Smokey Eyes are a makeup technique that can be applied easily and quickly with kohl, mascara and eye shadow. The special thing: The dark eyeshadow frame around the eyes, which creates a great contrast to the white of the eye. Depending on how dark we make them up, Smokey Eyes are suitable for both a day and evening look.

No wonder, then, that there are always new variations of the make-up trend. Those who like it edgy and classic, for example, choose black, while soft shades such as brown, blue or green are also suitable for the everyday office look. Eyeliners in bright colors can also make eye make-up exciting.

You need that for that

If you want to try Smokey Eyes yourself, you should first have all the important make-up and styling products at hand. This is what you need for the perfect eye makeup:

Eye shadow (ideally powder eye shadow)
Applicator or brush
Eye liner or eyeliner
Mascara in dark tones

Step-by-Step: How to make up Smokey Eyes in four easy steps

Careful priming is important so that the eye make-up stays in place for hours and does not smear or deposit in small wrinkles.

First, degrease the upper eyelid (for example with a absorbent cotton pad sprinkled with a few drops of micelle water) and cover with an eye shadow base.
Then apply a light eyeshadow with a soft brush up to under the eyebrows.
Now choose a dark color shade, for example black, and cover the eyelid crease and the outer movable eyelid with it.
Round off the look with an eyelid line, close to the lash line.

Our tip: If you are not so skilled in drawing eyeliner or if you like it even more wicked, you should use kohl. It can be easily blended after application (with a cotton swab or eye shadow / eyeshadow applicator).

Eyeliner professionals use a liquid and waterproof eyeliner. It lasts for hours. Finally, apply mascara to the eyelashes and accentuate the eyebrows with a gel or wax. The Smokey Eyes are ready!

In the video we show you two Smokey Eyes variants – one for during the day and one for in the evening.

Smokey Eyes: These are the latest trends

If black is too intense for smokey eyes: Great alternative variants for smoky made-up eyes are smokey eyes in gray or dark brown, green, blue or purple tones.

Norman Pohl, Dior make-up artist, knows the trends for Smokey Eyes 2018:

The colors become brighter and more intense. Color is used as a fashion statement in make-up – whether as eyeliner, mascara or lipstick. What is exciting here is that special effects are in the foreground: Absolute trendsetting are extremely matt, glittering, but also metallic effects

Small color info: Brown suits most people, as well as purple, as long as the eyes are not reddened. Harmonious with green and brown eyes: green tones. Blue goes well with blue and brown eyes. But then choose a darker kohl, for example in anthracite. And with green Smokey Eyes, brown mascara is best.

How the look works

The color intensity can be gradually increased with eyeshadow, especially when applied with a brush (foam applicators bring the same amount of color to the eyelid). Metallic eyeshadows act like highlighters, matt colors bring more depth. If the lashes are then mascaraed close to the base, you save the kajal stroke.

If you want an even simpler look (and if you want to make it a bit punkish), the Smokey Eye effect can be applied with Kajal. Hide the line with the applicator or fingertip and don’t forget to ink. Kajal is also ideal for contact lens wearers, it doesn’t crumble, and it is also available especially for sensitive eyes.

Attention, you should avoid these beauty failures!

Black Smokey Eyes generally look good with any type. But be careful: If you have an extremely bright iris, it is better to avoid them. In this case it will disappear optically.
Caution is also required for sensitive skin. This usually does not tolerate the thick application of paint: it irritates and can cause itching.
Anyone suffering from pronounced drooping eyelids or wrinkles should use waterproof products. Because: with water-soluble textures, the color blurs too quickly.
Not a Smokey Eyes professional yet? No problem. But in this case it is better to avoid using an eyelid line or eye shadow color on the lower lash line. If you are not sure about the correct application, you risk making the eye look much smaller in the end.
For a perfect curl of the eyelashes use an eyelash curler before. Warm them briefly with a hairdryer. This will help to fix the small hairs in their curved shape.

The right brush for Smokey Eyes

To make sure that the eye shadow is blended correctly and gives the eyes a beautiful finish, the right brushes should be used. The “Eyeshadow Blending Brush” by Artdeco, for example, is perfectly suited for blending due to its oval brush shape – from the outer corner of the eye to the eyelid and into the eyelid crease. A fine, very thin brush with slanted bristles (e.g. “Angled Brush” by Douglas) lets a kajal line on the lash line take center stage. A broad, round eyeshadow brush (e.g. “Luxe Classic Shader” by Zoeva), on the other hand, perfectly blends light eyeshadow nuances in the inner corner of the eye and on the lid.

What are Soft Smokey Eyes?

We combine the make-up technique of Smokey Eyes with more subtle tones. The soft Smokey Eyes look is ready.

You need that for Soft Smokey Eyes

Eye Shadow Base
Light and dark eyeshadow
Kajal
Mascara
Eyeshadow and dazzle brush

Step-by-step instructions for Soft Smokey Eyes

Apply eyeshadow base with a brush on the entire eyelid up to the edge of the eyebrows. This way the eyeshadow cannot settle later.
Brush a lighter eye shadow, e.g. a beige shade, onto the movable eyelid.
Use a darker eyeshadow to emphasize the outer corner of the eye. Then paint the color along the crease of the eyelid and along the upper lash line.
Now trace the water line on the lower eyelid with a light kohl. This makes the eye appear larger. This is important because the darker colors on the eyelid make the eye appear smaller.
Apply the darker eye shadow also to the lower lash line and lightly smudge.
Now apply a nice black mascara to the lashes.

Extra tip for Soft Smokey Eyes

In order to prevent the Soft Smokey Eyes from becoming too expressive, you should use lighter tones for the colors than for normal Smokey Eyes. Subtle brown tones, lighter shades of grey or even colors like eggplant are ideal.

In the video tutorial you can see the instructions for Soft Smokey Eyes: