Makeup · 5 min read ·
Smokey Eye for Beginners: A Step-by-Step Method That Actually Works
A smokey eye for beginners: the 3 shades you need, a simple step-by-step method, how to fix fallout and muddy blending, and versions for different eye shapes.
The easiest smokey eye for beginners starts with a pencil, not a palette. You draw a soft line along the lashes, smudge it up with a brush, and blend a medium shadow over the edge. That's 80 percent of the look done in five minutes, and it's very hard to mess up.
Below is the full method, from the three shades you need to fixing the usual problems (muddy color, fallout, a bruised look) and adapting it for your eye shape.
What you need for a beginner smokey eye
Skip big palettes at first. Too many colors is the main reason beginners end up with a muddy lid.
- A soft kohl pencil in black or dark brown (brown is more forgiving)
- A matte transition shadow a little deeper than your skin
- A medium matte shadow (taupe, grey-brown or warm brown)
- Optional: a shimmer for the center of the lid
- Two brushes: a fluffy blending brush and a small dense smudger
- Eye primer or a thin layer of concealer on the lids
Step by step: the pencil method
Do your eyes before foundation. Smokey eyes drop dust, and it's easier to wipe it off bare skin than to fix your base.
Prime the lid. Draw a thick line with the pencil along the upper lash line, about as wide as the outer half of your lid, thicker at the outer corner. Don't worry about neatness. Before it sets, use the smudger to buff it upward in small back-and-forth movements, keeping the darkest part at the lashes.
Now take the fluffy brush with the transition shade and blend in circles just above where the pencil fades out. Then press the medium shade over the smudged pencil and blend its edge into the transition. Each layer should soften the one below it, so you go from dark at the lashes to skin color at the brow bone without a visible line.
Smudge a little pencil and medium shade along the lower lash line, joining the top at the outer corner. Finish with mascara on top and bottom lashes.
Want a little more drama? Tap a shimmer in the center of the lid once everything is blended, or run the pencil along the upper waterline. Both make the eye look lifted and finished without needing a second, darker shadow. The whole thing, start to finish, takes about 10 minutes once you've done it a couple of times.
How to avoid a muddy or bruised look
A muddy smokey eye usually comes from blending dark shadow upward with a dirty brush. Keep one brush for dark colors and one for light. Tap off excess before every pass.
A bruised look comes from the wrong undertone. Pure black and cool grey shadow can turn purplish on fair skin and ashy on deep skin. Charcoal-brown, espresso or plum-brown give the same depth and look softer on most people.
Another cause is skipping the transition shade. Without it, the dark color has nothing to fade into and stops in a hard edge halfway up the lid. If your shadow looks patchy, check your lids first: oily lids or leftover moisturizer make shadow grab in spots. Primer, or a thin layer of concealer set with translucent powder, gives an even surface that blends smoothly.
Adjusting a smokey eye for your eye shape
Hooded eyes lose shadow when the eyes are open, so build the smoke a little above the natural crease with your eyes open in the mirror. Keep the lower lash line light so the eye doesn't look closed in.
Monolids look striking with a gradient: darkest at the lashes, fading up toward the brow, with no crease shape at all. Small or close-set eyes look bigger if you keep the inner third of the lid light and focus the dark color on the outer half. Round eyes can take a slightly elongated outer corner to lengthen the shape.
Balancing the rest of the face
A smokey eye is the focus, so keep everything else quieter. Skin should be even but not heavily contoured, blush soft, and the lip a nude or muted shade like Brown Nude, Mauve or Dusty Rose. A deep lip like Wine Burgundy with a full smokey eye is a dramatic evening look, which is great when you want it but heavy for dinner with friends.
If you'd rather go softer, use only browns and no pencil at the lashes. That's the eye part of soft glam makeup, which is a good step before a full smokey eye.
Fixing mistakes fast
Fallout under the eye: let it sit, then sweep it away with a fluffy brush at the end, or put loose powder under the eyes before you start and brush it off with the fallout. Edges too harsh: go over them with a clean brush and a tiny amount of transition shade. One eye bigger than the other: add to the smaller one rather than taking away from the bigger one.
Practice twice at home before you wear it out. If you want to see how a smokey eye looks on your face before spending an evening learning it, try the Smokey Eye look on your own photo with a virtual makeup try-on. It's a quick way to check whether you prefer it brown and soft or dark and dramatic.
FAQ
What colors are best for a beginner smokey eye?
Browns and taupes. A dark brown pencil with a warm brown or taupe shadow is easier to blend than black and suits almost every skin tone.
Should I do eye makeup before or after foundation?
Before, for a smokey eye. Any shadow that falls onto your cheeks can be wiped off before you apply your base.
Can you do a smokey eye with only one eyeshadow?
Yes. Smudge a brown or black pencil at the lash line and blend one medium shade over it. The pencil gives depth so you don't need several shadows.
How do I make a smokey eye look less heavy?
Keep the darkest color at the lash line, skip the lower lash line or keep it faint, and use brown instead of black.