SmokeyEye 101

Often, when you look up “smokey eyes”, your browser will fill with a multitude of eye looks, and you’ll notice that most of them look nothing alike. This creates a lot of misinformation, and as a result, the term has become vague over time. So, if you go to a makeup artist and ask for a smokey eye, you may not get what you were expecting.

Let us clarify. What exactly is a smokey eye? I consider it to be darkest in saturation at the lashes, fading up to a light shade. The edges should be blended and blurred to create a soft, smokey effect. There should be no harsh lines. Smokey eyes can be any colours you desire, once the deepest hue surrounds the eye and lightens in gradient as you move outward.

I know that reading all this information without pictures can be quite confusing, so today, I’ve put together the ultimate smokey eye guide for you, accompanied by a picture tutorial! Smokey eyes can be incredibly smouldering and sexy; excellent for nights out, parties and special occasions.

So let’s learn how to master this ever popular technique. Firstly, select the colours you want to work with. I’ve chosen a deep, blackened eggplant fading to soft wine as my colour palette.

For tools, you’ll mainly need a fluffy blending brush and a flat eyeshadow brush.

1. Apply an eye primer to prevent your eyeshadows from creasing or fading throughout the day.

Tip: Since you’ll be working with darker colours, don’t apply your foundation or concealer until your eyes are complete, to avoid any eyeshadow fall out messing up your face makeup.

2. Apply a mid-toned brown colour to your crease.

This doesn’t need to be perfect, as it will just serve as a guideline. You just want to ensure this colour is visible when your eyes are open, so you’ll know what shape to follow with your other colours.

3. Using a lighter shade, in my case, a dusty mauve, apply it just above your mid toned brown to soften the colour and begin the hazy effect; this is your transition shade. Blend upwards until you can’t see any harsh lines where the shadows were placed.

4. Apply your deepest shade to the mobile eyelid.

Cover the entire eyelid, making sure you get the colour as close to your eyelashes as possible. This also doesn’t need to be perfect, since you’ll be adding more colours and blending later.

5. Do you see the harsh line between the deepest shade on the lid and where we placed the first mid toned brown in the crease? In that space, called the inner crease, apply your blending shade. This should be a hue between the lid and crease shade, in my case, a soft wine. Using what we call “windshield wiper motions” move your fluffy blending brush back and forth on your inner crease to fill the blank space.

6. Using the same inner crease colour, apply this onto your lower lash line with your flat eyeshadow brush. Use the dusty mauve transition shade on your fluffy blending brush to soften and diffuse the wine colour under the eyes.

7. Apply dark eyeliner to the waterline, and smudge using the flat eyeshadow brush or a cotton bud, so the line won’t be so harsh. Also, apply a dark eyeliner to your upper lash line. This will ensure that you get the smouldering effect I mentioned, where the colour is most saturated near the lashes. Again, this doesn’t need to be perfect since you’ll be taking a similar dark eyeshadow on your flat eyeshadow brush, and blending the line until it fades into the colour you originally placed on your eyelid. Apply a generous coat of mascara.

8. False lashes are optional, but in my opinion, they really complete a smokey eye. Having so much darkness around your eyes can make your eyes appear smaller and your real lashes tend to disappear. False lashes add definition and lift back to your smokey eyes.

As a finishing touch, especially for a night out, I like to add a little dab of a fine glitter to the centre of the eyelid.

This won’t make the area lighter, which could lessen the smokey effect, but will still make the eyelid appear more prominent. This is especially great for those will hooded or smaller eyelids.

Once your eyes are done, clean up any eyeshadow that fell onto your face, and then apply your face makeup and lip colour of choice. This look will be sure to turn heads!