So how do YOU define a smokey eye??

[DirtyPlum]

Hey,

So it seems that everyone has their own idea of what a smokey eye is, and I'm sure other MAC MUAs will agree with me that this is the number one look we get asked to do..

So I'd like to hear what you think a smokey eye is and what colours you think are best to create it? and what MAC e/s you use to do so?

More importantly I'd like to know your technique i.e. colour placement??

Lemme me know ur complexion too...

 

[BunnyBunnyBunny]

I am NW20 and my favorite "Smokey" look on myself:

(Painterly Paint Pot all over lid first)
-Satin Taupe all over lid
-Brun in crease, dramatically smoked out
-Carbon in inner crease
-Carbon smoked under eye
-Shroom lining inner eye
-Liquid liner on top

Something like this

I also really enjoy the same look with Woodwinked, Twinks, or Bronze instead of Satin Taupe.

on customers I like basically the same thing but not as dramatic:

(Paint Pot all over lid depending on their complexion)
For lighter skins, Shroom all over lid
-Brun in crease
-Maybe some Carbon if they want it deeper
-A little smoked under eye
-A pop of Shroom lining the inner eye

Similar to this (this is on me though)

Hope that helps!

 

[DirtyPlum]

Love it, thank you so much for including pics!

For myself NC40, either one of two, I love a classic smokey eye with the followiung:

blitz & gritz fluidline all over the eye followed by
dark soul pigment blended up to
shroom and sometimes carbon if i need it
plenty of black eyeliner n mascara too...

so starting with a dark colour all over lid, dark at the root of the lashes and fading up to a lighter colour.

Otherwise I love greys and so use
scene all over eye,
silver ring in the crease and
nehru in the outer corner...
I will blend it up to wedge and then shroom

For customers I might use this but sometimes go for colours like Graphology or Poisen Pen...

Anyone else?

 

[BunnyBunnyBunny]

Oh, I love having a dark lashline, fading to lighter! I rarely do it on myself though. I think it's because I like more definition. I don't know why, I just never really do that and the times I have I haven't liked it as well as the looks I posted above.

On customers I love that look though. Especially on Asians and on prom girls!! I love it with Shadowy Lady fading into Sketch too.

 

[ms.marymac]

Does anyone else wish they had a dollar every time someone asked about/requested smoky eyes? I sure do. lol

 

[BunnyBunnyBunny]

I wish I had boxing gloves for every time asked for smokey eyes at work. "Smokey" is sooooo open ended. Those looks I posted are just my favorites. Smokey means anything. Some customers get angry when I try and investigate too much, but seriously, I really need to or they're going to end up with an Electric Eel and Hepcat smokey eye!!

 

[DirtyPlum]

exactly! So i start with telling them what a classic smokey eye is and once they hear blacks and charcoals most of them are kinda scared lol (well at my location anyway) so I end up toning it down with browns and lighter greys...

Its all about 20 Q's... sorry I meant Investigation!
Kinda hoping this thread will help out a lil too...

 

[ms.marymac]

Yeah, I think a lot of people don't realize it's about technique, or the way the shadows are applied...it can be any color. I find that using celebs as an example works to get on the same page. Even better if you have examples of celeb smokey looks in your look book at the counter.

 

[ktb8293]

(btw this is the first time I have posted pictures)

I am certainly not a MUA but I have noticed the same variance in the what many consider a smoky eye. I have just started to experiment with what I would consider the traditional smoky eye this month.

Here is how I applied it (I am growing out my brows so sorry for the strays):

I am just beginning to start my MAC collection so I only used Sharkskin as a base and the other products are drug store items.

Here are the FOTD/EOTD pics of this same look:

and here is a really fun one I did last week with Mac Humid over L'Oreal HiP cream liner as a lid base:

hth (just wanted to share)

 

[lsperry]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ktb8293 (btw this is the first time I have posted pictures) (just wanted to share)

And thank you for sharing your pictures......You are absolutely gorgeous and have very good mu skills.....Keep posting them.

 

[FiestyFemme]

Honestly, when I think of smoky eyes, I imagine something more like the traditional smokey eye. Probably something close to ktb8293's black look, where the color is concentrated towards the lashline and smoked upwards into the crease. However, I also describe smoky like Bunny's look, where to me it has more to do with the technique/application than the actual colors used. When I do smokey eyes, I mostly do them similar to Bunny's, just because I find that's what suits me more than the traditional smoky eye.

I'd do a light color on the lid, some medium color in the crease and slightly above, then a dark color in the outer corners and blended into the lid, as well as outward towards the brow. I would list specific colors, but I don't have a "go to" look as I find I can do this technique with a lot of colors.

I think it's very subjective though, and you really do have to find out what people mean as everyone seems to see it differently.

