Easy steps to creating a perfect Saturday Night Out Smoky Eye.
There are many schools of thought surrounding what is considered a “smoky” eye. In its purest sense, smudging dark or rich color around the entire eye creates a smoky eye. The smudging creates a mysterious, sexy, unstructured look that is in direct contrast to a more architectural or linear application of solid pencil or liquid liner. The level of “smoke” can be subtle, playful, or amped all the way up to a 5-alarm scorcher.
The key to the perfect smoky eye is proper blending. Colors must blend together seamlessly to keep the look from being harsh or trashy. It’s also important to make sure you gradiate rich dark colors to light colors. If you don’t pay careful attention and practice impeccable blending, you’ll end up with raccoon eyes (ie; Alice Cooper, Ozzie Osbourne…you get the idea).
Getting Started:
These are the items you’ll need to create a Saturday Night Out Smoky Eye:
- Eye Primer (optional, but strongly suggested)
- 3 Eye Shadows (Light, Medium and Dark Shades)
- Eyeliner
- Mascara (Black…this is a smokey eye, no need for subtlety)
- False Eyelashes (optional)
- Eye Make-up Brushes
- Eye Make-up Remover & Q-tips (for quick clean-ups)
Prepping the lid. This is an optional step, but highly recommended. Why go through the process of creating a flawless make-up application, just to have it melt into the crease of your eyelid? I use a touch of foundation or concealer to prep before eye make-up application. It not only prepares the eye for a long lasting make-up application, it also camouflages any discoloration on the lid so eyeshadow applies true to color. I apply over the entire lid, blending to the inner corner (next to the bridge of the nose) and up to the brow. I set it with a little loose powder and then I’m ready to start SMOKIN’.
EyeShadows. I like using 3 colors to give my smoky eye great visual depth.
- Apply the lightest shade from the lash-line upwards on to the brow bone. On a standard smoky eye I use a mat ivory or a pale sand color for this step.
- Now apply a moderately deep taupe or soft medium brown color into the crease and blend it down towards the lid.
- Finally I use a very dark brown, charcoal or soft black shadow, starting at the lash-line and blend up on to the entire lid, meeting the medium color in the crease.
Step back and take a look…can you see where one color begins and the next ends? Then BLEND MORE. The transitions should be seamless. Use a little of the same dark eyeshadow under the lower lashes and smudge it until it looks soft and diffused.
Eyeliner. This step is crucial and will determine the success of your entire smoky eye application. Use either a black, dark brown or charcoal liner and apply it thickly and very close to the lash line on the upper lid. Take a small eye shadow brush and smudge the line so there is no hard edge.
Optional: You can make a finer line along your lower lashes and smudge it over the eyeshadow.
I also line the inner eyelids (upper and lower) to reinforce the depth of “smoke” around the eye and to fill in any skin color that might be showing between the eyelashes. A good quality kohl liner will make this step almost foolproof. The richly pigmented smooth texture of kohl makes application and smudging a breeze. I purposely don’t use waterproof eyeliners for this step because they set very quickly and don’t give you enough play time to achieve a well smudged, smoky finish.
Mascara. You’re going to want very dense, lush looking lashes for this smoky look. That means multiple coats. I have always had the most success doing 2-3 light coats of mascara on upper lashes and at least two coats on lowers.
Optional: A set of feathery false eyelashes will add extra drama and lots of flirty fun!
So, there you have the Saturday Night Out Smoky Eye.
Color Me Smoky. So, how about switching it up and adding some unexpected color? Changing the eyeshadow colors will immediately give your smoky eye a distinctive, signature look. Replace the lightest shade with a soft gold, a pale pink, light peach…even a pastel blue. Replace the medium color with a deep purple, blue or green. How about brightly colored mascara on the tips of your lashes as the last coat?
With the correct techniques and some practice (blend, blend, blend), the possibilities are endless!
Extra Credit. For a truly balanced look, always pair smoky eyes with a nude lip. You don’t want a strongly colored mouth to compete with the intensity you’ve created on the eyes.
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