Look of the Week

I love glitter, and I love a smokey eye. So what’s better than a glittery smokey eye?! This week I was at a farewell dinner for a friend who is moving to Dublin, because the send off was a classy affair, I wanted a deep smokey eye, but I also wanted a pop of colour and a bit of fun with glitter! I opted for a green shade but this look will work equally well with any smokey colour. Hope you like it, and hope you have fun recreating it! 

As always, start with a prepped and primed base. Smokey eyes need a good base, and because I was using glitter, I needed extra hold. I primed my lids with primer and concealer as usual. I then took my peachy transition shade and applied it liberally to my crease, moving high up toward my brow. With smokey looks I always feel the bigger the better, so go mad with the transition, just keep blending. I then took Loaded from the Urban Decay Smoked palette, this is a very deep forest green shade. In fact, on the lid the green is very subtle and it is very smokey. I applied this shade all over my lid, pushing it up into the crease, I didn’t want any winged edges so I rounded the outer corners off instead. Once I was happy with this shade and it was blended out seamlessly with the transition shade, I moved on to my glitter. A few weeks ago I purchased Smashbox’s SantiGold collage palette. There are two, I went with the brown and green one, but the decision was tough! I love this collection because of the fun and bold colours. These shadows can be used wet and dry, so I took the glittery green shadow and used it with a wet brush. This is difficult to describe as a shadow because it looks more like loose glitter. The pigmentation is crazy intense and the colour is a beautiful bright summer green. I applied this glitter most intensely on the inner corners and then blended out toward the centre of my lid. What I like about this look is that the greens are not overwhelming, it is nice to include colour, but sometimes it can be just too much. These two greens blend together perfectly to create a very subtle pop of brightness. I chose to skip liner on my upper lash line because I loved the glitter and the colour too much to take from it. 
When I had completed my lids I had to clean up under my eyes with an eye cream and cotton bud. The glitter gets EVERYWHERE! Having done that I went ahead and applied my face primer. I wanted a really dewy finish so I used Bobbi Brown’s Face Base. This is super hydrating so you feel like you are laying a great base for your foundation. I then did my under eye concealer and my foundation. I used my Tom Ford foundation stick because I wanted a full coverage look. I then used setting powders to set both concealer and foundation. As always with a smokey eye I keep my blusher minimal. A light sweep of a pale pink, paired with a very subtle highlight across mt cheekbones finished my face. 
Going back to my eyes, I took Loaded and applied this liberally to my lower lash line, I was aiming for the grunge look so after a lot of blending I added an application of black kohl along my water line. I then took the glitter green shade and applied a pop of it to the inner corners of my lower lash line. Love it! Don’t forget when creating these smokey eyes to make sure the corners are connected, you don’t want a gap in the outer corner where top lashes don’t blend with lover lashes. It just doesn’t look finished! 
For the next step I sculpted my brows, this step is pretty much always the same so have a look at my post about brow sculpture for more info. 
The final two steps; lashes and lips! I applied a few coats of black mascara, opting not to wear lashes, this would have been the perfect event for the baby powder lash trick but I was out of baby powder! Anyway, don’t forget to coat your bottom lashes for that added touch of glamour. I finished off the whole look with a very subtle pink lipgloss to pick up the colour in my blusher. Smokey eyes have to take centre stage, they shouldn’t have to compete with a bold lip, or intense blusher. 

So, there you have it, a very fun twist on the classic smokey eye. My major piece of advice if you’re contemplating trying it out; go big or go home! 

Product List: 
Foundation: Tom Ford – Translucent Foundation Stick
Concealer: MAC – Pro long wear NC15
Face primer: Bobbi Brown – Face Base
Eye Primer: Urban Decay – Magic Primer Potion
Setting Powder(s): MAC – Mineralize skin finish Light plus (under eye) and Light (full face)
Highlighter: MAC – Buttercream
Blusher: MAC – Dainty
Eyeshadow(s): Urban Decay – Smoked Loaded, and Smashbox – SantiGold Palette, glitter green
Transition shade: Urban Decay – ABC Gum
Brows: Tom Ford – crayon in chestnut
Mascara: Smashbox Full Exposure Black
Lip: Kiko – Instant Volume, shade 21