Easy Smokey Eye Tutorial!
The smokey eye. This is something I’ve been wanting to experiment with for awhile because it seems there are so many tutorials out there that show you how to get the smokey look – but they seem so difficult. I will be the first to admit that I can be pretty quickly defeated when I’m watching a Youtube tutorial and I see there are a ton of products needed for a look or that it takes a lot of time to achieve. It’s not that I’m impatient…okay, maybe it is, but I don’t always have a lot of money to spend on makeup (and brushes can be so expensive!) or a lot of time to get ready. In these situations I just want products that look great but don’t cost an arm and a leg, so to speak. And I want it to be easy enough to accomplish.
The point here is that I was scouring the web to find inspiration for this tutorial, and I found the perfect video from Refinery29 on which to base my Smokey Eye look. In the video, Taylor shows you how to achieve a sexy, smokey eye look using only two makeup products and two brushes. The trouble is, Taylor doesn’t really tell you what products she is using and I have a feeling that the products are higher-end and probably relatively expensive.
My take on the Smokey Eye look is similar to Taylor’s in that I’ve chosen only two products (with an optional third) and two brushes, but I’ve found products that are inexpensive -all found at drug stores or Target- yet still work great and I explain the terminology that she uses in the video. I’ve also included a coppery brown Smokey look for those evenings where you still want the wow-factor but in a warmer, more wearable palette.
Here’s the classic black version:
Products we’ll be using, from left to right -
1. NYX Cosmetics Jumbo Eye Pencil in Black Bean, $4.50
2. NYX Cosmetics Slide On Eye Pencil in Black Sparkle, $8.00
3. E.l.f. Eye Crease Brush, $1.00
4. E.l.f. Blending Eye Brush, $1.00
5. Wet n’ Wild Color Icon Eyeshadow Trio in #385B Don’t Steal My Thunder, $2.99
For any eye look that you want to last, you’ll need to start by priming your eye area. Typically I would use the Urban Decay Primer Potion, Benefit’s Stay Don’t Stray or a Benefit Creaseless Cream Shadow, but in this case I recommend using a NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil. This is where the optional product comes into play. You could always just go with your regular primer but the NYX pencil works both to prime and to add a wonderfully rich color to the smokey eye look.
STEP ONE: Either prime your entire eyelid area with an eyeshadow primer (E.l.f. has an inexpensive version or you could go with a Maybelline Color Tattoo Cream Shadow in a neutral color), or pick up your NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Black Bean. Swipe the pencil over your lid, starting as close to the upper lash line as possible. You want the most concentrated color to go right into that lash line. Once you’ve gotten the lash line covered well, cover the rest of your eyelid with Black Bean. It’s all right if it doesn’t look perfect because we’re going to blend it in with a brush.
STEP TWO: Use the E.l.f. Eye Crease Brush to smudge Black Bean into the lash line even more. Then sweep it up from the lash line to the eye crease so that the black color is darkest at the lashes and then fades up into the crease.
STEP THREE: Take the NYX Slide On Eye Pencil in Black Sparkle and build color into the lash line. We will also be blending this in with a brush, so it doesn’t have to be perfect. Don’t swipe this pencil all over your lid, as we already have Black Bean as a base (unless you chose not to use Black Bean, in which case you will do Step Two with Black Sparkle instead and skip Step Three). With this pencil, line the upper inner rim of your eyelid. This is called tight lining. It will give the smokey look a bold, dramatic effect. Also line the lower inner rim of your eyelid.
STEP FOUR: Go back with the E.l.f. Eye Crease Brush and blend Black Sparkle from your lash line up into Black Bean, and into the crease. Once you’ve done this, take whatever color is still on the brush and blend from the outer corner of your eyelid down to the lower lash line. Only blend the color to about the first third of your lower lash line. The look so far should be dark and concentrated at the upper lash line and then should fade out into the crease and around to the lower lash line, with both inner rims lined.
STEP FIVE: Take the E.l.f. Blending Eye Brush and use it to blend the middle “crease” color from the Wet n’ Wild trio on to your eyelid, starting with the lash line like always. Move up from the lash line on to the rest of your eyelid. As Taylor points out in her video, dab or pack it, don’t wipe it. That will save you from getting black eyeshadow all over your face. Then, use what is left on the brush and blend that into the crease of your eyelid. This shadow will not only add the black color to your crease but will set the eyeliner we’ve used.
Finish with your favorite mascara and admire your wonderful work.
Five steps and three products to an easy yet beautiful smokey eye look!
If you’d like to try this with subtler, copper colors, check out which products I recommend below:
Products from left to right:
1. NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in French Fries, $4.50
2. NYX Slide On Eye Pencil in Brown Perfection, $8.00
3. E.l.f. Eye Crease Brush, $1.00
4. E.l.f. Blending Eye Brush, $1.00
5. Wet n’ Wild Color Icon Eyeshadow Trio in #335 Silent Treatment, $2.99
For this look, follow Steps 1-5 as with the classic black look, using the brown counterparts in place of the black products.
I hope this tutorial is helpful! If you’d like to see the Refinery29 video, you can find it here: http://www.refinery29.com/smoky-eye-video-tutorial.
If you try this look, let me know! Comment below or post a picture!
With love, Kristin