 

[erine1881]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ms.marymac Does anyone else wish they had a dollar every time someone asked about/requested smoky eyes? I sure do. lol

no kidding! smokey eyes are the easiest eye to do (neutral/natural is harder). the hardest part is deciding what color of smokey eye you want.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BunnyBunnyBunny I wish I had boxing vloes for every time asked for smokey eyes at work. "Smokey" is sooooo open ended. Those looks I posted are just my favorites. Smokey means anything. Some customers get angry when I try and investigate too much, but seriously, I really need to or they're going to end up with an Electric Eel and Hepcat smokey eye!!

people always ask me to show them how to do a smokey eye, or what makes a smokey eye. to me, its:

darker colors
smudged lower liner
lining the waterline

i tend to split the lid in vertical sections with the same colors faded up into the crease. i usually use three colors: the lightest on the inner third, medium on the middle third, and the darkest on the outer third. then i bring the darkest color down as the lower liner.

the look on their face is priceless when you ask them what color smokey eye they want. you can do purples, blues, greens, greys, browns, and the classic black. you name it, as long as its dark (darker than a normal day look) and sultry.

 

[newagetomatoz]

Thanks you guys!! This is so helpful!!

For me, I've always thought of the 'traditional' smokey eye as being a dark lid that starts to lighten/fade out just above the crease like...smoke. lol Sorry for the bad pun.

 

[chocolategoddes]

I remember reading a magazine that said smokey eyes are sexy becase women naturally have darker eyelids than men, so this just enhances that trait. That's also why red lips define femininity: women normally tend t have brighter lips than men. Also, the smokey look gives that "deep, dramatic, bedroom eye" which comes from the facial expression one makes when they're about to orgasm. The muscles in your face and eyelids tend to relax. Same with a bright lip: When one is sexually aroused, the lips are supposed to flush.

I'm not making this shit up, people!!!

I personally tend to do a brighter looking smokey eye where I use a light, pearly color on the lid and then blend a deeper color into the lashline and crease. But some people like the BLACK smokey look, which I personally prefer on lighter eyes.
Smokey eyes don't need to be black or even brown. I've seen lilac smokey eyes done on very fair people and navy blue smokey eyes done on darker people. As long as it gives that effect I described previously, it's SMOKEY to me!

 

[DirtyPlum]

Quote:

Originally Posted by newagetomatoz Thanks you guys!! This is so helpful!! For me, I've always thought of the 'traditional' smokey eye as being a dark lid that starts to lighten/fade out just above the crease like...smoke. lol Sorry for the bad pun.

No, thats exactly it! Its a technique, not a colour!

I'm bumping this thread... only the other day I got asked ''how do u do the perfect smokey eye'' and I pushed back and asked ''how would you describe a smokey eye?'' to which the response was *silence*. The girls and I at the counter were discussing this around xmas time when the palettes were out and one customer asked me if she really needed all six colours in the palette to create a smokey eye?!

I told her no, I would rec a minimum of three for a perfect smokey eye... but she only wanted one product. So I suggested Smolder and told her to smudge, blend, smudge blend etc!

 

[ms.marymac]

I forgot about this thread...ha ha. Yeah, you really have to investigate what they want the outcome to be. I've have heard of people wanting the smokey eye to consist of Vapour and something like Wedge.

 

[M.A.C. head.]

I always thought of a smokey eye as a smooth gradation of color with the deepest color starting at the lid.

Purple smokey looks are my favorite.

 

[Rudyru]

My take on smokey eyes come from the modern version popularized by the club kids of the late 80's and early 90's. Heroin chic comes to mind. Kind of like you've been clubbing all night and haven't gotten a lick of sleep.

I like to use cream shadows for my smokey eyes because they're designed to deteriorate as the night goes on, giving you those "rock star" eyes that seems to be getting alot of hate...Alice Cooper, I'm looking at you! D<

 

[L1LMAMAJ]

I would say a smokey eye is when all the colors are blended very well to the point where there are no defined lines of separations between different colors. I like the eyeliner smoked out (blended out) instead of distinct. Lots of lashes and well groomed eyebrows.

 

[Sexy Sadie]

For me the Smokey eye is darkest near the lashes and then lighter and lighter up to the brow. I like it in any colour but my is more often light grey or brown.

Daytime smokey look.

Face, lips and cheeks: Nothing.

Eyes: Gosh Silver Fox Trio. KMM Cityboy, Clinique cream shaper in Black Diamond. Loreals Telescope Mascara.



And here a bit darker for evenings.

Face and cheecks: Nothing.

Lips: Diorkiss 488, Lychee Rose.

Eyes: Gosh Silver Fox Trio.
Clinique cream shaper for eyes in Black Diamond.
Maybelline Wolume express Lift up.
Mac pigment Dark soul.