Eyeshadow is prettiest when it’s used subtly and the colors complement each other. It’s tempting to want to go overboard with a smokey eye, but unless you’re going out that night you will end up looking overdone and even a little like you have a black eye. We’re all guilty of sporting the same routine day in and day out. Whether we don’t see our friends following work or school during the week or we’re crunched for time to experiment, it is possible to jazz up your daytime looks with a few simple products and techniques. Read on for more on how to do smokey eye for daytime, daytime smokey eye for beginners, smokey eye ideas.

How to do smokey eye for daytime

1. Always use an eye primer. Smooth it across the lids and let it set.
   
2. Next, apply a nude colour with a medium shadow brush to create a base for the smoky eye.
   
3. Follow this with either a gel liner or a black kajal. Create the first layer of the smoky eyes with this. You can blend it all over the eyelid, or blend it just as a liner depending on the kind of look you want. Never take too long to buff out once you apply the gel or kajal on your lid because it can set and look patchy.
   
4. Accentuate this black colour by layering with a black eyeshadow. It intensifies the smoky eye that you’re about to do and makes it last longer.
   
5. Take a little bit of matte brown colour on a fluffy brush to just blend out the outer corners of the eye. Apply it at the crease of your lid just to blend and smoke it out by feathering it outwards with a crease brush.
   
6. I also suggest putting a little bit of brown on a tiny dome brush for your lower lash line to create a tad bit more smokiness. Once this is done, you will see that the eye has a little bit more depth.
   
7. Put a little bit of black eyeshadow on the lower lash line, again to create more depth in your eye and to intensify the smoky eye.
   
8. Next, take a black kajal and line the upper lash line and lower lash line to intensify the eye.
   
9. Apply a black eyeliner to define the eye.
   
10. End with curling your lashes and putting on two coats of mascara.
    

How to do smokey eye for night time

1. Always start with a lighter eyeshadow to create a base on the eyelid, and blend it outwards or upwards, depending on the eye shape. If you want to elongate your eyes, blend it outwards. And if you want to make it them more round, stay in the crease and blend it upwards. First start with the light shade of the colours you plan to pair, and then go for a darker shade in the crease and along the eyelash line.
2. Intensify with a kajal, but not a smudge-proof or a waterproof one because you need to smudge it. Outline the eyelash line like you do an eyeliner but do a thinner version and then smudge it with a brush, again, in a direction based on your eye shape.
3. To intensify, add kajal on the waterline and smudge it a little bit with a darker colour. It’s the same as what you did on the eyelid. At the bottom, you start first with a lighter eyeshadow, add a darker eyeshadow closer to the waterline, then the kajal and you smudge it.
4. If you have hooded eyes, try to stay around the lash line. Keep it thin, smudge it and stay around the eyelash line and the waterline.
5. For round eyes, concentrate more on the outside corners and pull the eyeliner out to elongate it.
6. To open up the eyes, add a little highlighter in the inner corners of the eye. If your base colours are cooler, like blue, use silver or a cool tone shade. For a warmer brown smoky eye, pick a gold shade.
7. Use a waterproof kajal to line the lower and upper waterline.
8. Use false lashes—either single lashes or strip eyelashes—and add lots of mascara. A smoky eye looks soft and blended because of the eyelashes and it will also open up the eyes.
   
   

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Smokey eye idea

First things first, what makes a smokey eye? Effectively, it’s a blended or diffused eyeshadow rather than one block colour which a) creates dimension and b) looks downright hot. You can use one shade and smoke it out at the edges, but usually, you’ll build up layers with different shades and textures. In his video tutorial on metallic smokey eyes, celebrity makeup artist and King of the smokey eye, Hung Vanngo explained “all the layers create so much dimension. You may wonder ‘why do I need to do a pencil first and then the shadow, and then another shadow?’ But it’s for the depth that you create. It shows through in the pictures you take and it’s beautiful. Basically, you craft a gradient from really dark and fade it out.”

How do you do a smokey eye look?

1. Start by applying a mid-tone eyeshadow all over the lid. Opt for greys, browns or heathers to create a subtle smokey base.
2. Apply a liner along the lash line, making sure you’re coating and depositing colour between the lashes to instantly enhance the eye. Choose a gel or glide-on formula like Urban Decay’s 24/7 Glide On Eye Pencil, for easy application. Just make sure you smoke it out with an eyeshadow brush before it sets, because once it does, it won’t budge all night.
3. Layer a dark-toned shadow like espresso, charcoal or smoke over the liner, blending halfway up the lid and into the lid shadow. Apply along the lower lash line by softly pressing the brush onto the root of the lower lashes. Then smudge out with fingers for a smokier finish.
4. Add those all-important final touches with a mascara, like Bobbi Brown’s Smokey Eye Mascara, layering 3-4 coats for a full lash effect.
5. Finally, you can add a sparkle shadow with your finger to give it that real luxe finish. It’s great for smoothing out the lid and giving that blend through the crease of the eye.