A Very Sexy Smokey Eye!
One of my absolute favourite things to do cosmetically is the Smokey eye – though I’m not a fan of the traditional black look. Adding some neutral colour brown crayons is my favourite way to spice it up. For all skin-tones – from the fairest, to the deepest, darkest, and all sorts in between.
To recreate the above look I did on Annaliese, for yourself, you’ll need:
Two brown shadows (I used Transcend from Kjaer Weis as a base, and Wisdom, also from Kjaer Weis, as the darker brown – and the layering of the two created the darkest part along the crease and lash lines)
A black eyeliner pencil (I chose Hypnotist from W3LL People)
A creamy brown shimmery eye crayon (I chose Age of Consent from Ilia Beauty)
A creamy highlighter for the inner corners (I like Ilia Beauty ‘Cosmic Dancer‘)
Start with the lightest of the two brown shadows you’re planning to use and lay down the shape you want to create. In general, for every face shape – whatever your eye shape – the very best shadow look all around is one that is tilted upward at the outer corner of the eye. Because of this, you will find many a YouTube makeup application video in which a hollow half an inch across is cut from a piece of sticky tape, and this sharp little square is pressed into the outer corner of the eye so that no shadow (nor any liner) spills/is drawn beneath it. Definitely, downward-sloping shadow/liner at the outer corner has a draggy effect on the face.
Once you’ve pressed (notice I tell you to press your shadow into your skin. Don’t sweep, don’t fan your colour on. The application of the pigment is what turns a sloppy shadowed eye into a beautifully smoked eye, and for that, you need to be precise about how much and where.) your light brown shadow into this approximate shape that flatters your face (experiment! You can always use Q-tips to wipe away what isn’t working), you can begin pressing your deeper brown shadow in an inverted V shape, placed along the outer corner of the eye, and along your crease (if your eye has one, that is). Using a good fluffy eyeshadow brush, just blend, blend, blend so that the two become one, and the edges are diffused into your bare skin.
With your sharpened black liner, dot along the top lash line, smudging as you go with a skinny smudge brush, or a cotton swab. Play with your eye shape – does a little bit of black liner smudged along the bottom lash line look good? Tick, tick!
Bring the look home with your highlights: using the creamy shimmery brown shadow crayon, drag it right at the top of the lash line, near the root of your lashes to highlight the area. This helps bring more attention to your lashes.
Then smudge your creamy pale highlighter (use a deeper shade if you’re dark
Take your creamy pale highlighter (choose a deeper shade if your skin tone is darker than Annaliese), and press it into the inner corner of VAUTY! Your eyes for a little added flare.
Curl and coat your lashes with a few swipes of black mascara… et voila! BEAUTIFUL!
