Smoky Eyes in 3 Easy Steps

The easiest way to create those sooty, slept-in-your-makeup eyes is to, well, literally sleep in your makeup. But that’s neither good for your skin nor your bed sheets, so these three steps are the next best way to get the look with minimal effort.

THE TOOLS:

- A creamy black eye pencil. A kohl formula such as Nouba Eye Pencil no 10 is ideal because it’s soft enough to smudge while still delivering rich black color. Avoid waterproof pencils which don’t blend as easily.

- Shimmery or metallic gray eye shadow. This is key to smoky eyes that are sexy, not raccoon-like. A luminous, medium grey shadow provides that smoky effect without the heaviness of a matte charcoal or black shadow. Choose a powder formula (creams don’t last as long) such as Nouba Double Bubble ref 24

- A domed eye shadow brush. The curved head allows for smooth blending. Try Nouba Eye Brush no 13

- Black mascara. Skipping mascara can make this look seem harsh—you need fluttery lashes to balance the strong eye makeup. Choose a volumizing formula such as Nouba Mascara Super Volume

THE TECHNIQUE:

1. Line your eyes top and bottom with black pencil. For your top lid, place your finger at the outer corner of your eye and gently life the skin up and out slightly—this makes it taut so it’s easier to draw a smooth line. Hold the pencil as close to the lash line as possible and, using short strokes, draw from the outer lashes inward, creating a thick line. Stop just short of the inner corner. Then trace your bottom lid, wiggling the pencil in between your lashes. Smudge both lash lines with a cotton swab.

2. Sweep on the shimmery shadow. You want the colour to be darkest by your lashes, so start at the outer corner of your eye. Brush the gray shadow across your lid using quick flicks and concentrating the color close to your lashes, then blend up to your crease.

3. Fade the color outward. To create a halo of grey around your eyes, dust whatever shadow is left on the brush from your crease up to your brow bone, then do a soft sweep under your bottom lashes. If you see any edges of shadow, feather the brush over them to blend. Then dip the brush back in the shadow and work it back and forth in the crease of your lid to create depth. Finish with several coats of black mascara on your top lashes, and just a dab of it on your bottom lashes.