Your Guide To The Perfect Smokey Eye

Your Guide To The Perfect Smokey Eye

If you’re looking for a powerful, trendy and alluring look, you can’t go wrong with a smokey eye. Yet getting this look requires a certain amount of finesse and know-how, or you’ll just end up with dark, drab eyes. With that in mind, below is everything you need to know for getting that perfect smokey eye each time.

A Basic How-To

When it comes to mastering any makeup technique, the basics matter. Below is your step-by-step guide on how to apply this lush look:

1. Choose three eye shadow shades that work well together. For a classic smokey eye, opt for a light creamy grey, a medium grey and a smoky black shade. Choose a loose powder eye shadow for the best blending ability.
2. First apply your “highlighter,” which is your lightest shade of eye shadow. Use an eye shadow brush and apply the shadow on the inside corner of your eyelid above and below the lashes. Add some eye shadow right under the eyebrow for a greater highlighting effect.
3. Apply the medium shade of shadow to your eyelid. Apply it up to the crease in your eye, and blend well with the highlighter on the inside of the eye.
4. Now apply your darkest shade. Apply it on the outer eyelid so it’s forming a curved shape against the medium shade. Blend it into the rest of the eye shadow, and blend it upwards so it meets the highlighter under the eyebrow.
5. Use a different brush for this step, or clean and dry the one you have. Run the brush over your eyelid so all the shades are blending together. You’ll want to blend the dark shadow inwards and up, and then blend the lightest shadow outwards.
6. Add your eyeliner and mascara in whatever style you wish. A cat eye goes well with smokey eyes. Inky black eyeliners and mascaras pair well with the perfect smokey eye.
7. Now is the time to do any needed touchups. If any color fell under the eye or around it, brush it off with a large makeup brush. Remove any smeared mascara or eyeliner with a Q-tip full of makeup remover, and fix any remaining errors with a blending brush.

There you have it: the perfect smokey eye.

A Note On Color

Don’t feel restricted to just the classic colors of grey and black. You can also opt for shades of bronze and brown. Feel free to combine shades. Some popular options are plum and grey, gold and copper, or navy and grey.

Also keep your skin tone and eye color in mind. Bright smokey eyes on darker complexions and very dark smokey eyes on light complexions veer towards statement looks, so if you’re trying to go more subtle, keep your eye shadow shades in the medium-colored range.

For eye shadow and eye colors, grey eyes work with lighter grey shades and blue shadow. Green eyes work with plum shades. Brown eyes look best with bronze tones, though brown really goes with just about anything. And blue eyes go well with copper and gold eye shadow shades.