The Ultimate Smokey Eyes Tutorial

Ready to go to beauty school? Lesson 1: the ultimate smokey eyes tutorial. Like throwing on a chic AF leather jacket that never goes out of style, sweeping on a smokey eyeshadow look is the answer to nailing night-out glam instantly. Smudgy layers of eyeshadow, a slick of black eyeliner and a full fan of plumped-up lashes give you the tried-and-tested formula to achieving the most smokin’ smokey eye ever. *And* it’s versatile, too – simply switch up your shades from red to bronze to violet, working smokey eyes in every hue. Did someone say flawless? Scroll down for the ultimate smokey eye masterclass, featuring a suits-all bronze to take your makeup look from day to night - or the other way around...

Step 1

Take a fluffy eyeshadow brush and buff the bronze shade from Magnif’Eyes Eyeshadow Palette in Nude Edition all over the eyelid, into the crease and up to the brow bone. To blend seamlessly, take a clean eyeshadow brush and sweep over the brow bone in a windscreen wiper motion.

Step 2

Using an angled eyeshadow brush, dip into a deeper brown shade from your palette. Tap off the excess pigments to avoid eyeshadow fall-out during application, then pat the bristles into the outer corner of the eye, the crease and around the contour until you reach the middle point of the eyebrow. Lightly blend this darker shade with your fingertip.

Step 3

Next up, smokey liner. Dip an angled eyeliner brush into the deeper brown eyeshadow. Look straight ahead into a mirror and line along the lower lash line from the outer corner of the eye to the centre. Wipe the bristles clean before repeating with the bronze shade, this time lining from the inner corner of the eye to the centre, so the two shades meet in the middle. Use a cotton bud to blend and smoke out the two hues.

Step 4

To take your smokey eye look to the next level, add a slick of liquid eyeliner. Shake up Exaggerate Liquid Eyeliner and glide the thin brush from the inner to the outer corner of the eye. Need some guidance? Apply three dots of liner along the lash line to follow as you apply.

Step 5

For fuller-looking lashes, look down into a mirror to reveal the gaps in between the lash root. Then, etch your liquid liner into the gaps, creating the illusion of thicker, longer eyelashes. To finish, curl lashes and glide your go-to plumping mascara side-to-side to lift and separate. Smokin’ hot.

The next step to get your smokey eye looking F-L-A-W-L-E-S-S? Face-framing brows. Learn how to get arched eyebrows on point in just a few steps.