Tutorial: Eoljjang eye makeup

After ordering and receiving my coloured lens, I am into the “Eoljjang” (Ulzzang) makeup and look.

Ulzzang is defined as “best face” or “good-looking” in Korean, and the “Eoljjang” is someone who is popular based on their appearance. (Damn superficial as these Eoljjangs get celebrity status because their popularity is based on their appearance and nothing else.)

Basically, to achieve the Eoljjang look, you’ll need a doll face, with huge eyes, perfectly sculpted nose and clear skin.

I don’t have clear skin at all, so I am going to use makeup to cheat. As for the doll face, enlarging my eyes would do the trick. My nose is far from perfect, and I need a nose job more than anyone else.

But in this tutorial, I will just focus on the eye.

Wore my Super Barbie Eye lens in Bambi Grey.

I have extreme dark eye circles, but nothing makeup can’t conceal.

After application of BB cream from Hanskin and concealer from my 15-concealer palette, my dark eye circles become less obvious.

I used BB cream from Hanskin from Korea, because I needed a fairer, porcelain skin. BB creams from Japan and U.S will not be able to give me that kind of effect. If you want to look extremely fair, BB cream from Korea will be perfect for you.

If you want to buy the 15 concealer palette, shop HERE.

Drawn brows with my Daiso eyebrow pencil in Black. Korean girls like extremely thick brows to keep them looking young, but I can’t carry off the thick eyebrow look so I drew it the normal way.

Trying really hard to balance both sides..

Highlighted my brow bone with the lightest beige from my concealer palette, and used eyeliner to draw the outer half of my lower line.

This immediately made my eyes bigger and more enticing.

Then, I used eyeliner to line the outer half of my upper lash and joined it with my lower lash line with a ‘V’.

My eyeliner is Castledew Colourshot Pencil in Black (non-waterproof). I love this eyeliner because it is double-sided, and there’s a pretty pink sparkly rhinestone on top of each side of the cover.

(Blurred my face because I am extremely shy, haha)

As you can see, I used a cotton swab to smudge the eyeliner to make it less harsh.

Applied waterproof Mascara - Maybelline’s Volume Express.

Used falsies for my left eye.

Finished look.

Easy peasey, lemon squeezy.

This look is really simple, try it and rock it!

Daiso finds

All from Daiso!

I have always wondered if the makeup from Daiso really works. Since I have been dying to experiment some of the makeup items, I decided to purchase and try it out.

Each item at Daiso costs $2, so four items would amount to $8 – a pocket friendly price, and in this entry I would discuss how effective these items are and how it worked for me.

Item #1 – Sponge for Foundation / BB cream 

I understand that some people might be paranoid about the makeup they use, especially when buying from Daiso because the cost is only $2 per item and it might be unreliable.

The last thing we want is breaking out in acne the following day after using cheap makeup. Also, price might be a surrogate indicator of quality and hence the perception of Daiso products is that the quality is low.

If you don’t trust the cosmetics from Daiso, there are other beauty products like nail buffer, double eyelid tape, makeup sponges, cuticle remover, etc.

And as you can see in the picture above, I bought the makeup sponge. $2 for 12 pieces. And if I used 5 times per sponge before I dispose it, it’s 5 cents per usage! Great buy, right?

(I am assuming that using 5 times per sponge is acceptable because I know of people who use their sponges for weeks before disposal. Think of the bacterial buildup. Yikes.)

Item #2: Eyebrow pencil

Here’s how the tip looks like.

Tested at the back of my hand. 

Will this cause you to break out in acne? I doubt so.

Firstly, it is used at the brows in little quantities so it can’t possibly cause your entire face to break out in acne. Secondly, the ingredients used are black iron oxide, lanolin, hydrogenated vegetable oil, alcohol, talc, Vitamin E, and some others that you can find in other brands of eyebrow pencil as well.

It glides on skin and isn’t too light or too dark and I like it. I also tried it on my brows and it works like any other eyebrow pencils!

I have no complains, and I wouldn’t mind buying it again.

Item #3: Stick foundation

When I removed the cover of the stick foundation, my first reaction was “dang!” because the colour looks really yellow. As you can probably tell, the colour of the sticker does not reflect the colour of the foundation inside at all.

So I tried it on my skin. Yeap, I was certain that it wasn’t my skin colour.

It was too yellow and too opaque for my liking.

