Makeup 101 : Smokey Eye

Hi folks! 

Extreme apologies for not posting the last week or so, I had a competition to prepare for with only 5 days notice so I have been the busiest guy ever! So, I thought I'd make it up to you guys with my first ever makeup tutorial!

One of the things I get asked about most is a smokey eye, so I thought I would show you how to do a really wearable, not too dark or complicated eye with a pop of shimmer.

One of my first tips when choosing what colours to wear is to go for a palette or a quad if you're not sure, this means you'll have colours that will definitely match and most quads now have little instructions on the back to help!

The quad I've chosen is the Maleficent palette from MAC but this contains all permanent shades if you like the look of them! 

Step 1 :

Apply your chosen primer (I use TooFaced Shadow Insurance) and buff a medium matte brown shade over your crease, using a fluffy brush here I've used Brown Down from the Maleficent palette with a MAC 217 brush. 

Step 2: 

Next, take a slightly different matte brown, I've used Concrete here as it's a little darker and more grey toned than Brown Down, and using the same brush, lightly blend that into the outer corner of your eye and crease, covering approx 1/3rd of your outer eyelid.

Step 3:

This is the part most people are scared of : black. Take a matte black shadow, and with a super light hand, blend that into the very outer corner of your eye. Keep blending until you have a nice gradient of colour but make sure you keep to the outer corner as this will create the most dimension. 

Step 4:

Now take a flat, dense eyeshadow brush, I used the double-ended eyeshadow brush from Urban Decay and press a shimmery gold shadow on the eyelid up to the crease. I've used Goldmine from MAC here, but Half Baked from Urban Decay is also a nice one. If you're not into shimmer then a pale matte shade would also work for this step. 

Step 5:

This step is entirely optional, but I like it for adding a little bit of grunginess. Take the same matte black eyeshadow on an angled liner brush and run this along your bottom lashline, then smudge with your blending brush. 

Add some mascara and you're done!

I hope you liked this tutorial and if there's any you'd like me to do then please let me know and I'll give it a shot! 

N x