Up In Smoke

Now that fall is here and November has begun, what would be more appropriate than a classic, dramatic black smokey eye accompanied by nude lips? Nothing, if you're asking me! I was inspired by my new Makeup Geek eye shadows I received in the mail- my first Makeup Geek shadows EVER, so I was excited. I've always heard that their black eye shadow, Corrupt, was the blackest black you'll ever work with so I decided to revolve the look around just that.

The colors I used for this look were Peach Smoothie (1), Creme Brulee (2), Bitten (3), and Corrupt (4), all by Makeup Geek.

To achieve this look:

1. Sweep Peach Smoothie generously into the crease with a fluffy blending brush as your transition shade.
2. Using a small, flat packing brush, apply Corrupt carefully all over the lid and into the crease just a little. This will help you to blend in the next step.
3. Use a flat blending brush (like the MAC 217 or Morphe M433) to put Creme Brule into the crease and slowly blend upward. Be sure to take the time and really diffuse Corrupt as much as you can.
4. With a small blending fluff, put Bitten directly into the crease and blend into Corrupt.

After you do this, make sure to go back and blend Creme Brulee and Bitten together with the flat blending brush and then take your fluffy blending brush and blend everything together one last time. As you can tell, it's all about BLENDING, BLENDING, BLENDING- especially with a black smokey eye. You really want there to be an obvious gradient from black, to burgundy, to peach.

5. For the bottom lashline, I first swept on Creme Brulee as a transition shade with a pencil brush and then added Bitten closer to the lashline with a small angled blush. Going back in with the pencil brush, I blended the two together to create a similar effect to the eyelid.
6. Then to complete the look, I used NYX Tres Jolie Gel Pencil Liner in Pitch Black on the waterline and added Ardell Glamour 113 lashes. I didn't use any eyeliner on the eyelid seeing as the lid was already completely black. I chose to opt for a nude lipstick shade because I love the contrast of dark eyes and nude lips. I'm wearing Colourpop Ultra Matte Liquid Lipstick in Midi. I also think a deep wine-colored lipstick would complement this eye look beautifully!

And VOILA- you're now a smokey seductress! Thank you for reading! xo