I hate to be predictable, but if I ever have to whip up a makeup look for a special occasion, you can bet it's going to be a smokey eye. That's not only because I love the smudgy, hazy effect that it creates, but also because the look feels equal parts cool, edgy, glam, and classic all at the same time, which means it's versatile enough for pretty much any event. But if your attempts at a smokey eye tend to end in frustration and raccoon eyes, let me share all the tips, tricks, tutorials, and products that helped me finally figure it out for myself. Ahead, how to apply eyeshadow and liner to get the perfect smokey eye every time.
How do you apply smokey eyeshadow?
A smokey eye can be as complicated or as quick as you want to make it. Even if you only have eyeliner handy, you can create a soft, smokey look with a light smudge of your finger, but if you want the full breakdown of a classic smokey eye look, here’s a step-by-step tutorial for how to DIY it (don't worry; video tutorials are comin'):
- Blend a matte, mid-tone neutral shade all over your eyelid to create your base.
- Apply a matte, dark-tone shadow to the outer corners of your eyes, packing the color at your lash line and then blending it upward and outward with a fluffy eyeshadow brush to smooth any harsh lines.
- Sketch a dark pencil eyeliner along your top and bottom lash lines (it doesn’t need to be perfect!), then blend the top edge of the liner with a pencil brush to smoke it out.
- Using your pencil brush, gently blend the same dark eyeshadow from step two across your eyeliner to give it a smokey haze and soften any harsh edges.
- If you like a matte look, stop there. If you want to brighten the look up, use your small brush to press a light shimmery shade into the inner corners of your eyes. And if you want a full-glam look, press a glitter eyeshadow in a matching shade into the center of your eyes. Finish with mascara to pull the look together and top it off with some false lashes for the ultimate smokey eye.
Got the basics down? Cool. Now, watch the following tutorial videos to learn how to customize the look to fit your preferences.
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How to: Everyday, Natural Smokey Eye
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If you want to wear a smudgy, sultry smokey eye in the middle of the day, do your thing. But if you want to tone it down a little for daytime, choose lighter shades and skip the heavy eyeliner for a more subdued version of the glam makeup look. In the look shown here, the makeup artist went with matte brown shades and used a liquid liner to define the lash line without being too intense.
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How to: Neutral Smokey Eye
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For a classic smokey eye, your go-to shades are gonna be blacks and grays (ya know, like the colors of smoke) or neutrals and browns of all shades and tones. You really only need two or three shadows, but you can add even more dimension with a handful of shades in the same family. As demonstrated in the video above, you can also add a black eyeshadow to the very outer corners to make it even more dramatic and or a taupe shade to help transition your two main shades.
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How to: Colorful Smokey Eye
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Nowhere does it say a smokey eye has to be shades of gray. If you love color, follow the same steps laid out in the tutorial above, just swap it with bright, fun shades. For this look, the makeup artist started with a wash of matte yellow over the eyelid and under the bottom lashes, followed by darker shades of gold and orange on the outer corners. As always, blend the shades with your brush to melt the colors together. Tip: When working with lighter shades and shimmers, apply white eyeliner as your base to make the colors on top more vibrant.
So now that you know all the different techniques and have thoroughly studied the techniques, here are five more ways to wear the eye look and the products you need to DIY them.
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A Bronze Smokey Eye
Hello, meet my summer 2021 makeup look. Everything about the gilded, bronze shades gives me beach vacay vibes, and I'm here for it. Instead of matte formulas, swap your shadows for all shimmer, glitter, and metal finishes.
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One easy way to gather a few different shades that all work together harmoniously for your smokey eye is with an eyeshadow palette. This one by Juvia’s Place has all of the tones needed for a gold or bronze, shimmery smokey eye, and it has the color payoff needed to pull off a look like the one above.
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A Silvery Smokey Eye
This is what you get when you take the gunmetal shades of a classic smokey eye but play around with the placement and shape for a more current, modern look worthy of a 2021 makeup trend.
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This Pencil Blending Brush
Sigma Beauty Professional E30 Pencil Synthetic Eye Makeup Brush
Now 13% Off
A small blending makeupbrush is a non-negotiable with a smokey eye, and I’m a particular fan of the small pencil brush here. Its tapered bristles give it a pointed shape perfect for detail work (like applying a tiny bit of shimmer on the inner corners) and precision smudging so that you don’t wipe off all of the liner or accidentally create an “I’ve been crying all day” look.
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A Soft, Shimmery Smokey Eye
Smokey eyes have earned a reputation for being a super-dark makeup look, but you don't have to layer on coal-black shadows to pull it off. Case in point: This shimmery eye look with a soft, light wash of blended colors.
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As much as you need a small blending brush, you also need a fluffy eyeshadow brush with the same tapered shape but with longer bristles for diffusing a wash of color over your eyelid and blending all the shades together. This vegan one is made of synthetic bristles will only set you back four bucks, too.
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A Classic Matte Smokey Eye
There's something so cool about an all-matte eye look, and this one is giving me '90s supermodel. To get a look like this, skip the pop of shimmer and build up the darker shadow and eyeliner on the outer corners instead.
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Another absolute must-have for creating a dramatic smokey eye is a kohl or pencil eyeliner in a black, dark brown, or charcoal shade. Because you’ll be building up so much liner along your upper and lower lashes, you'll want a super-pigmented, workable formula that glides easily, like this one. It’s waterproof, it doesn’t tug on your skin, and it allows you 30 seconds to blend before it sets in place for hours.
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A Colorful Gradient Smokey Eye
Don't know what catches my eye more here, the fun green gradient or the *incredible* eyelashes. Start with the lightest color in the inner corner and slowly work your way darker toward the outer corner. Then, of course, finish with a lot of mascara on your lashes and apply falsies to the outer corners.
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This Volumizing Mascara
Too Faced Better Than Sex Volumizing Mascara
A smokey eye is simply incomplete without lashes. Once you’ve smoked out your eye, you might notice that your eyelashes have kinda faded away, so bring them back into the picture with a dark, volumizing mascara. This formula not only defines your lashes but also curls them and lengthens them for a smokey eye look that's fully complete.
Brooke Shunatona
Brooke Shunatona is a contributing writer for Cosmopolitan.com.