Cover Close up of blue woman eye with beautiful brown with red and orange shades smokey eyes makeup. Modern fashion make up.
Close up of blue woman eye with beautiful brown with red and orange shades smokey eyes makeup. Modern fashion make up.
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It's all in the eyes
Recreating the timeless smoky eye is not as easy as it looks. There's a correct way to apply products to achieve the pro look on your own. Take cues from the country's leading makeup experts as they share the secret to achieving the smoky eye.
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Johnson Estrella
Image courtesy of Johnson Estrella
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With seven years spent doing makeup for models, brides, and celebrities, Johnson Estrella knows how to bring out anyone's natural glow.
The first step to a perfect smoky eye is to make sure you are priming the eyelids. It all depends on the type of smokey eye look the client wants.
I use eyeshadow primer or concealer as a base, and I make sure that I completely cover the lids from the lash line up to the brows to create a blank canvass.
This technique is to disguise any discolouration my client might naturally have on their eyelids. The base should feel a little bit tacky to give the eyeshadow something to hold onto. Applying a mascara downwards to make sure it is really dark at the lash roots; nothing heavy looking will create an illusion of depth.
In any eye makeup look, the fundamental area of the eyes would be the crease area. It is really important in the smokey eye, especially where deep dark colour fades in the crease area.
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For Hooded Eyes - I would ask the Client to look down so I can concentrate on the crease of each eye where the blending happens. I have to use a certain shade that matches the skin tone to create a nice shadow with a result of a faux crease just above the original crease.
By doing that blending motion, it will create a deep dark at the root of the lashes and fades upwards underneath the brows. I tried this effect on my big sister, who has almond wide eyes with natural eyelashes but heavy hooded, and the result made her eyes pop out without putting artificial lashes.
For Round Eyes –Shades depending on the skin tone, I apply at the centre and blend towards the corners so the effect will be subtle and not a “permanent wide eye surprise look”, more on the sultry eye effect.
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Since there are many types of eyes like monolid, small, protruding even the “lazy eye” where one is bigger than the other, it is best to ask the client first what style they want to achieve and whilst they are talking, I listen as well as study their eyes.
So my tips for achieving the perfect smokey eye look are to study the entire facial structure of the client, ask what is to be achieved and if there are any sample photos from a magazine and study the eyes from every angle. I ask my client to make facial expressions because my aim is to make the eyes talk and smile with minimum effort and maximum result.
Mikka Marcaida
For nine years, Mikka Marcaida has created faultless looks that make muses—including Anne Curtis and Kylie Verzosa—glow naturally.
Creating a good smokey eye requires a lot of blend, blend, blend! Don’t overthink it, you can start with one shade like dark brown. Once you’ve perfected it, you can start mixing different textures and colours. I also highly suggest that if you are a first-timer, start with eye makeup first before doing your base. That way, you can avoid panda eyes.
Justine Navato
Justine Navato, a makeup artist of 8 years who has constantly worked with Pia Wurtzbach, truly knows how to highlight one's best features.
Building up colour is key in achieving the perfect smoky eye look. Don’t put the colour in one go. Make sure to blend the edges well.
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Juan Sarte
Juan Sarte has been the go-to makeup artist of many esteemed personalities and celebrities, including Alice Eduardo, Vicki Belo, Hidilyn Diaz, and Lea Salonga, for 28 years.
Smoky eyes look best when different products with different textures are used, whether matte or shimmery, pencil, liquid or powder, etc. It’s blending together all these different finishes in a unified colour to achieve that deep and smouldering look.
Ria Aquino
For 12 years, many have turned to Ria Aquino's talents to achieve the chic glam look when needed.
Layering the eyeshadows with a medium and dark tone is best. Blend out the edges well so that the colours blur softly. Use a proper blending makeup eyeshadow brush to achieve this.
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Christine Andas is a features writer and the style lead of Tatler Philippines. She mostly covers style-related content but enjoys writing about space, sneakers, and her favourite stars. She acquired a master's degree in Creative Writing at the University of Santo Tomas and has written young adult short stories which can be read online.