I glided the stick foundation on my skin and regretted big time. The feeling left on my skin was extremely oily! I use BB cream all the time and I am used to the liquid formula. But this stick foundation does not feel like the usual liquid foundation at all. If I have to wear this all day, I’d rather hang myself.

I thought it might be only the top layer that is oily, so I scraped off the top and tried it again. No difference.

After that, I had to use my eye makeup remover to thoroughly get it off my skin. It was definitely a bad experience.

For foundations that are darker in colour, they may be used for contouring. And foundation colour that is lighter than your skin colour may be used as a highlighter. Foundation with a thicker formula can be used as a concealer, or to smooth out uneven skin. But I do not know what to do with a super-duper oily stick foundation.

On the brighter side, this stick is convenient to carry around and that is the only good thing about this little tube.

Do yourself a favour, save your $2 and don’t ever get this from Daiso.

Item #4: Highlighter

Now this little container reminds me of the mineral makeup that I have. I like mineral makeup because of all its benefits (and I will discuss them in another entry).

I picked this up with my eyeshadow brush and brushed it on the back of my hand, and I love how pigmented the particles are. It is shimmery and made my skin look as if it was glowing.

Next, I tried it on my nose bridge and above the apples of my cheeks.

It turned out to be really pretty, and it’s definitely glowing. It also works great as an eyeshadow to highlight the inner corners of my eyes and just below my brow bone.

This is a great buy, and I will not hesitate to buy it when I finish using it (that’s if I ever do cause my makeup seems to last forever).

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So here are my thoughts about these items I got for at a great price.

If you like to save money like I do, go pick up some fabulous items from Daiso!

..and leave the stick foundation alone.

Mascara – The makeup item that expires really fast.

The number one prevention of eye infections through using makeup is to toss away your expired mascaras. Just like bacon ham, salad and potato chips, makeup are perishable and have expiry dates.

Charming cat mascara - One of my favourite mascaras because it is extremely affordable and I don’t feel the pinch when I have to throw away this SGD4.00 mascara every 3 months. 

But how would we know if our mascaras are expired?

First and foremost, there will be an expiry date on most makeup items. Before excitedly ripping open the brand new packaging of your mascara, do keep a lookout for expiry dates. It is usually a tell-tale sign of excessive clogging.

Say, if a mascara expires 2 years from now but you have opened the tube a month ago. Does the mascara expire 2 years later?

The answer is no.

Mascaras dry up really fast due to the fact that we constantly shove the wand in and out of the tube. Each time we pull the wand out, we’re allowing the substance to interact with bacteria which would be transferred to our eyes.

Can you imagine the micro-organisms camping on your eyelash for an entire day while you speak to your clients or boyfriend? Do yourself a favour and think about the amount of bacteria you have on your face hourly because I am sure that your OCD will kick in soon after.

When we pump the wand back in the tube to grab more fibre and mascara, we are actually shoving air in. This will cause the mascara to dry faster and shorten its life span.

And I know for a fact that girls are doing this because I have seen many of them doing this in public toilets (where so much bacteria are lurking).

The life span of a mascara is approximately 4 months, and using it any longer than the life span would cause an eye infection should the substance make contact with your eye.

After 4 months, the preservatives in the mascara will break down and bacteria will enter the tube. Once mascara is contaminated, any transfer to your lash might cause red eye or infection.

To minimize the amount of bacteria that get onto your lashes, only use the wand on clean eyelashes and do not ever touch the wand with your hands. Also, makeup should not ever be shared with anyone unless you want infection to be spreaded to you.

I hope that some of you would discard old mascaras after reading this entry, because saving money on a product is not worth the time and money spent to cure an eye infection.

Are concealers always in the colour of our skin tone?

15 concealer palette.

Concealers are not always in the colour of our skin tone.

In a concealer palette like the above, we can see white, green, lavender and yellow. These colours neutralize flaws, and I am going to share how each colour has a different function and how it works.

White concealer 

Trust me, you do not want to appear white unless you are Caucasian. And it reminds me of how my dear Indian friend tried to dress up as a white vampire during Halloween a few years ago. Instead of appearing like a white-faced clown, the white above dark brown made him look really washed out. (Thankfully, he doesn’t know that this blog exists.)

Using white concealer is an art. And I will only use white concealer as a highlighter.

The concept of using highlighter is to allow light to reflect from certain parts of our face, making our cheekbones higher, lips fuller, nose sharper and we will look stunning.

The areas which we usually apply highlighter is above our blush line, below our eyebrows, on our nose bridge and on the milk line of our lips.

