Episode 35: The New Smoky Eye

Smoky eyes never fully go away. They fade out, they come back, and right now they’re back in force. We’re seeing them all over the collections: big, matte, powdery and wrapped all the way around the eye. What makes the smoky eye feel new is what it’s set against: beautiful, fresh skin.

Balance is everything to me in makeup. If I’m going big on one feature, I pull back on another. So for Episode 35 of Makeup Live, I worked with Tayla to create a big, blown-out smoky eye, keeping everything else light, hydrated and fresh. It honestly took me back to doing the shows in 2004 and 2005, when we did so much of this backstage.

Let the eye colour lead

Black would have looked amazing on Tayla, but I wanted her incredible eye colour to be the hero. Her eyes can read blue or really light green, so I chose a rich burgundy-plum instead. That’s my advice with any trend: take inspiration from what you’re seeing, then make it your own by choosing colours that flatter the person in your chair.

Prep: keep the skin fresh

When you’re putting this much shadow around the eyes, hydration is key. I started with All Even eye cream, followed by Bobbi Brown Vitamin Enriched Face Base. For extra radiance, I added Rhode soft-focus glow drops with the MYKITCO 117. Then I left the complexion alone and moved onto the eyes.

Eyes: pencil first

I started with the Hourglass Waterproof Gel Eyeliner in Voyeur, a muted burgundy-brown that gave me that slightly ’90s feel. Instead of using a concealer or primer underneath, I took the pencil straight across the lid and underneath the eye. One less layer keeps the finished eye intense without becoming thick or dry.

The key is not being afraid to take the colour low underneath the eye. This look is meant to feel big and blown out. I went straight in with the 224 – MY SOFT BLENDER to buff out the pencil before it set. It doesn’t need to be perfect at this stage; we’re building a base and shadow is going over the top.

Cream, then powder

Over the pencil, I used the Danessa Myricks Groundwork Palette in Blooming Romance. I pressed the cream over the pencil with the 224 to build density, then switched to the 225 – MY SHEER BLENDER with a slightly plummier tone to blow out the edges and wrap the colour underneath the eye.

Finally, I pressed the matching powder over the top. This is where everything locks in and blurs, giving you that velvety, matte finish. The trick is lots of light layers: get the colour on, then manipulate it.

Why I use multiples of the same brush

One of the biggest tips from this look is something I do constantly as a working makeup artist: I use multiples of the same brush.

For this eye, I kept reaching for clean versions of the 224 and 225 as I built and blended the colour. Once a brush becomes overloaded with pigment, you’re no longer blending colour out – you’re adding more back in. That’s when a smoky eye can start to look muddy rather than soft and diffused.

Having multiples means I can build the pigment with one brush, then pick up a clean version of exactly the same brush to soften the edge without adding more product. Some brushes in my kit I own five or six of. When you’ve used the same brush hundreds of times, your hand knows exactly what it’s going to do.

The 224 gives me control when I’m building and manipulating colour, while the 225 is softer and fluffier for really blowing out the edge. Having clean multiples of both means I can keep moving through the look without losing the blend.

Fresh skin against a matte eye

With such a strong eye, I kept Tayla’s brows soft using the Rare Beauty brow pencil in Soft Blonde before moving back to the complexion.

Under the eyes, I used Huda Beauty #FauxFilter Concealer with a brightening pink, stippling it in with the PERFECT side of the 703 – MY SMOOTH & PERFECT. For foundation, I used the Drunk Elephant Triple Peptide Camo Drops and sheered everything out with the 703.

A dense, matte smoky eye with dense, matte skin would have been too much. Keeping the complexion hydrated and alive is what makes this version of the smoky eye feel modern.

Sculpt, glow and lips

I used Rare Beauty sculpting stick in Power Boost through the cheeks, followed by a whisper of grey sculpting powder from Sloane with the MYKITCO 162 and a subtle glaze of highlight from the Caia face palette.

On the lips, I used Bang Bang Cosmetics Eternal Matte in Terracotta, buffing it in with 504 MY BLURRED LIP for a soft, diffused satin finish.

The finish: no powder, all attitude

I didn’t use any powder on the complexion. I loved the contrast between the velvety matte eye and fresh skin. It gave the whole look that early-2000s, slightly grungy energy: a little undone, a little lived-in and much cooler for it.

Even if you’d never wear a smoky eye this big, it’s brilliant blending practice. Get the colour on, work in light layers and, most importantly, keep a clean brush to hand.