can take the dark colour too high and then we get into panda territory.

 

5.  This step is super important to ensuring a soft blend.  Grab a “blurring” shade, a shade similar to your skin tone but a bit lighter, and make sure it’s matte.  Apply this shade where your transitional shade ends, and blend downwards.  I find that blending downwards again keeps the shades from going too high up on my browbone.  This step will achieve that transition into your skin tone that can make a smokey look seem very professionally done.

 6.  To finish this look shadow wise I first take the three shades used on my lid (transitional, dark, blurring shade) and apply them similarily to how I did on the lid but do so on my lower lashline.  I smudge my transitional shade first, then I pat the darkest shade in closest to the lashline and blend down and finish up with my blurring shade (which is optional, because you can blend it later and clean up with concealer if that’s your thing).

 It’s at this point where you can jazz it up a little.  You can apply eyeliner in your upper and lower eye rims and make the look very dark and seamless.  You can add some glitter to make the look a little more fun, or you can line the eye with a flesh tone colour to open it up.  I avoid darker liners as I don’t have large eyes, because these darker liners tend to close up your eye and make them appear smaller.  It’s all a matter of personal preference though.  For this look I took a nude liner to open up my eye, added mascara and then some thick and fluttery lashes.


 

The most important tip I can give when it comes to blending a smokey eye, or really any eye for that matter, is to use clean brushes wherever you can.  It might take a few brushes to complete a look but it keeps you from muddying up the shadows or applying too much right at once.

What’s your favourite smokey eye shade?