Smokey Eye Makeup Tips

Tips on achieving flawless smokey eyes:

I’m so loving Danni Minogue’s new look in the upcoming season of Australia’s Got Talent.  Her makeup artist is amazing!

I particular like the smokey eye look she’s sporting so I thought I’d write some tips on how to achieve this eye makeup look with minimal fuss.

·         The most important tip is to start with the eyes and do the rest of your makeup after.  This allows you to clean up any fallout from the dark shades you’re applying.

·         Once you’ve moisturised and prepared the face for makeup, apply a good eye-shadow primer , this gives your eye-shadow staying power.

·         Next apply your under eye concealer and apply it to the top lid as well.

·         Seal the concealer on your eye-lid by applying some pressed powder (I like to keep a clean eye-shadow brush just for this) to the eye-lid, ensuring you apply the powder all the way above the brow bone and stopping just below the eyebrows.  This makes blending much easier.  Don’t apply powder to the concealer below your eyes at this stage as you might need to clean it up later.

·         Next is a VERY IMPORTANT STEP which is not to be missed if you don’t want to end up looking like Rocky Balboa. 

o   Apply Sorbolene cream (or any other fragrance free cream, I wouldn’t waste my expensive moisturiser on this step though) just below the eye area, below the concealer, not on top of it. 

o   Sweep it in an arching motion, all the way from your nose across your cheek bone and up around the outer corner of your eye. 

o   Don’t rub it in; leave it visible on the skin.  This is to catch all falling eye shadow / makeup.

 Have you chosen your colours for the smokey eye look?  You can go simple and stick to 2 colours or add a few extra for a bit of fun.  My favourite look at the moment is a mixture of gold’s and navy.

·         Apply a lighter shade (mine is pale gold) across the entire lid all the way up to under the eyebrows.  This gives you a good base and highlights those beautiful brow bones.

·         Next, preferably using a different eye-shadow brush reserved for dark colours, apply the darker shade of choice (mine is navy) to the lid and below the eye just under the lash line.   Blend this into the crease of the eye.  (Blending means leaving no hard edges / lines.)

(A good way to avoid too much shadow falling off the brush and onto the rest of your face is to tap the brush after you’ve picked up the eye-shadow.)

·         Now for the magic touch, add a little bit of gold (or any metallic shade to compliment your base colour) shadow to the centre of the lid and ever so slightly below the lashes.  Next, using a small angled brow brush, apply the colour to the corner of the eye.

(If your eyes are very wide-set, I would not apply the gold shadow to the corner of your eyes as a lighter shade will make your eyes seem further apart.  Remember, light adds, dark takes away).

·         Once you’re happy with the eye-shadow, you can apply your eye-liner.  I would suggest using a pencil as liquid liner would be to perfect for this look.  Apply the pencil to the top and bottom lids blending into the lashes.  I would suggest using black or very dark navy.

·         For an even more dramatic effect, apply some black / navy shadow to the liner and smudge it all the way around the eye.  This will give your liner more staying power.

·         Next you can shape your brows and add definition using a brow pencil or powder.  Always use a shade that is closest to your hair colour, but never use black as this is too harsh.

·         Finally, apply black mascara to the top and bottom lashes.

·         If you’re happy with the look, gently remove the Sorbolene cream with a tissue. 

·         You may now finish your makeup and apply foundation, blush etc as per usual.  Keep the rest of your makeup minimal as your eyes are the focus point tonight!