The One Thing I Learned From My Makeup Artist: Smoky Eyes

I should start this blog off with a disclaimer, I am no make-up expert or beauty expert and I am not going to try to pretend to be. As a competitive tennis player I was a bit of a tomboy growing up. I hardly wore makeup and when I did the blush was way too pink and the eye shadow way too blue.

Having worked in TV for the past five years, I have had the opportunity to work with various makeup artists and I have picked up a few tricks of the trade.

A few tricks to the point where I have been asked by friends, colleagues, and even strangers how I do my on camera smoky eye. So I decided to share my very easy, very simple steps to how I do it.

If you are a visual learner check out my YouTube video here:

 

Still reading? Well, the first step is finding the right colours for your eyes. I have green eyes, and so I have been told by makeup artists that the best colours to use to make the pop are purples and greys. Want to know what colour eye shadow would be best for your eye? Well it all goes back to the basics of the colour wheel and using contrasting hues that complement each other.

Enough of boring science, let’s get into the fun makeup. To create my smoky eye look I am going to use some beautiful Mary Kay products and colours including their two palettes Moroccan Dunes and Paris Starlight

Get your brushes ready ladies because here we go!

Step 1: Eye Concealer

I don’t know about you but no matter how much beauty sleep I get; I always seem to have dark circles or bags under my eye so the first thing I do is always conceal them. I use the Mary Kay Perfecting Undereye Corrector

 

Step 2: Primer

It is very important to prime the eyes to make sure that the makeup will stay on all day. I love the Mary Kay Foundation Primer with SPF 15. All you need is a few dots and it covers your whole face. It is so light and goes on so smooth.

Step 3: Highlight

Now for the fun part, the actually colours. The first step is to highlight with the lightest colour you are going to use. For this I use the light highlight from the Moroccan Dunes palette. I sweep it just under the brow and also in the corners of my eyes to brighten them up and make them look bigger.

Step 4: Colour your Eyelid

The next step is to choose the main colour you are going to use on your eyelid. Like I said since I have green eyes, I use a purple colour to cover my eyelids. I love the light purple from the Moroccan Dunes palette.

 

Now comes the va va voom. Again I am going to use a purple, but this time a darker colour from the Paris Starlight palette. I always start at the edge of my eye and then work my way with a soft line above my eyelid. I start at the end because I want to get rid of most of the colour so it doesn’t overpower the colour you have put on the lid. What I really love about the Mary Kay products is they go on so smooth and light, that you don’t really have to worry about making it too dramatic. I also like to take this darker shade under my eye like an eyeliner to really up the drama.

Step 6: A little more drama.

If I am going out with friends, I wouldn’t add this step, but when you are on air, you sometimes need to over exaggerate the colours so the camera picks it up. So just on the outside of my eye I am going to add a darker colour, usually a black or dark grey. I love the dark grey from the Paris Starlight palette.

 

Step 7: Liquid Eyeliner

Warning: go with the lightest line you can possible do on top of your lid. Because you are going with such a dark smoky eye, adding a cat eye or line would just be overpowering. Start small and build your way up. I love the thin line of the Mary Kay Liquid Eyeliner Pen

Step 6: A little more drama.

If I am going out with friends, I wouldn’t add this step, but when you are on air, you sometimes need to over exaggerate the colours so the camera picks it up. So just on the outside of my eye I am going to add a darker colour, usually a black or dark grey. I love the dark grey from the Paris Starlight palette.

 

Step 7: Liquid Eyeliner

Warning: go with the lightest line you can possible do on top of your lid. Because you are going with such a dark smoky eye, adding a cat eye or line would just be overpowering. Start small and build your way up. I love the thin line of the Mary Kay Liquid Eyeliner Pen

 

Step 8: Eyeliner Pencil

You may not even need this step, especially if you used eye shadow underneath the eye in step 5, however if you haven’t figured it out yet, I love a more dramatic look so I will also just line my lower lash line with eyeliner, the Mary Kay Eyeliner to be exact. Again what I love about this eyeliner is it goes on so smooth and not too dark.

 

 

Step 9: Mascara

In my opinion this is the most important step in any eye look. The bigger your lashes the bigger and wide your eyes look, which is a necessity for any look you are going for. Even if you don’t wear any makeup at all, use mascara! I use the Mary Kay Ultimate Mascara. I always coat my top lashes twice for extra lift and my bottom lashes once.

Step 10: Finishing Spray

Congrats, you survived my smoky eye steps. Now to finish it all off you just need to spray so it stays in place all day long. I use the Mary Kay Makeup Finishing Spray. You just hold it an arm’s length out and spray twice and you are ready to hit the town!

Well ladies congrats, you are all expert makeup artists now! Just kidding but I really do hope this helps simplify the smoky eye for you all.

Xo

Mia