What you need:

• Matte Black Eye Shadow – Whichever brand you prefer. I’m partial to Morphe for most of my shadow palettes, but that’s just me. MAC has a VERY black shadow as well. (Whichever you choose, try for a TRUE black, none of that blue-ish tinted crap you find in some brands. If you don’t have a TRUE black and your black shadow is slightly blue-ish in tone don’t panic. You can make your black appear TRUE with a quick trick.)

*** The Trick: Simply put a NEUTRAL brown (slightly gray tinted brown) down first before you apply your black eye shadow. This will keep the black looking BLACK and not pull a weird blue undertone. ***

• Matte Charcoal Gray Eye Shadow.
• Matte Nude/Cream/Soft Tan Shadow – Choose a skin tone shade that matches your own, but is about 3 shades lighter. You don’t want a STARK white or too pale shadow, though you want a color that will add some nice contrast.
• Shimmer Nude/Cream/Soft Tan Shadow – This should be the same color as your brow bone color, just in a shimmer form. This will be for your brow pop to add some size and make your eyes look bigger.
• Black Eye Liner – I prefer gel liner (Maybelline New York Eye Studio Lasting Drama Gel Liner, Blackest Black), as I can get a sharp line or a good smudgy/smoky line. You can choose a pencil/kohl liner or whichever your favorite is, though I would advise against liquid as it might dry too fast and be a more messy product to try to smoke out.
• Mascara – It’s up to you which you prefer.
• Flat Eye Shadow Brush – for packing
• Medium Firm Blending Shadow Brush – for your crease blend

The How To:

1. Apply the matte light colored shadow over the brow bone, using the flat eye shadow brush to pack it in place underneath your eyebrow.
2. Using the flat eye shadow brush use the shimmer light color and set it just beneath the height of your arch in your brow. Keep this as a small and well blended light catch.
3. Use the medium-sized blending brush with the Charcoal Gray Eye shadow, apply over the entire lid and blend well into the crease until the final edge is softened very lighly up onto the brow bone. Be sure to leave some space between the finished edge of the Charcoal Gray and your eyebrow which will help with the illusion of size for your eye and not let the darkness of this look make your eye appear smaller.
4. Using the Black shadow and the medium blending brush, apply the back to your lid. Remove the excess powder from your brush, before using the black shadow you placed on the lid to blend up into your crease, letting it finish into the Charcoal Gray to create a beautiful smoking effect.
5. Using an angled liner brush apply the Gel Eye liner/Or Pencil Liner to the upper lid. Using a cotton swab or a clean small shadow brush, you can then soften the liner out to smoke into the eye shadow. This will create a perfect smoking effect from very black at the lash line, smoking out to a softer black of the shadow and finally finishing into the charcoal gray.
6. Holding the wand horizontally, apply mascara from underneath the upper lashes, working from the base of the lashes to the tips. Apply evenly from the tear duct to the outer corner.
7. Re-load the wand and apply mascara to the lower lashes, working from the base to the tips. If thicker lashes are desired, apply a second coat of mascara.
8. The smokey eye requires a stronger brow then a more natural eye. Using an angled brush, use a shadow that is the same tone as your hair, choosing a color that is one shade lighter than your hair. Using the angled brush start filling in your brow with small upward, hairlike flicks, working your way towards your arch. At the arch continue filling in the brow using longer more fluid motions down the length of the brow’s tail.

And there you have it!  A true smokey eye. (Note of Caution:  Not ALL eyes look good with a Smokey eye, not ALL people can pull off a solid black.  If you think that might be you, choose a dark brown as base crease and then softly blend in some black.)

Method Makeup, Sacramento’s Makeup School