Monday Makeover: The Perfect Smokey Eye *Guest Blogger*

Hi Everyone

I feel very privileged to be writing a Monday Makeover post for Who’s that girl?, my new favourite blog!

Chelsea and Naomi know I am addicted to all things beauty, so I thought I’d share some tips on how to achieve a look that is universally flattering - The Smokey Eye. Toned down, this look can be wore on a daily basis (as I do!), or you can amp it up for a night out.

1. Before you start - apply a primer. Lots of brands do eye shadow bases, but my favourite one is Urban Decay’s Primer Potion – this stuff is magic! Without it my eye shadow turns into a creased mess, but if I put a small amount of this on my lids before my shadow, hours later it still looks freshly applied!

2. Choose around three eye shadows that complement each other.  So say you’re doing a brown smokey eye - a champagne colour, medium brown and darker brown are a great combination! It’s always good to have a palette to use – an amazing one (another Urban Decay product!) is the Naked Palette. It has 12 beautiful colours that are all highly pigmented, so you can try so many looks with just one product!

1. Start with the lightest colour of your three and apply it all over your lid with a flat brush. 
2. Then take the medium eye shadow and sweep this into the crease of your eye using a round shadow brush.
3. Finally take the dark colour, which could be a deep brown or even black, and using the same round brush push this colour into the outer third of the eye, using small circular motions.

Pictured adapted from Benefit

3. Always blend! Once you’ve applied your eye shadow, take a clean fluffy brush and buff around the edges. This is an essential step, as it really achieves the smokey look and makes your make-up look more seamless and natural.

4. Apply the darkest shadow underneath your eye. Take a small brush with the deepest colour you have used and run it underneath your lower lash line. This again adds to the smokey effect, but be careful not to go too far down under your eye – you may enter panda territory!

5. Another trick a lot of celebrities such as Kim Kardashian and Blake Lively use is to apply a light, shimmery shade just on the inner tear duct area of your eye. It really opens your eye and makes them look bigger!

6. And finally, always finish your look with some liner and lots of mascara! You could use whatever eyeliner you prefer – gel, liquid, pencil, but the combo I often use is Urban Decay 24/7 Black Liquid Liner on the upper lash line and MAC Teddy kohl liner on the bottom. Then of course curl your lashes and apply a volumising mascara top and bottom; my new fave is Maybelline The Falsies (from Naomi’s Mascara Dating Monday Makeover post!) and you are done!

So that’s it for the smokey eye! I hope I’ve provided some good tips you may not have tried before and thanks for reading!

Katie x



Ps. I have included links for Debenhams as Urban Decay is 10% off there at the moment.