Some cultures believe that the eyes are the gateway to the soul. The best way to entice those into your soul is by mastering the art of the smokey-eye.
This look is the ultimate seduction tool, seen for decades on femme fatale icons like Ann Savage, Angelina Jolie and Mila Kunis. To get this look, you will need white, grey and charcoal eye shadow; black kohl eyeliner; an eyebrow pencil and black mascara. A good set of synthetic make-up brushes will help for accurate application.
To begin, make sure you apply a moisturizer and foundation. The eyes should be the last place for make-up, as the rest should be done first as a base. For long lasting wear, a primer may also be used to ensure that your smokey-eye maintains all night.
1- Brush the white eye shadow from the eyebrow down to the eyelashes. Then sweep grey eye shadow from the eyelashes up to the eye crease.
2- Add black eye shadow to the crease to create depth, putting a slight point to the outer skirts of the eye.
3- Draw on the lash-line with black eyeliner. My favourite eye-liner is from the No.7 range, available nationwide in Boots. To get to the very base, pull the eye lid across and draw on the roots of the eyelashes. Don’t be afraid of drawing an uneven line, as the line will get smudged into the eye shadow.
4- Highlight the bottom line by drawing on the bottom eye lashes with black eye-liner. Frame the eyes by going over the brow with an eyebrow pencil.
If you have blonde hair, do not use a dark eyebrow pencil. Very few natural blondes have dark eyebrows, so if you don’t want to look like Cleopatra-gone-wrong, stay away from the dark eyebrow pencil unless you have dark hair yourself. Your eyebrows should be the same shade, or a shade darker to your hair.
5- Finish this look off with black mascara. My favourite mascara is the Bad Gal Lash by Benefit, available nationwide in Boots. The best way to apply mascara is to look downwards into the mirror and zigzag the brush through the lashes in a downward motion.
Repeat this step as often as possible without getting the spider-leg look. To create length, first brush the mascara on top of the lids, just one application, and then proceed with the zigzag motion from your under lashes.
Application of False Lashes
1- For a more dramatic look, and for ultimate expansion of the eyes, apply fake eyelashes. These can be tricky but the secret is to apply the lash glue and then wait until it becomes tacky before you attempt to apply them right at the root of your own eyelashes.
2- Press down until the false lashes are attached to your real lashes and stay put. If the false lashes are too long, they won’t sit right, so cut any excess off before you start. False lashes are available nationwide in Primark from £1.50.
3- When applying false eyelashes, put a light behind the mirror so you can see what you’re doing properly. Cheryl Cole, Adele and Kim Kardashian don’t go anywhere without their false eyelashes. If every second star gracing the red carpet wears them, they probably work!
