Smoky Eye Makeup

In order to create a basic smoky eye impression, you will need only two colors of eye shadow, a deeper contour shade and a highlighter. For a quick basic application, you apply the highlighter over the entire upper eye socket, from the eyelid to the brow. Next, you will use the contour shade starting at the outer corner of only the eyelid. With the most intense color at the outside of the eye and fading as you move in towards the nose; sweep your eye makeup brush towards the inner eye. Lastly, blend the line between the darker color and the highlighter, otherwise it will create an unnaturally stark appearance.

Although this basic application will create a smoky eye, there are many tips to enhance this affect. Start with the basic application, using the lighter above and the darker on the lid only. Then consider the following additions:

•Use a mid shade as the blending agent between the highlighter and contour, right at the crease line.
•Darken the contour with a liquid eyeliner immediately above the top lashes.
•After the liquid has set, use a smudger eye makeup brush to smoke it out. Simply dip the brush into the contour shadow color and dab over the liquid line.
•Follow this with creamy pencil eyeliner under the eyes with a smudge of the contour shadow over it.
In addition to the spicy eyes this smoky technique creates, the powder shadow will help set your eyeliner and give it a longer life. Plus, hide any imperfections you may have made while applying the liner.

If smoky eyes are your guise, consider the following supplementary smoky eye makeup guidelines:

•If you have trouble with specks of powder dust falling underneath the eye area during the dabbing of smoky shadow, you may want to apply concealer after your eye makeup rather than before.
•The contour shade should be a deep color, but it does not have to be overly dark or smoke colored. Feel free to experiment with a variety of strong colors to find your preference.
•Feel free to skip true eyeliner altogether, and use eye shadow as a liner instead for an instant smoky look.
•Apply the smoky eye makeup in layers. This will allow you to select how dark you really want to go.
•Smoke your eye makeup for a quick transition from day to nighttime glamour.
•With techniques like smoky eye makeup, superior shadow brushes can make a real difference in the quality of the final presentation.
•In general, choose shorter bristle brushes for the smoky look, as the shorter the hair fibers, the higher the concentration of color application.
•Wet your brush before dipping into your eye shadow to create a stronger color.