How To: Warm Toned Smokey Eye

Hi again! Today I've got another tutorial for ya! I'm pretty much always down to wear a smokey eye, but I'm pretty much always not down for looking like a raccoon (but if that's your thing, respect man...respect). Anyways I've created a more wearable smokey eye for both daytime and nighttime goings-on. What I love about this eye look is that it's super versatile and will flatter every eye color and a lot of different skin tones. It's one of my favorite looks to wear all year round because it adds just the right amount of drama to my face without looking like I'm going clubbing...because I'm not nearly cool enough to go to the club. The warm toned browns and rust colors make it less harsh and much easier to blend than a darker black based smokey eye. Okay, enough with my ramblings, let's get into it, shall we?

1. So in this picture I've already got my base and brows on (If you'd like to see how I did my base, check out my last post here). We're going to start off by using two different bases to prep/prime the eyes for shadows. Here I'm using MAC Pro Longwear Concealer in NC15 to block out any veins or redness on my eyelids.

Pro Longwear Concealer doubles as both a concealer and a primer because it's formula has priming capability built in. But for this eye look I'll be using both my Pro Longwear Concealer and my Lorac Behind the Scenes Eye Primer because I'll be using a lot of matte shades. Matte shades can be harder to blend and tend to get patchy, so I'll want to make sure my base is smooth and has extra staying power.

After I blend in my Pro Longwear Concealer with my finger tips, I blend in the Lorac primer over top and then dust a translucent powder over my eyelid to set everything. I dust a translucent powder over top my primers because it will help the shadows blend out more smoothly.

2. Next I'm going in with Nars Laguna bronzer on a Sigma E25 Blending Brush and working the product into the crease (outlined below). To blend it out I use windshield wiper motions (back and forth) over my crease. I'm using this color because it blends easily and will act as a nice transition color from the harsher colors I'll be using later.

3. Then I'm taking the color Taupe from the Lorac Pro Palette, on the same Sigma E25 brush, and blending it over Laguna. I'm using windshield wiper motions to blend it out. I'm concentrating this color more on the outer crease in order to deepen it and make it appear more defined.

4. To make things simple, I'm sticking with the Lorac Pro Palette and going in with the color Sable, a nice reddish brown color. I'm placing Sable on my lid with a SS011 Deluxe Oval Shadow Brush. I'm making sure to pat the product on, not swipe it. I want to reduce the amount of  fallout (mess on my face from excess shadow) and ensure the product is pigmented and smooth.

5. After I've applied Sable, I'm going to lightly blend out the line between Sable and Taupe with the Sigma E25 brush.

6. Then I'm taking Espresso, also from the Lorac Pro Palette, and applying it only to the outer lid and blending it up into my outer crease. I'm using an SS012 Deluxe Crease Brush to do this. I'm using small sweeping motions to apply the shadow and then small windshield wiper motions to blend it into the crease.

7. Next I'm taking a warm toned rust color from the Bh Cosmetics 120 Color Palette 3rd Edition and placing it on my lower lid. This will help make the look appear more blown out and soft. I'm taking this color on a Sonia Kashuk Large Crease Brush and blending it along the curvature of my eye. I'm only taking this color 3/4 of the way on my lower lid. This will help to make the eye appear larger because I'm defining the largest part of my eye and leaving the smallest part (inner corner) light. (i.e. Darker colors will define features while light colors will make them appear softer).

8. Next, to add more dimension to the eye, I'm taking whatever Espresso color was left on the SS012 Deluxe Crease Brush and blending it into the very outer corner of my eye (in a V shape) to help the upper lid and lower lid transition together.

9. Moving on to highlighting the eye, I'm applying Cream, from the Lorac Pro Palette, and placing it on my brow bone and inner corner of my eye. This will help lift the eye and make it look more open and awake. This is important because we used a lot of darker colors which can drag the eye down and make it appear tired. I'm taking Cream on a dual sided brush from Urban Decay (this brush came with the Naked 2 palette but are sold separately here and here). I'm using the flat shader side to pack the product on and the blending side to blend the product out.

10. Mascara time! I'm using two different mascaras, one for separating lashes and one for adding volume. First I'm using Covergirl Clump Crusher Mascara to separate my lashes out. I normally apply two coats of this and then go in with two coats of L'oreal Voluminous Waterproof Mascara to add volume and staying power. Quick Tip: Waterproof mascara stays on the lashes all day without smudging, but it can be a pain to take off at night. Instead of applying waterproof mascara directly to your lashes, apply a coat or two of non waterproof mascara first. This will act as a barrier between your lashes and the waterproof mascara, this way you get all the benefits of waterproof without the hassle. (Wow...I used the word "waterproof" a lot just then.)

And that's it! Eye look complete! I would love to see your variations or recreations of this! Tweet me them @gracemcqueelan or Tag me in your Instagram post @grace_mcquillan.

Thanks for reading, feel free to leave me a comment down below and be sure to follow me to be notified when I post something new!

Laters,

xxgk