New Years Face of the Day! + Smoky Eye Tips for Beginners

Happy New Years everyone! Just thought I'd share my face of the day. A simple brown smoky eye using two shadows, a dark brown matte shade and a matte ivory shade to help blend and highlight. A great look for those who want to make their blue eyes really standout. If you aren't accustomed to doing a smoky eye, there are some tips below for a basic look.

Products Used:

Estee Lauder Doublewear foundation in Fresco

Smashbox Halo powder

Hourglass Hidden Concealer in Pearl

Anastasia Brow Whiz brow pencil in medium ash

Urban Decay Primer Potion in Greed

Tarte dark brown matte (don't know the name)

Tarte matte ivory shade for highlight

Urban Decay 24/7 liner in Perversion

Mally Volumizing mascara in black

Revlon Lip Butter in Creme Brulee

  

Smoky eye tips for beginners:

 A smoky effect is usually created using a dark matte (flat color, no shimmer)  eyeshadow like a black, charcoal gray, or deep brown. However, a smoky eye isn't about the color of the shadow, but rather, the blending technique used to "smoke" up the shadow. 

-Apply your shadow on the lid with a flat shader brush and just slightly above the lid with whats left on the brush. Careful not to use too much. You can always go back and add more. 

-Take a good blending brush that has some density to it and start blending upwards from the part just above the lid where you last applied shadow. There may not be much shadow there to blend but just do a little at a time.  

-You want to keep the lid the darkest part of the eye and from there, the shadow should lessen in intensity. If you apply too much, there will be no smoky effect and it will look like you have a black eye. 

-Just apply a little, blend up, apply a little, blend up.. until the desired look is achieved. 

-You  can take a much lighter matte shade to help soften the blending and transition to the highlight shade, or just go straight to the highlight shade. You may want to go with something shimmery for the highlight since you have been working with matte for most of the look.

-A smoky eye shouldn't have any harsh lines, therefor when you applyeyeliner to the top and bottom, use a smudging brush to soften it and blend. Using a dark eyeshadow (wet) applied with an angled liner brush will be your best option to give a softer effect and avoid harsh lines. 

-If you aren't comfortable using a shadow as liner, use it over your regular liner to soften up the look, especially important for the lower lash line.

 -Take a black liner, something soft that glides on the waterline without tugging for a more dramatic look.

Many smoky looks can be created with multiple shades and liners but its best to master the technique first and then start experimenting with other looks.