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Cleopatra was definitely onto something when she would use kohl to smudge around her eyes paying homage to her sun god, and thus paving the way for goddesses like Giselle to hit the runway in the now very popular smoky eye.

Honestly, there is nothing sexier than a smoky eye, but layers of black eye shadow will just not do, and going goth, or rocker girl is really too intense for most gals. “The best way to achieve the perfect smoky eye is to start with softer colors like a shimmery or matte gray in place of a charcoal matte, or a taupe shimmer or matte taupe instead of a dark brown”, says make-up artist Beth Bender.

To get the look Beth recommends using a creamy eyeliner pencil with an eye shadow. “Powders work best and last much long than a cream shadow”.  Start first by lining your eyes with a creamy black eyeliner pencil. I love, love, love, benefit’s BADgal Waterproof eyeliner in black. It stays put, smudges easily, and looks great. Place your finger at the outer corner of your eye and gently lift the skin up and out slightly. Holding the pencil as close to the upper lash line as possible, draw short strokes from the outer lashes inward, creating a thick line and tapering as you get closer to the inner eye.

If your eyes are close set, or smaller, make sure to taper the line closer to the center of your eye. Line your bottom lashes as well and smudge with a Q-tip or smudge applicator. Next take your eyeshadow brush and dip into the gray shadow. Tap off excess before applying to eye. The color should be darkest by your lashes so start at the outer corner and brush across your lid using feathery strokes, staying as close to the lash line as possible. Use the brush to blend the color up to the crease. For perfect placement Beth suggests using a smoky eyeliner stencil and holding over the eyelid while filling in with color. It leaves out the guess work of how high or low depending on the shape of your eye. Reload the brush with shadow and sweep into crease, and underneath the eye.

To finish, blend everything into a soft haze by sweeping your brush over any edges of color. Clean up any stray shadow with an eye makeup remover, or eye cream.

A few side notes from Beth for the absolute perfect smoky eyes.

With smoky eyes it usually looks best to wear foundation. If you are not a fan, try a foundation stick like Bobbi Brown’s and apply only where you need to even out the skin. A medium coverage semimatte formula that doesn’t feel too heavy works well too. CoverFx is fabulous and can be mixed with your moisturizer to cut the heaviness, while still providing great coverage. It can also be used as a concealer as well.

Foundation should always be done after you have finished your eyes, otherwise you’ll spend extra time cleaning up the shadow and re-applying.

To off set the black eyeliner which has a tendency to make the eyes seem smaller, you can rim your lower eyelid with a cream-colored pencil.

The best smoky eyes are the ones that are blended, blended, blended.

And last but not least have fun! One of the reasons I love being in the beauty business is because I have so much fun doing it.

You heard it here first ladies:-) You can email Beth personally at beth@beautystylewatch.com for any questions about beauty and skin care.

xx

Hey girls…just want to let you know that the scoop about eyebrows is that “thin is in” again.  But before you go and pluck away…listen to The Bender Sister’s thoughts on thin vs. thick.

Beth, the makeup artist, suggests that if you’re chomping at the beauty bit to go thin first pluck only a small layer and hang for a week to see how you like it.  If you do then go at another layer until you like how your brows look.

Te-see suggests keeping them the way they are.  Thin is passe…Just pluck the middle and the sparse hairs.  If you choose to go thin then change your mind you’ll need a years supply of Allergan’s Latisse to help them grow back.  And even then they might not grow back to their full potential.  (I know first hand since I went thin in the 90′s and my eyebrows have never been the same since) Check out the photo below of Keira Knightley.  In my opinion the thin eyebrows make her look much older.  I prefer the more youthful brow:)

The choice is yours girls…

Te-see