Smokey Eye ft. Burberry shadows

Hello darlings!

I, after many months of doing very simple makeup, was inspired yesterday to do a bit of a smokey eye. Every now and then you just need to switch it up, ya know? This is a fairly easy eye to accomplish and I'll walk you through it step by step. All you'll need is:

A black eye pencil (I use YSL's waterproof liner)
A black eyeshadow (I used Illamasqua's Zeitgeist pigment)
A deep brown shadow with shimmer (I used Burberry's Midnight Brown)
A warm taupe shadow with shimmer (I used Burberry's Pale Barley)

Firstly, I laid down a rough base with the pencil, smudging it all over my lid just up to the crease. It did not have to be precise- I immediately smudged the entirety with a shadow brush (RBR's shader brush) in order to soften the edges and blend it slightly into my crease.

Next, I packed a black eyeshadow all over the lid to intensify the inky black color and aid in blending with the next couple of shadows.

As a means to soften the harshness of the black, as well as to continue blending the eye into the crease, I used Burberry's Midnight Brown on a MAC 224 brush right into my socket line. This started to create a nice fade of color that allowed the black to transition nicely into the brown. I also smudged a bit of Midnight Brown under my lower lashline using the side of a MAC 239 brush to give a haze of sexy, dirty, smokiness around the eye.

The last shadow I used was Burberry's Pale Barley. Using my MAC 224, I used Pale Barley on top of Midnight Brown to fade the color towards my brow bone. The key to a smokey eye is just layering colors- light and dark. This creates a watercolor effect sans any harsh lines which should be avoided at all costs. Pale Barley was also used under the lower lash line as well as in the tear duct to highlight.

Lastly, line the eyes with your black pencil of choice and finish off with a few coats of black mascara (I used Tom Ford's Extreme mascara)

I like this smokey eye because it's both easy, effective, and looks more difficult than it actually is to create. All in all this took me about ten minutes for both eyes, making it the perfect night out look for when you're in a rush!

Hope you enjoyed!

The finished look

L-R: Illamasqua Zeitgeist, Burberry Pale Barley, Burberry Midnight Brown 

xo Seth