Green concealer 

Yes, green concealer. It is not on the shelves we see at makeup stores because of Halloween.

Green concealer is used to cover blemishes, inflammation, and red acne because the colour neutralises red. If we were to look at the colour wheel, green is directly opposite red and it will effectively conceal all red marks.

Because we don’t want green marks on our face, the concealer is primarily used as a primer (or base). As we do not want an overcast of green on our faces, we should use the concealer as little as possible. After using the green concealer as a primer, we would then use the skin coloured concealer or regular foundation above it to cover the horrendous green.

After layering regular foundation over the green concealer, we should look television-worthy. If you’re looking witchy green, you’re doing it wrong.

Lavender concealer 

This must be my favourite colour corrective concealer because it erases yellow spots. Being exposed to the sun everyday has given me a thousand freckles, and lavender concealers cover them pretty well.

The effect of the lavender concealer is that it gives me a healthy glow after application.

We do not wear lavender concealer on its own unless we’re going to attend a costume party. Lavender concealer only works well as a primer, and we have to use our regular foundation or BB cream on top of concealing.

Yellow concealer 

I’m Chinese, but yellow concealer works wonders for me though some would agree that I need not be more yellow than what I am now.

But I love it because this amazing colour would hide dark eye circles and erase all signs of fatigue. Besides adding some warmth to our skin tone, yellow concealer can also create a lightening effect by concealing dullness.

And apart from concealing dullness, applying yellow concealer on our eyelids as a primer would help us achieve the ‘clean’ look and our eyes will look brighter. It can also even out the tones of pink blemishes.

Like the above, we do not wear yellow concealer on its own and we have to use our regular foundation or BB cream on top of concealing.

General tip: The last thing we want is our concealer to appear cakey, so we have to make sure that we get just the right amount of it on our faces before finishing it off with loose powder.

(To purchase the 15 concealer palette, click on “makeup shop” at the top right hand corner)

Basic eye makeup

Brighter eyes for all of us! 

More pictures, less words. That’s how most people like it.

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Picture #1
Here I am, shamelessly exposing my naked eyes.
Now do you believe that I look like a maid without makeup?

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Picture #2
Grabbing a tapered concealer brush to lighten my eyebags.

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Picture #3
Here, I am using yellow concealer to make my dark eye circles less dull.
To understand how does yellow concealer works, click HERE.

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Picture #4
Blend, blend and blend.
I always use my ring finger to blend by rolling it in circular motions.
Notice how yellow concealer makes the dark eye circles look really washed out?
Hence, you should never wear yellow concealer on its own.

***

Picture #5
Damn, isn’t the little zit really distracting?
Anyway, here’s using skin coloured concealer on top of the yellow concealer.
Concealers can make the eye area look really dry. So don’t forget to moisturize beforehand.

***

Picture #6
Notice how the middle portion doesn’t look grey anymore?
Do the same to the entire area to get rid of the greyish hue.

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Picture #7
Blend the salmon coloured concealer and say hello to a brighter eye!

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Picture #8
Layered BB cream over the concealer on my entire face.

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Picture #9
Brushed loose powder over my BB cream and concealer to set the makeup.

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Picture #10
I love this part – highlighting the upper eyelids with my Shu Uemura eyeshadow in Sakura.
Never fails to make my eye ‘pop’.

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Picture #11
Focusing on the middle area.

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Picture #12
And the inner corners of the eye too.

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Picture #13
Grabbing taupe eyeshadow to make the eyes more three-dimensional.

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Picture #14
Can you see the effect of the taupe eyeshadow at the outer area?
“No, I can’t. Only see your fine lines” 

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Picture #15
Here’s a better picture.

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Picture #16
Getting the skinny brush ready for application of gel liner.
I prefer this over the angled brush for gel liner application, by the way.

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Picture #17
A thin line first, till the hands are steady.

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Picture #18
Extend the line slightly upwards for a cat-eye effect.
Well, this is still basic right?

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Picture #19
Outline, before filling in the colour.

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Picture #20
DONE.
Gorgeous eyes.
(No matter what you say!)

Oh, don’t forget to curl your lashes and use mascara.

***

There you go. Makeup does wonders.

Defined eyes, let’s have.

In this entry, I will discuss a few different types of  eyeliner.

First, let me post a picture of my hand with four types of liner/shadow that I use to create different daily looks.

