There are different flavours of makeup
to suit every person – some like it natural and minimal, some like it bold and
dramatic and some like it both ways and do whatever the hell they like. As they should.
I, personally, am more of a neutrals
person. I’ll wear every shade of brown,
peach or pink I can lay my hands on because that’s what I like on my face.
However, the #30daymakeupchallenge
took me significantly out of my comfort zone.
I’m referring to the Day Thirteen post, the smokey eye look. I’ll be honest and admit that I actually
created this look for the challenge a while ago when I was trying to get a
little ahead of it, but then I stumbled across the glitter cue and well, there
that went out of the window.
When I created this look, I had just
watched a YouTube video by Desi Perkins.
I actually really like her. She’s
one of the most natural YouTubers that I watch without taking it a smidge too
far (ahem, Laura Lee – but I still love you!).
The video (which I’ll link below) is about how to create the perfect
dark smokey eye look. I obviously
mimicked her video to create this look, so if you’re interested in how to do
this professionally, I suggest you watch the video. If, however, you want the
“Makeup-for-dummies” version, keep reading here.
Step One: Preparation
Prepare yourself by selecting the
colours you plan on using. You can
practise the gradient by swatching your colours on your arm to see which
colours will create the gradient you’re looking for.
For my look, I decided to use warm
tones and stuck with warm browns and beiges to create my gradient. For this, I used the Essence All About Nudes
eye shadow palette.
Step Two: The Gradient
I mean, I don’t know why it has to be
said that we start in the crease, because that’s where we start for every eye looks,
but any way. The slim line between
smokey eyes and panda eyes is separated by my one Golden Rule: blending. If you’re not committed to blending for at
least 30 minutes in total of this look, I strongly recommend you do not try
this look.
I recommend using your normal
transition colour. Work your transition
shade into your crease thoroughly with gentle windscreen wiper movements or
circular movements, depending on whatever suits you. I personally prefer windscreen wiper.
Switch colours to the next shade in
your gradient, but be sure to apply the next shade slightly lower on the crease
than your transition shade. Don’t worry
about getting it on your lid because that’s going to be covered up any
way. If you apply the next shade a
little too high, it’s handy to keep the brush that you applied your transition
shade on nearby so that you can blend it out to maintain the gradient.
Once you’re happy with the blend on
the two colours, switch colours again and again blend it into your crease, just
below the previous shade. If you’re
using particularly dark shades (like Desi Perkins’, who used the most gorgeous
brick red shade), you could probably eliminate a third colour and skip straight
to your black shadow. I, however, am
super pale and felt that I needed all the help I could get in achieving the
perfect gradient.
 |
| The colours I used in order from my transition shade (1) to my darkest crease shade (4) |
Step Three: Black
Starting at the very base of the
crease, apply a small amount of black shadow.
I used a pencil brush and then blended it out gradually. Black shadow is a super-bitch if you don’t
treat it right, so always apply as little as possible and build it up to where
you want it. Obviously using a pencil
brush, this step took me quite a while but I was absolutely terrified to apply
too much and then have a mess. I used
Catrice single eye-shadows in “Captain of the Black Pearl”.
Once you’ve worked the black into the
gradient, it’s time to blacken those lids.
Black shadow, as much as it can ruin an entire look in 3 seconds flat,
is not as pigmented as you’d need for a total black out on your lids. I used my LA Girl black gel liner all over my
lid. I let it dry a little so I could
blend the edges into the gradient. Once I was happy with the blend at the
crease, I set the liner down with my black shadow to add a little intensity and
ensure that there was no smudging or creasing.
Step Four: Lower lash line
Do I need to tell you to do your eyes
first, before you do your foundation routine?
No? Ok.
Needless to say, doing your eyes
before your foundation will save you a lot of heartache and frustration. Be sure to clean your undereye area with a
makeup wipe to make sure there’s no black or dark shadow fall out, before
starting your foundation. This is also a
good opportunity to shape your eye look, if you want more of a winged effect or
anything.
Step Five: Finishing Touches
To finish this look off, I applied my
Essence Long-Lasting Eye pencil in “Black fever” in both my waterline and
tightline. I used The False Lashes
mascara Dramatic Volume Unlimited, but it really made no difference. In Desi Perkins’ video, she put on false lashes
and you couldn’t see them either so I decided to spare myself and not use
lashes, since no one would see them anyway.
And that is your ultra-black,
super-dark smokey eye makeup. I’ve never
really worn such dark makeup but I’ll be honest, I could totally be all
goth-like and punk-rocker. Just kidding,
I’ll never make it.
Thank you for checking back in this
week. I hope you have an amazing week
until next time!
Love and light ♡♡♡