Smokey eyeshadow quad // Base eyeshadow // Eyebrow pencil & brow gel // Eyeliner // Lipstick // Mascara

When it comes to doing my makeup, I feel pretty competent.  My skills aren’t YouTuber status, but over the years I’ve mastered two key looks – natural, everyday makeup and a smokey eye.

To be honest, I get tons of compliments and questions about what products I use for my smokey eye.  Since wearing a mask in public is our new reality, I think a lot of women are going to be upping their eyeshadow game.  It’s high time I made this a blog post!

While I’ve done a video tutorial on Instagram Stories before, I wanted to break down the process step by step.  The key is the ingredients.

Base Eyeshadow

The secret to a good smokey eye is a combination of cream and powder eyeshadow.

I use this base to start my smokey eye.  It has a bit of shimmer, but not too much.  Light reflects so beautifully when you use this as your base.

I apply it with my finger and cover my entire eyelid up to the brow bone.

Eyeshadow Quad

Next, I use a sponge applicator eyeshadow brush and this palette.  It’s truly the palette to end all palettes.  It looks good on EVERY skin tone and achieves a natural yet dramatic smokey eye.

Start by applying the bottom-right color to the crease.  I start on the outer corner of my eyelid and blend inwards using the sponge applicator eyeshadow brush.

Then I apply the bottom-left color on top of the previous color.  I focus mainly on applying color to the outer corner of my eyelid.  Since this color has shimmer, you don’t want to go overboard.

If you prefer a classic, grey smokey eye follow the exact same instructions above but use this palette.

The key here is the sponge applicator brush.  It absorbs and distributes color so much better than a standard eyeshadow brush since you’re using a cream eyeshadow base.

Once you’ve applied both colors to the crease, take a standard eyeshadow brush (I like this one) and sweep it back and forth along the crease to finish the look.

Finishing Touches

I adore this black eyeliner (only on the bottom lids) and this mascara.

Pro Tip: using a Kleenex, wipe off the mascara wand before applying.  This sounds counterproductive, but TRUST ME in that it will make your lashes longer and more voluminous.

When a mascara wand has too much product on it, it weighs lashes down and makes them look clumpy.

Brows are a two-part process for me.  First, I fill mine in with this eyebrow pencil.  I focus mostly on the arch and the start of my eyebrows.  Don’t overfill the middle of your brows – you’ll end up looking like Bert from Sesame Street.

Pro Tip: make sure your brow pencil is a true match to your actual brow color.  If you want to lighten the color of your brows, choose a brow gel 1-2 shades lighter than your actual color.

I use this color brow pencil and this color brow gel.

Voila!  The perfect smokey eye.