Hey Guys! I went to another FREE Sephora class over the weekend and wanted to give you all the details and tips I learned. If you didn’t know, Sephora has free makeup classes a couple times a month (Check them out HERE) that are either before or after the store opens. You get one on one time with the makeup artists, get personalized tips and get to request what products you want to use. The first one I went to was the foundation class (Check out my post HERE). This current one was the Bold Smokey eyes class and I have already signed up for my next one which is Winged Eyeliner! I HIGHLY recommend these classes whether you are a beginner or an expert. They are an hour long and you learn so much!
The Bold Smokey eye class starts out by color matching you to a concealer. You then sit down at your station which consists of a mirror, multiple eye brushes, and other tools. The instructors then ask what your main under eye concerns are so they can give you an eye cream that is right for you. It is very important to put on eye cream at night and during the day. My main concern is dark circles so they gave me this one. It felt nice and lightweight and not sticky or heavy. You can also use it on your lips! Do you ever get little white bumps under your eyes or on top of the lid? Well I learned that this is a clogged pore that is caused by heavy eye cream or an irritating concealer. Try switching products and see if they clear up.
After we put our eye cream on we primed our eyes. I used the Two Faced Shadow Insurance which is one of my favorites. The instructors then ask what color smokey eye you want to create. Half of the class chose black and the other brown. I chose brown. They then handed out pallets to each person to use. Mine was the Kat Von D Shade + Light Eye Contour Quad. It had an orange in it which scared me at first but turned out to be beautiful. It did have a ton of fall out and powder when everywhere when I dipped my brushes into it though so be warned.
To start our smokey eye we took a fluffy blending brush (HERE) and took a shade slightly darker then our natural lid color. I mixed a light beige with a tiny bit of brown (all mattes) and put it into my crease using a windshield wiper motion and tiny circles on the outside corner. This really darkens up the crease and adds some soft dimension. You can do this for an everyday look if you just want to add some shadows to your eye. My instructor told me I have smaller eye lid space so to create the illusion of a larger eye to go slightly above my natural crease when filling in. I tried it and it worked! It didn’t look over done or over drawn but it naturally opened up my eye.
We then went in with eyeliner. The instructors emphasized that for this step we use a non waterproof coal based eyeliner. These will blend out the best and not dry down quickly like a waterproof one would. They gave us all the Urban Decay 24/7 Glide On Eye Pencil which are waterproof so we had to work quickly. They also gave use a smudge brush (HERE) to blend it out. They told us a smokey eye is like smoke from a fire, it is thicker at the bottom and gradually gets dispersed as it gets higher. I thought this was a really great visual to give. We took the eye liner and really darkened the lash line since this is at the bottom of the look. We then colored our eye about halfway up with the liner and looked a bit crazy! Then taking your smudge brush you want to work the upper part out and up toward the crease by used tiny upwards strokes. You don’t want to blend out the lash line since it needs to stay dark but focus on blending to the crease. Try to work one eye at a time so you can really focus on blending the liner out. This can take some time so be patient. Once it is all blended out you will look like a raccoon but it’s OK! It will be fixed soon. After liner you want to set it with eye shadow in the same color as the liner. This is important because it will take any shine away from the liner and also make the liner last longer. It’s like setting your foundation with powder.
Once you are done doing that you want to take that first color you used in your crease and go into the crease again using those same windshield wiper motions and tiny circles. This will help to blend out the harsh eyeliner lines into the crease and create that smokey effect. Blend really well, the more the better! After that is blended take a medium shade with a flat shadow brush (HERE) and pat it along the center of the eye and into the outer corner. This will create dimension and more color. I chose a mix of a burnt orange and dark brown. Once this is on take your blender brush and blend it all out. The key to a great smokey eye is no harsh lines and a smooth transition between colors. You want each color to blend perfectly into the next.
If your smokey eye is black the instructor recommend using eyeliner and shadow on the lower lashes. If it is brown or another lighter color she recommended to just used shadow. Using your smudge brush take your dark color and push it right into your lash liner. You don’t want to put it too far away from the line as this can weigh the look down. It is important to push that color right into the lashes. After that you can apply your favorite mascara! I tried out the Diorshow Mascara and loved it!. I do recommend using false lashes with a look this bold though since your lashes can get a bit lost against the heavy background.
For an added bonus the instructors pulled out the new Urban Decay Moondust cream eyeshadows to put on top of our eyes. I gasped out loud! The colors are so beautiful and pigmented. I chose the color Recharged which is a peach duochrome and bought it after! It is a beautiful sunset duo chrome that is super metallic and beautiful with a bronze eye. If you don’t want to use a cream they suggest either keeping the look matte or going in with a tiny shimmer shade right in the center of the eye and blend. I highly recommend the Urban Decay liquids if you are into metallic eyes.
After we were done they recommend going in with concealer to clean up any fall out from all the eye shadows. And then your look is complete! I didn’t realize how easy a smokey eye is!
Again I really recommend checking out your local classes. They are super personal, let you try out the latest products and are FREE!
Let me know down below what class you would attend? XOX Chan
