Females love a smokey eye, it's the look most tend to ask for. However, some females are afraid of trying to create a smokey look because they believe it's so difficult. I will be honest and say like everything else, a little practice and patience is needed.
A smokey eye can be worn by everyone, when done correctly! I always hear women saying they don't look right with a smokey eye. This is not true! First, let's stay away from the thought that a smokey eye HAS to be black. A smokey eye can be done with many other shades that are dark.
Before getting any further let me clarify that using good brushes instead of the little sponge applicators will save you time, a headache, and will make things A LOT easier for you. Also, you will want to invest in some quality eyeshadow because if the eyeshadow is not of good quality you will have a hard time getting the color to blend, and to look opaque. Eyeshadows that are not of good quality tend to be very powdery, which will lead to a lot of fall out . So by the time you'll be done you will have eye shadow all over your face. Not cool!
So now let's go through some mistakes women do when trying to create a smokey eye.
Don't Do This!!!
One of the biggest mistakes women do is put black eyeshadow on their entire lid and bottom and think they have a smokey eye. Sorry, this just doesn't work. You HAVE to blend!!!!!! Also, don't pile on layers and layers of black eyeshadow. You have to slowly build the color and blend in between.
I understand raccoons can be very cute, BUT please DON'T try to look like one of them!!! You don't want them following you around thinking they found their long lost soul mate.
Avoid using all shimmery eyeshadows. Shimmer is very nice and can brighten the eyes. However, under the eyebrow use a matte or less shimmery eyeshadow that's close to your natural skin color. This will highlight your eyebrows and will help blend the colors.
DO NOT place color eyeshadow all the way to your eyebrows. If you feel you have placed eyeshadow too close to the eyebrow a good way of fixing it is to use a matte eyeshadow close to your skin color (same as mentioned above) under the eyebrow and blending. Remember to keep separate brushes for dark colors and light colors.
Another mistake is putting to much eyeshadow on the bottom of the eye. This again gives you a raccoon eye.
Avoid any harsh lines (this goes for any look). In the photo above she did not blend the bottom liner, making it look harsh. Always blend!! If you don't have a little blending brush, no worries. Use a Q-tip to blend the bottom eyeliner. Also you can put eyeshadow that's the same color as the liner to make it look softer and keep it from running.
Smokey Eyes done the right way!!!
Here is a great example that smokey eye's don't have to be black. Here she used a deep olive green and blended it to give it a soft look. You can see the how the dark green helps bring out her eyes.
In the photo above you can see how to place eyeshadow under the eyebrow the right way. Just remember to use a matte shadow close to your skin color. You can also see how it helps bring out her eyebrows.
This is the right way of placing eyeshadow under your eye. Keep it thinner towards the corner of the eyes then you can widen it.
This is a beautiful smokey eye. Everything is perfectly blended. She applied a shimmery champagne color on her lid and then a matte charcoal color on the crease. She also has black eyeliner on the top and bottom. However, to avoid her eyes from looking small she applied white eyeliner on the bottom lid (waterline) then the black liner on the below it (bottom lash-line).
Another way of creating a smokey eye without black.
Until next time,
The Wicked
