It's been a while since I've worked a proper smokey eye! In many ways, its a beauty classic, and it usedto very much be my signature look when I went out. But I guess over time, I got tired of it. It seemed a bit obvious somehow. And there have been so many other going out make-up looks to try.
But something about a sapphire, or navy blue update on the look feels right for now, so here's my new take on the old faithful.
Note: I really need to treat myself to a better digital camera. These photos don't do justice to the finished look at all, and my iPhone camera has not captured the jewel-toned blues well. Sorry!
What I Used:
- Mac Stobe Cream
- L'Oreal Lumi Magique Foundation
- Rimmel Sunshimmer Bronzing Powder 'Light Matte'
- Benefit Bad Gal pencil liner
- Sleek Mineral Eyeshadow Palette 'Storm'
- Maybelline The Falsies Volum'Express mascara
- Collection 2000 Glam Crystals Gel Liner
- Mac Sheen Supreme lipstick 'Bare Again'
How To:
Start by prepping the face with a good quality moisturiser. Glowing, hydrated skin is the perfect foil to dramatic stormy eyes.
On the back of your hand, mix together a 5 pence sized amount of Mac's Strobe Cream and a brightening foundation, such as L'Oreal's Lumi Magique. Using a foundation brush, gently cover your face with the make-up buffing it into the surface of your skin.
Next, use a slanted powder brush to brush a light bronzer around the areas your face would naturally catch the sun- tops of your cheekbones, forehead and the tip of your nose. Choose a light formulation without any shimmery or glittery particles as you want to keep the focus on those dramatic eyes. Despite the name, Rimmel's Sunshimmer bronzer is a good choice as it doesn't have any glitter.
Apply an eye primer if you wish, to help keep your colour locked in place. Then use a smudgy black eye crayon- Benefit's Bad Gal is perfect, into the lash line. Remember, it doesn't matter if you are a little bit imprecise, as smudgy lines only make the eyes more sultry. Use a smudging brush to blend the line in.
After this, use a fluff shadow brush to pack on a jewel toned dark blue eyeshadow. There's a sapphire shade in the Storm eyeshadow palette from Sleek Makeup that's perfect. Go all the way into the inner corners and up into the crease of the eye.
Dip the same brush into a matte black colour and pat into the outer third of the eyes, roughly following a v-shape. With a blending brush, work the two colours together to make a seamless run of shadow.
Using a light pearl coloured shadow, pat some into the inner corners of your eyes with the pad of your little finger. This will open the eye up and make it luminous, even with all the dark shadow.
Quickly fill in your brows in whichever way you prefer - defined bold arches are needed to balance the heavy eye makeup. For me personally, I used a clear mascara swept through my brows to neaten them up (Mac do a good one, or for a cheap alternative Natural Collection is hard to beat), and then use an angled brush to fill in any sparse gaps with a dark brown shadow).
Curl your lashes, then apply a couple of coats of a good volumising mascara, such as Maybelline 'the Falsies' Volum-Express. You don't really need fake lashes with this look, as there's already a lot of drama at the eyes!
Using an eyeliner brush, like Benefit's Get Bent Angled Eyeliner Brush, take a line of the jewel blue colour along your lower lash line to really make your eyes pop. I think this works well in any eye colour, but I love it with my brown eyes as its a contrast. A bronzy brown would have the same effect on blue eyes if you wanted to switch up the colour.
For the piece de resistance, and a really special 'wow' touch for your eyes, I cannot say enough in praise of Collection 2000 Glam Crystals Gel Liner. It's a beautiful, long lasting formulation. Here, I used the black liner with silver glitters and just took it along my top lash line, over the Bad Gal pencil liner. It really gives your eyes that final va-va-voom!
As your eyes are so full of drama, I think it's best to keep the lips really neutral with just a very slight hint of gloss- Mac's Sheen Supreme Lipstick in 'Bare Again' is the perfect product for the job- no lipliner keeps it modern and 'un-done'.
Et voila, smoky eyes with a sapphire twist! What's your favourite way to put a spin on the classic smoky eye? xxx
Post a Comment