Smoky Eyes Two Ways

Hey everybody! Man it is hard to keep up with blogging amidst the wedding planning...I'm realizing that I need to declare a couple days a week "wedding-free" days for my own sanity and for the sake of this blog. Instead of reading reviews of yet another reception venue location, I'm going to spend my mental energy on one of my favorite pre-engagement topics: makeup!! I've been wanting to discuss eye makeup for awhile because I've found that amongst my girlfriends, a lot of them shy away from trying smoky eyes, thinking that they'd be too complicated or make them look crazy. Au contraire! Eye makeup is so fun because there are so many looks to try and it really is foolproof as long as you apply a little at a time and slowly build the look. It's kind of like painting. Today I'm going to outline two different ways to do the smoky eye: daytime and nighttime.

The Daytime Smoky Eye

As seen on Julia Roberts (picture from glamour.com/beauty)

So I know that eye makeup sounds like a lot to deal with on a daily basis, but it can have major prettiness payoff, and you can customize your routine depending on how much time you have in the morning. Here we go:

Step 1: Concealer. Every good eye makeup look starts with a good concealer underneath the eye and in the inner corners. Two concealers I love are:

CoverGirl and Olay Simply Ageless concealer

Fresh Supernova Radiance Brightening Pen

These two concealers are the bomb. I always use the CoverGirl in the morning (sometimes with some of the Fresh on top if I'm really tired), and the Fresh is great to apply later in the day if you're getting ready to go out.

2. Brows
Brows are so, so important for any eye look. If you keep your brows shaped and groomed (but not overly thin), you're well on your way to looking polished. I brush mine up and out and add a little taupe eyeshadow with an eyeshadow brush to darken and define them a tad. Tweezing happens once a week or so.

3. Eyeshadow
When I started actually wearing eyeshadow (which I really didn't until college), CoverGirl eyeshadow quads really saved me. In my opinion, these quads are the best for creating natural-yet-noticeable daytime eye makeup looks. Applying is this simple: apply the lightest shade as a highlight under your eyebrows and in the inner corner of your eyes, apply the medium shades to the lids (I usually apply a little of both of the medium shades) and then apply a little of the darkest shade to the outer third of your eye and blend it a little bit into the crease. The CoverGirl shadows are sheer enough that you don't worry about it being too much.


4. Eyeliner
Next I use a pencil eyeliner and smudge/dot it along my upper lashline. As I wrote in a previous blog entry, I've been really liking Revlon Colorstay eyeliner in Black/Brown. Once I have the eyeliner along my upper lashline, I use a spongy blender brush that came with my makeup brush set (it's pretty similar to those spongy applicators that come with eyeshadows), and smudge the eyeliner so it's soft and a little smoky with no hard edges. I then use the bit of eyeliner that's on the smudger to add a little color to the bottom lashline, only on the outer half of the eye. When in doubt, smudge/blend with your fingers.

5. Eyelash Curler/Mascara
Easy! I love CoverGirl VolumeExact for everyday - a couple coats on top lashes and one light one on bottom.

The Nighttime Smoky Eye

Kate Beckinsale...does she ever not look gorgeous??

1. So the great thing about nighttime smoky eyes is that you can just add products on top of whatever you're wearing. If you didn't already have some daytime eye makeup on, apply concealer as you would normally.

2. Eye shadow. This is the key to demystifying the smoky eye, I think. As a rule: do not start out with black eyeshadow, or even gray. These colors are difficult to pull off and require a skilled hand. I would do color: bronzes and shades of purple/plum are my personal faves, but if you have brown eyes, do the Beckinsale and try green! Navy can also be really flattering. When applying, just use a little at a time. Cover the lid, maybe go into the crease a little...just do as much or as little as you're comfortable with. Step back every moment or so and look at your work from a little farther away. If you have a small, travel-size blush brush, you can use it to lightly blend/diffuse any hard edges outward so there are no weird smudges or lines. If you are using an eyeshadow duo or palette, use a medium shade over the crease and use the darker shade (or a tiny bit of black eyeshadow if you feel comfortable) to shade the outer corner and crease.

3. Get a little bit of eyeshadow, either the medium shade or the darker shade depending on what you prefer, onto an angle brush and apply to your lower lashline. Blend a little with your finger if needed.

4. Line your upper lid with black eyeliner - either a pencil or liquid, whichever you prefer. I like Almay black eyeliner and NYC liquid eyeliner (it has the best, tiny little brush that makes it really easy to build a smooth line).

5. Curl lashes, apply lots of mascara. For nighttime, I love to layer L'Oreal Collagen Volume mascara over my CoverGirl VolumeExact to the top lashes only - it gives the look of false lashes without that extra effort.

Done! Just try it...you will look gorgeous.