1. Make Sure You Have The Right Products:
Whenever I sit down to try something new, I never have the right stuff on hand, and I have to find ways to improvise, which isn’t always a good thing. Especially when it comes to heavy eye make-up, you know? So do yourself a favor and stock up on the basics before you attempt the whole smokey eye thing so you don’t look like a raccoon.
2. Prime Your Eyes!:
In theory, you should always apply primer underneath your eyeshadow as it creates a smooth base, makes your eye make-up last longer, and helps eliminate that horrible, greasy line that crops up in the crease of your eyelids halfway through the day, but most people (myself included) don’t have the time to add another step to their already hectic make-up routine.
And that’s fine – a little grease on the eyelids never hurt anyone, right? But since you need to do a lot of blending to get that smokey eye look, you really want to start with that smooth, clear base on your eyes, so make sure you don’t scrimp on the primer.
3. Pick Your Colors Carefully:
I always assumed smokey eyes meant nothing more than black eyeshadow, black eyeliner, and lots of black mascara, but I was wrong. Again. As it turns out, there are certain color palettes you should avoid if you have small eyes and there are heaps of different color palettes you can choose from for different occasions. Who knew?!
4. Apply Highlighter:
This is one of the (many) instances in life where a little goes a long way. Simply apply a dab of highlighter from the middle of your brow brow bone to the end of your brow, and above and below your tear duct to make your eyes pop. Oh, and make sure to take pictures and write a tutorial for me, because I always mess this part up and end up looking like a clown.
5. Apply The Rest of Your Face Last:
I don’t know about you, but whenever I apply eyeshadow, it always ends up on my cheeks. Of course, this isn’t such a big deal when I’m using my usual palette of light browns as I can easily brush it off, or blend it into my skin with a little extra foundation, but when I’m working with dark shadows,
I always end up looking like someone socked me in the eye. But after I started watching make-up tutorials online, I realized that if I applied my eye make-up BEFORE my foundation, contour, powder, and blush, I wouldn’t look as clown-like as I usually do. Genius, right?!
6. Finish Your Look With Nude Lips:
My college roommate once told me that the best way to make your eyes pop when you’re wearing dark shadows is to apply a couple of (very) small dots of foundation on your lips, apply some Vaseline (or shimmery lip gloss) over top, and pump your lips together. I tried her trick the other day, and I was amazed that it actually looked good! So much for all of those expensive lipsticks I’ve collected over the years, right?!
7. Use 2 Different Types Of Mascara:
In Jaclyn’s tutorial, she applied fake lashes, which look fabulous and really make her eyes pop, but they aren’t really my thing. So I did some searching around and found a fabulous tutorial by cTheMakeupArtist to teach you how to make your lashes look just as thick and awesome as “falsies” by using make-up products from a drug store. You can watch it right here:
8. Learn The Right Technique:
My husband has a “no photos or videos on the blog” rule, which works out well in this scenario because I haven’t quite mastered the smokey eye technique yet. So today, I’m going to share Jaclyn Hill’s awesome tutorial on smokey cat eyes instead. Make sure to watch it to the end – she does an amazing job!
