Which makeup products, specific brands & codes can give a really good smokey eye look?
something like this probably ..
Picture 1
Re: Makeup required to create a smokey eye look?
^both of them are the same picture but that’a a very easy smokey eye to do since it’s essentially one lid color and the rest is to blend.
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Prime the eyelid w/ a primer (Urban Decay, NARS, Too Faced, LORAC all make great ones)
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For more pigmentation, I’d use a black base. You can use gel liner or a shadow stick like the NYX Jumbo Stick in Black Bean. Apply this on the lid, keeping it below the crease and blend out the edges using your fingers or a brush like the MAC 217. You can even use a synthetic brush, even a concealer brush would do the trick. My personal preference would be the MAC #217 brush. Also apply this to the bottom of the eye and smudge it using a q-tip if you dont have a pencil brush.
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Apply a matte black shade. (Many companies do these and it’s a very generic color. But for the sake of my post, MAC makes Carbon, Black Tide [not matte but more pigmented than Carbon]) Apply the black shade using a shader brush (my favorite is the MAC 242 or 239) and apply this shade till the crease. Don’t take it too high like the way she did in the picture because it doesn’t look like she blent very well.
Pack it on until your desired intensity. Also apply the black shade on the bottom of the eye. -
Now take a blending/transition color (this applies to the smokey eye technique in general. If you did a brown smokey eye, you would take a color that’s similar in tone but lighter in color to blend out the harsh line. The effect is to go from dark to light and transition into nothing, similar to smoke).
In this picture, Copperplate by MAC would be perfect. It’s a cool-toned grey shade. Apply Copperplate into the crease, overlapping the black a tiny bit and diffuse the harsh line. Now take a blending brush (you can use the 217 but I prefer a bigger brush like 224) and start blending out the color. You should take your time in this process and use light strokes and wipe the brush side to side until you feel the black and grey become “one”. It should look like the grey is coming from the black. Feel free to add more of the transition color using a small brush (either the shader brush from earlier like the 239/242 orrrrr you can use the 217) and retouch the part where the black and grey meet. Make sure you dont reapply on the part where you did the blending or you’ll just have to blend again to get the “transition effect”. Remember to apply the transition color on the bottom as well and blend with a Q-Tip or pencil brush.
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Add a highlight shade. Since this is a cool-toned smokey eye, use a cool-toned highlighter that is more on the pink/white side as opposed to golden or brown. MAC’s Jest would be perfect and is my go-to cool-toned highlighter.
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It looks like she has liner on so you can do that but I would just skip this step. Curl your lashes and apply a ton of mascara on top and bottom lashes. I personally would also apply a bit of the same highlighter in the inner-corner to kind of combine the whole look.
Re: Makeup required to create a smokey eye look?
Just remember, a smokey eye is just a technique and you can apply these steps with any color. Just remember to have a lid color (medium shade), a blending color/transition color and a highlight. Meaning, you can do looks usually with less than 4-5 eyeshadows.
The only time people add more colors is when blending/transitioning. This step requires a bit more so the look can look dimensional and not "smudgy".
When I do a black smokey-eye, I always prefer to blend out the black with browns instead of silver/gunmetal grays etc. So I would put black on the lid, a dark brown in the crease, blend it out. Then add a slightly lighter brown on the edge of the dark brown to blend THAT out. Meaning, I blend out 2 different colors (the black on the lid as well as the brown in the crease).
The light brown I use is usually 2-3 shades darker than my skintone. It really helps transition ALL the colors in a perfect seamless smoke. I also add a highlighter and blend it into the lighter brown color.
So to sum up the order, top to bottom:
highlight shade (lightest shade)
blending color (medium shade)
transition color (medium-dark shade)
lid color (darkest shade)
And to complete it all together, I always apply good concealer around my eyes and make sure my eyebrows are perfectly groomed. And of course, curling your lashes and mascara are crucial.
Re: Makeup required to create a smokey eye look?
Thank you sooooooo much M! That was quite a detailed response. Ill try it and let you know how it goes… 
Re: Makeup required to create a smokey eye look?
Please do and good luck! Let me know if you have more questions. :)
Re: Makeup required to create a smokey eye look?
Lady, you're good!
Re: Makeup required to create a smokey eye look?
Agreed!!! 
Re: Makeup required to create a smokey eye look?
i always admire M for her help and detailed responses. hats off to u M...
Re: Makeup required to create a smokey eye look?
Thanks, guys! 