How to: Create a subtle smokey brown eye
Things you need:
-Dark Brown eyeshadow
-Medium/light brown eyeshadow
-Cream/Neutral color eyeshadow
-Eyeliner/slanted makeup brush
-Eyeliner
-Eyelash curler
-Mascara
In order to do any eye, I start out by priming the eye. I choose to use concealer and pressed powder as a cheaper option to buying a primer. For the tutorial on priming your eye without primer, click
HERE.
After you've primed your eye, you have to decide whether or not you want to use a liner or not. A liner will give you a more defined, darker look. If you choose not to use a liner it will be a little bit more subtle. The color of the liner also changes your look, so you can change this up however you want! :)
I choose a more dramatic look, so I lined my eye with a black liner. I used Revlon Colorstay in Black as I've found this to stay on really well if you want to wear it throughout the day.
I choose to line the inner rim of my bottom lid, and leave my top lid bare.
After you line your lid, it's time to use the dark brown shadow and the angled eyeliner brush. You can get an angled eyeshadow brush pretty much everywhere; I got mine from target for only a few dollars. I'm using H.I.P Eyeshadow duo in "Foxy," but I'm unsure whether or not it is still available, as my sister gave it to me as a hand-me-down at least 5 years ago! You can use any dark, chocolatey brown for this. :)
Dip the angled brush in the dark brown shadow and pull your eyelid toward your ear with the hand you don't normally use (i.e. if you are right-handed, use your left hand.)
First line your BOTTOM LID. With the pointed (or higher point) of the brush angled toward the outside of your eye (toward your ear), sweep the shadow close to your lash line, toward the middle of your eye, stopping halfway across.
After you do the bottom lid, move to the top lid, starting in the outer corner (where you started lining the bottom lid) and do the same thing.
You can kind of get a feel for the brush, and how comfortable it is to sweep in different directions, but i typically flip the brush around and sweep from the middle of my eyelid to the outer corner (over the first line) to get a nicer line. Make sure when you are finished to blend the shadow with your finger slightly so it is not too defined. (Obviously, be sure to do both eyes!!!) :)
After this, you'll want to get a lighter and more golden brown. I chose a sparkly color from Covergirl Eye Enhancers called Swiss Chocolate.
Using the angled brush again, go over the shadow you've already put on your top lid (in the same way that you applied the dark brown shadow. Then, you'll want to flip the brush so that the higher point is closer to your nose….
..like so. Then you want to find the crease in your eye and, starting from the middle of your eye, sweep a line to the corner of your eye (where it will meet the previous line you made.)
Add a little bit more shadow under that line and blend with your finger so that the corner of your lid has the golden brown covering it.
In order to make this stand out, add a little bit of a lighter color to the part of your lid that you didn't put shadow on toward the inside corner. You can make it sparkly or matte. I used my pressed power on my finger as a neutral colored shadow.
Then, simply curl and add mascara to your lashes to complete the look! You can also use falsies, but I recommend testing out how your glue works, as it might not work if it is applied over makeup (you would have to apply them first in this case!) :)
Tada! Simply, subtle, brown smokey eye! I kept mine pretty light so I could wear it out during the day, but you can make it darker or lighter in order to increase or decrease the drama! ;)
