Soft and Feminine Smokey Eyes

One of my favorite things to do with my eyes is do a smokey look on it. Although using the conventional black and brown is fine, it doesn't really suit my skin color well. What really helps to make my eyes "pop" is to give it a hint of color.

Soft and feminine smokey eye with pinks, browns, blacks and a lot of highlighting.

Stuff you'll need: 1.) Eyeshadow Primer. 2.) Matte Brown Eyeshadow 3.) Matte Black Eyeshadow 4.) Neutral Eyeshadow (same as your skin tone) 5.) Bright colored eyeshadow (I'm using a bright peachy pink). 6.) OPTIONAL: Sheer neutral eyeshadow palette 7.) Demi lashes + lash adhesive 8.) Black or brown liquid liner 9.) Powder highlighter 10.) White pencil eyeliner (not pictured)

Note: For the step by step photos, I only used my PhotoBooth so the picture quality isn't as good as the finished product. /heehee

Step1: Primer

Use a pea sized amount of eyeshadow primer all over your lids - from the lash line to the brow bone. I'm using Too Faced Shadow Insurance Anti Crease primer. (It's better than the Urban Decay primer potion! :D)

Step2: Eyeshadow Base. Use a neutral colored eyeshadow (ideally matching your skin tone or a bit lighter) and dust it all over your lids.  I'm using MAC in Ricepaper.

The base will even out your skin tone and brighten your eyes.

Step 3: Bright colored eyeshadow. I'm using MAC Paradisco which is a peachy pink red perfect for a warm skin tone like mine. Use this on the outer third edges of your crease... 

...and on the outer third edges of your lid (near the upper lash line) 

MAC Paradisco only on the outer thirds of the crease.

OPTIONAL STEP: Soften the bright color. I'm using my Smashbox Trio Eyeshadow which has a sheer, subtle shimmer look to it. I'm using the light pink color to soften the brightness of MAC Paradisco. To do this, just repeat the same steps in step 3 with your softening eyeshadow. Layer it above the bright color.

Step 4: Matte brown eyeshadow. Lightly dot the matte brown eyeshadow over the bright color you've already put on the outer third of your eyes. Don't overdo this step or else you'll miss the point of "soft and feminine smokey" and it'll end up just pure smokey eye. XD

Using a matte brown shadow on the outer thirds of your eye will give your eyes more depth. I used NARS Bengali.

Step 5: Matte black eyeshadow. This is one of the best parts! Using an eyeliner brush, start outlining your eyes FROM THE MIDDLE and slant it upwards to form a wing shape. DO NOT USE YOUR LIQUID LINER YET! We want to keep the strong yet soft look of the eyes.

Wings! I used Shu Uemura pressed eye shadow in M Black 990.

Step 6: Liquid liner. You can either choose to use black or brown liquid eyeliner. I recommend using the K-Palette 1 Day Tattoo Liner. It NEVER smudges even here in a tropical country. Plus it's more affordable than most high quality liquid liners like Lancome's Artliner. K-Palette is definitely my HG eyeliner!

Line your eyes as close as possible to the lash line. Don't try to use your eyeliner as a shading tool. That's what your eyeshadows are for!

Step 7: White pencil liner (which I forgot to include in the photo..) Line your waterline with a white eyeliner to make your eyes appear wider. Remember that just like in wearing clothes, dark colors give a slimming effect and light colors give a widening effect. Black and brown liners are for definition, and white eyeliners are for opening the eyes.

Smudge the white liner to create a softer effect. I'm using MAC Eyeliner in Fascinating. 

My eyes with the liquid liner and the white pencil eyeliner.

Step 8: Using the same Matte Black eyeshadow, line the outer thirds of your lower lash line layering it above the smudged white eyeliner from step 7.

Smudge the black eyeshadow and clean up accordingly. I use this trick because if you smudge it beforehand, it will be less pigmented and less likely to smudge throughout the day when you're out and about. :D

Step 9: Demi Lashes. You can just buy any type of those fashion lashes and cut them in half. Don't buy expensive ones like in Shu Uemura for these though. I suggest buying from FlutterLashes which costs only 350 pesos/10 pairs.

Demi lashes on the sides of my eye. Remember that falsies on the sides of the eye ELONGATE the eyes giving it a more cat-like look while strip falsies WIDEN the eyes, giving it a more doll-like look.

Not pictured: Highlight the points of your eyes such as the brow bone and the inner corners. Dab a bit of highlighting powder on the crease of the eye and blend it in along with the other eyeshadow colors.

yay!