Your Beauty Mission Should You Choose To Accept It: Smoky Eyes

 FACE:

-Make sure the skin is prepped with a good moisturizer and eye cream before any makeup application, it allows the make-up go on smoother and makes the foundation look perfectly flawless.

-It’s so important to prime the skin. Apply a pea size amount of primer (Bare Minerals primer is Emily’s favourite) before foundation and blend on face from t-zone outwards. This will make your make-up last as long as you need it to.

-Apply a foundation that suits your skin tone. Coverage is a personal preference. From moisturizing, oil-free, tinted moisturizers, luminous to matte finish, a Murale expert can help you find the perfect formula.

-Add concealer under the eyes and to any imperfections. You can apply under eye concealer after you do your smoky eye too, just in case there is fall out from the eyeshadow.

-Powder is one of the most important steps because it prevents the foundation from moving, but make sure not to apply too much or you will start to look cakey. Just press on the powder with a puff or a brush.

-Now it is time to add bronzer and/or blush. If using bronzer, apply on temples down to the cheekbone, then under the jaw line, kind of like the shape of a three. Apply blush on apple of the cheek and blend upwards on cheekbone. Blush should always be two finger widths away from the nose to avoid looking red. Shimmer (like Benefit’s High Beam) is a nice fresh touch. Apply it sparingly to the upper cheekbones, down the nose and across the forehead for a glowy, radiant highlight.

EYES:

- An eyeshadow base makes creating a smoky eye a lot easier as it makes the shadow more blendable and makes the colour stick better without darkness falling all over the cheeks.

- Purples, greys (dark and light), blues (dark), golds, silvers, and blacks (any cool colors) are the hottest shades for smoky effects right now so consider straying from the traditional neutrals if you are really looking to make an impact.

-Take a short bristle brush (the smaller the brush the easier with dark eye shadows), with a dark color on it, darkest in the pallet or the darkest one you have and press it onto the eyelid, going up to the crease of eye and across the lashes staying within the eyebrow frame. Then take a blending brush and blend out the edges of the shadow until they are soft. 

-After the darkest color is on the eyelid, take a lighter shade of the same colour and blend it in the crease.

-Some people leave the bottom lashes clean, but for a more dramatic look bring the dark eyeshadow and blend a soft line in the bottom lashes with the small smudge brush.

-Add some pencil or ink pot eyeliner in the water line of the eye. Connect the shadow to the dark color on top, kind of like a sideways V. Blend so there are no edges.

-After everything is all nice and blended, finish with a highlight color just under the brow to finish off the look. A soft shimmer is nice, but if you’re using a lot of shimmer on the lid a matte highlight is preferable.

-Apply eyeliner (a smudged line or a hard liquid line) finishes off the look.

- Curl the lashes and apply a healthy dose of volumizing mascara. This look could also benefit from false lashes if you are feeling adventurous!

-Finally, fill in eyebrows for more definition using a brow wax, powder or pencil.

Here's a super close-up for reference

LIPS: