4 Easy Steps to that Smoky Look for Your Eyes!

You don’t need a personal makeup artist to achieve the smoky eye look that actresses like Kristen Stewart and Olivia Wilde pull off so flawlessly. This look can be both sexy and playful and it can be achieved in 4 easy steps!

Step 1: Choose your colors
In the past, the smoky look was achieved by going for dark colors but nowadays you achieve this sultry look by going for lighter colors such as taupe or grey. It is easy to find eye shadow palettes from Lorac and Sonia Kashuk just to name a few… that are specifically designed to help you create this sexy, smoldering look.

Step 2: Highlight
Prep your entire eyelid with a foundation. Then, use a soft eye-shadow brush; apply a shimmery shadow in a neutral shade such as bronze, to the entire lid. Layer on a medium-tone shadow (like a gray) from your lash line to the crease.

Step 3: Line
Using a small, firm brush (and light, feathery strokes), trace around eyes with a dark matte shadow and blend it into the existing medium tone on your lid. If a smoky gray is too dark, try a deep green for brown eyes or taupe for blue eyes. For extra oomph use a black eye pencil on top and bottom lash lines and blend, blend, blend.

Step 4: Lighten

For a finishing touch try lightening up a little. A pale shimmery shadow on the inner corers of your eyes will make them look open an awake. To achieve this, take a small brush and highlight a V-shaped section on the inner corners and blend if necessary touch up with foundation. Add 2 coats of mascara to top off the look.

Remember, the key to achieving the smoky eye look is to blend, blend, and blend! Blend out the color so that it is most intense at your lash line then fades seamlessly onto the lid.