Christmas or New Year’s parties are a great excuse to be a bit more daring with your make up. A favourite year in year out for sophisticated night time looks is the smokey eye.
The key is to build in layers rather than pack on dark colours too quickly; and always use high-quality brushes to blend out the edges, essential with these deep shades for a professional, airbrushed finish to the colour. Our gallery shows the best products to achieve a look full of drama and make your eyes stand out.
Team a smokey black lid with glossy, muted pink lips for a sophisticated retro look – or for festive glamour, an iridescent smokey eye looks great with a matte poppy-red pout.
Visionaire Eyeshadow Duo in Prism
Covetable brand Hourglass formulate their cosmetics without sulphates, fragrance or phthalates. So this beautiful eyeshadow duo is ideal for sensitive eyes, if you still want your party make-up to pack a punch. In the shade prism – a deep blue paired with a shimmering charcoal grey – these silky shadows come in a chic, heavyweight compact with a swivel-lid and large mirror for on-the-go touch-ups, and a luxurious brush applicator.
Cine-matics Smokey Black Make-Up Lesson
The ultimate smokey-eye kit. MAC’s new palette holds three of their best-selling shadows – Bisque, Ambience & make-up artist favourite, the matte black Carbon – along with a Zoom Lash Mascara, Technakohl Eyeliner, a smudge brush for the lash line and a blending brush for the perfect finish. Also included are step-by-step instructions, which are extremely helpful if you’re unused to a heavier eye-make-up look.
Partial Soft Cross False Eyelashes
More subtle, and easier to apply than a full strip of false lashes, you can use just one or two of the individual clusters of lashes from this Shu Uemura set at the corners of your eyes for extra definition.
Petite Eye Colour Trio – Smokey Mauves
Purple and plum shades give a modern smokey-eye, a fresh alternative to the usual charcoals and greys – and they also look fantastic on green eyes. This high-quality Laura Mercier Palette holds three ‘Smokey Mauve’ shades – Kir Royal, Wisteria, Sparkling Dew – all designed to work together in perfect harmony.
La Ligne de Chanel Professional Eyeliner Duo in Noir
A compact palette containing two shades of eyeliner – a matte black and a slightly shimmered charcoal. The rich texture applies with ease and the deeply-pigmented formulas give an intense, smokey finish. Included is a brush that can be used damp for a sharp and precise line, and a blender to soften and smoke out the colour.
Smokey Eye Brush
Designed specifically to achieve a dramatic, smokey eye, this essential tool is perfect for applying darker colours to the crease of the eye for an intense look, and for smudging cream or powder liners along the lash line for a smokey effect. Tom Ford’s brushes are made from the highest quality natural-hair, and are worth the investment if you want to achieve a professional finish.
Dolce & Gabba Volumized Lashes Macara in Black
A volumising mascara is a must-have to make lashes pop against smokey eye-shadow. The chunky brush of D&G’s Volumized Lashes Mascara gives an intense thickening effect, with a silky and lustrous finish. Our new favourite for night-time drama.
Soft-Touch Shadow Pencil
These jumbo-sized pencils are portable and versatile – perfect to keep in your handbag to quickly update a day-time look for evening. The smooth and creamy texture can be used to shade the lid, line, or highlight the eye with a velvety, long-lasting finish. You can also layer them under powder eye-shadow for increased colour intensity.
Illusion D’ombre Long-Wear Luminous Eyeshadow in Mirifique
Enlivened with gold, bronze and platinum reflections, Chanel’s gel-cream hybrid eyeshadow is a pleasure to use, the silky, lightweight and long lasting formula delivering an intense and luminous look. Try blending a matte-black powder eyeshadow all over the lid, and then tap this into the centre with your fingertip.
Eye Blender Brush
A good blending brush is essential if you’re using strong or smokey eye colours. Use it to soften and diffuse harsh lines and edges for a flawless, professional finish.
Jaquard Eye Palette in 001
This beautiful palette by Armani holds four textured eye shadows in carefully selected, nuanced shades that complement each other perfectly. Included are a central eyeshadow duo in forest greens, a highlight shade and a charcoal to use as a liner or to deepen the other colours. They can be combined and blended to your preference, or for greater colour intensity, applied with a damp brush.
