Hi! Today I wanted to try a makeup look suitable for the year’s end festivities!
I went for a look which used to scare me a lot: the black smoky eye. When I say afraid, I’m talking first of all about the technique and finally about the effect on my face. As I have very dark eyes, I always thought that dark makeup might not be the most flattering look on me. Though I am satisfied with the result, I have to admit that I immediately look more tired with a darker lightening.
Anyway, here is the step-by-step of the makeup look. Envoy!
First of all I moisturized my skin with the Clinique Pore refining solutions stay matte hydrator for combination to oily skin and then Nivea Soft Hydrating Cream on the driest spots of my face (around the nose, between the eyebrows). Next, I applied the Benefit Pore-Fessional face primer. As I worked with a very dark eyeshadow, I decided not to continue with the skin in order to avoid fall-outs on my foundation.
I primed my eyes, as usual, with the Zoeva eye primer and subsequently put the NYX Jumbo Pencil in the color Black Bean on the lid as a base of the black eyeshadow. Once I had blended the edges into the crease, I applied the Sleek eyeshadow “Noir” from the i-Divine palette on the lid to blend again the edges into the crease. The difficulty with every smoky eye is the transition between the colors, the escalation from dark to light, so blending is the key for every smoky eye, it is all about blending!
I chose for a first transition color “Buck” from the Urban Decay Naked palette (the original) which I blended into the crease. Now as “Buck” is darker than my natural skin color, I applied “Naked” from the same palette as another transaction color, a little upwards, closer to the brow bone, but without touching it! In fact, to hightlighten the brow bone, I put a little NYX Jumbo Pencil in the color Milk and than from the Urban Decay Naked 2 palette; I applied the color Foxy, which is a champagne matte finish color. It is important to note that if you work with a matte black color and the transition colors are also from the same finish, the highlight color has to be matte as well. The result would be completely different if it was shimmer. There would be no harmony.
I did the same steps on the lower lash line except that I went for the Essence eye liner instead of the NYX Jumbo Pencil which I also applied on the waterline and I obviously did not use the color Foxy. I finalized the eyes with the L’Oréal False Lash Wings Mascara. I did not apply falls lashes in order to see how winged and curled my lashes would stay. At this point I went back to the skin.
I have a lot of scars due to severe acne, so I wanted to have a flawless face for as much as it was possible. As a base, I applied the Garnier BB Cream in the color light and then the Benefit Some kind-a gorgeous foundation. In order to fix the two colors, I applied the L’Oréal Nude Magic BB Powder on the t-zone. Then I finalized my eyebrows with the KIKO Eyebrow expert kit (my review). I always prefer doing this step after I have powder my face in order to avoid any “dust” on the brows. Next, I went on to the cheeks where I put a little Benefit Hoola Bronzer and the NYX Peach Blush.
Finally I moved on the lips on which I only put the L’Oréal Glam Shine gloss which is a see-through gloss as a contrast to the eyes. I kept the skin and the lips natural as there was a lot going on on the eyes.
I hope you like it!
Products used
Skin:
Clinique Pore refining solutions stay matte hydrator for combination to oily skin
Nivea Soft Hydrating Cream
Benefit Pore-Fessional Face primer
Garnier BB Cream Miracle Skin Perfector – light
Benefit Some kind-a gorgeous foundation – medium
La Roche-Posay Dark circle corrector – toleriane teint
MAC Studio Finish Concealer #NW20
L’Oréal Nude Magic BB Powder – medium
Benefit Hoola bronzer
NYX Peach blush
Eyes:
Zoeva eye primer
NYX Jumbo Pencil – Black Bean & Milk
Sleek i-Divine au natural palette – “Noir”
Urban Decay 1 & 2: Buck, Naked, Foxy
Essence long lasting eye pencil #1 black fever
L’Oréal False Lash Wings Mascara
KIKO Eyebrow expert kit #01
Lips:
L’Oréal Glam Shine gloss #01 clear crystal
**All these products were purchased by me.***