It’s the beginning of term three and with exams and deadlines looming over our heads, it can be easy to forget that it’s important to have fun too. Whether you’re heading to Sugar to forget the deadlines, if just for a few hours, or patiently waiting to celebrate at Grad Ball, here’s how to achieve a purple smoky eye, perfect for whatever you have planned!
This look was created with the Sleek i-Divine eye shadow palette Vintage Romance. The Sleek eye shadow palettes are the best quality eye shadows that you can purchase on the high street – believe me, I’ve tried them all! The colours are vibrant, they blend like a dream and they look far more expensive than their £7.99 price tag.
The first step to achieving this look is to prime the eyelid. This is very important, because although the eye shadows are very pigmented, I find that there is quite a lot of fallout after application. I use the Collection Illuminating Eye Primer, available from most local drug stores for less than a fiver.
Once you’re primed and ready, the next step is to apply the shade A Vow in Venice all over the lid and into the crease of your eye. I use the Real Techniques base shadow brush to do this, but any small fluffy brush will suffice. A tip to creating a very well blended eye look is to hold the brush far from the bristles and with a soft hand, mimicking the motion of a windscreen wiper.
Next, apply the shade Marry in Monte Carlo into the crease, making sure not to brush the shade past the pupil. Follow the natural line or your eye from the outer corner, up and along to the centre of your eyelid. Here, if you have one, use another clean fluffy brush to blend the edges of the shadow. If not, just do what I do and clean the brush on the back of your hand the student way! You want a seamlessly blended contour colour here, not a strikingly obvious line of colour.
This is where we darken the look, making it more dramatic. Take the shade Forever in Florence and apply it ONLY to the outer corner of your eyes, then blend, blend, blend, making sure never to stray too far from that outer corner. Keep blending until the edges of your eye shadow are beautiful and soft – this may take some time, but just keep blending and the colours should come together eventually. Finally, take the eye shadow colours you used on your lid and run them under your bottom lash line with a small detailer brush.
Finish the look with your favourite mascara and eyeliner, mine is the L’Oreal False Lash Effect mascara and the Soap and Glory Supercat eyeliner. I especially love this look, as the edges of the eye shadow form the perfect template for where to draw your eyeliner flick. Alternatively, use a kohl eyeliner pencil to make the look extra smokey by lining the water line with a black, or even a purple, eyeliner. The great thing about this look is that you can change it up however you want simply with your eyeliner.
Make up is all about having fun, so take a break from your work and show off your eyes, you deserve it!