 

 

Top: Gel liner

2nd from top: kohl eye pencil

2nd from bottom: Black eyeshadow

Bottom: Brown liquid liner

 

 

To me, the most important thing about eyeliner if I wanted to create a natural basic look is that it should be smudge proof.

That said, the black eyeshadow is the easiest to smudge and would be out of my list immediately if I wanted a nice, clean look. However, it is the best amongst all if I preferred a smoky eye look on a particular day. That look would mean that there would be no harsh edges, and would blend out into a smokey cat eye which I like.

Unfortunately for me, I have a tendency to touch my eyeshadow and eyeliner although I know that I would ruin the makeup. And the gel or liquid liner is perfect for my itchy hands because it is bad-habit-proof.

If I preferred something dark and intense, I would definitely go for the gel liner or liquid liner. These two liners are perfect for lining over fake lashes, apart from being water proof. The intensity of colour would also define the shape of my eyes really nicely.

However, if you’re a newbie in using liquid liners, it is best you start off with pencil to get the perfect grip and stability before you try stroking liquid above your eyelids. One wrong move and you could be cabbing to your next destination instead of taking the bus.

For some strange reason, I thought that the kohl eyeliner pencil would be the most intense of the four liners. But I thought wrong because it appears to be darker than black eyeshadow, though still lighter than the gel liner. Weird because it always looks really dark and bold on Arabic women. And this must be the most neither-here-not-there liner because it is not dark, doesn’t smudge well, and doesn’t cover fake eyelashes nicely.

In summary, I like the gel liner the best for a couple of reasons. Apart from its intensity, it glides onto the eyelids perfectly. It also doesn’t smudge when my eyelids get a little oily after a day. It blends well with my eyeshadow, and forms a nice line over my fake eyelashes. To top it all, it resists water.

What more can I ask for?

Shimmer or matte?

Dilemma?

Really, when it comes to makeup, there are no rules as to whether we should go with shimmer or matte makeup. However, most people would agree that matte and shimmer eyeshadow works very well together.

Primarily, eyeshadow is supposed to enhance our eyes, and not just be seen. The term “eyeshadow” would already suggest that it is supposed to create a shadow around the eye area. Hence, eyeshadow is not used just because counters are selling them, or that you find that item in every girl’s makeup pouch.

Lots of colours!

Credit: fairendel.files.wordpress.com

I used to think that using a solid light coloured eyeshadow would brighten up my eye, but now I understand that light colour eyeshadow are really used for highlighting purposes.

Although there are no rules, there are guidelines to using matte and shimmer eyeshadow.

 

Matte colour on top rectangle, shimmer at the bottom rectangle.

 

To begin, we should understand that shimmer eyeshadow should not be used for day looks. Shimmer eyeshadow have this tedency to make wrinkles more visible. If you want a younger feel to your makeup, avoid shimmer eyeshadow on the entire eyelid. However, you may choose to use it under your brows and in the inner corner or your eyes to make it brighter.

Here’s to show the difference between matte and shimmer shadow:

 

 

 

I’m sure you can already see the difference between the shimmer eyeshadow (left) and the matte one (right).

We can see that the lines on my hand is significant with the shimmer one, and the lines not as obvious when the matte colour was used. So, you get my point. If we don’t want to look older than we actually are, we should avoid using too much shimmer.

 

Anne Hathaway in night makeup

Shimmer eyeshadow should be used more at night. The reflective particles would reflect light, making your eyes look more appealing than using the matte one. At night, we can play with extremely dark pigments and just have fun with the shimmer!

Most importantly, we all have different eye shapes and eyelids. We should play around with both matte and shimmer eyeshadow to create a look that will make us look gorgeous.

Have fun!

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To play with different looks, I would recommend the 78 colour palette:

78 Colour Palette.

In this palette, you get to play with sixty shimmer, mattes and satin eye colours, twelve lip colours, and six blushers. For SGD 26, that’s only 33 cents per colour!

To purchase, click on “MAKEUP SHOP” on the top right hand corner.

 

My favourite mascara

Everyone has a favourite mascara, and I do have a favourite too.

I have tried many types of mascaras before, for lengthening and volumizing. Brands that I have tried before includes Anna Sui, L’Oreal, Lancome, Estee Lauder, ZA, Clinique, Maybelline, and lots more that I can’t remember.

But my favourite has to be the dejavu fiberwig mascara.

dejavu fiberwig mascara

Introduced by my cousin a few years ago, I am stuck with this mascara.

The reason why I like using this mascara is because it really extends my eyelashes. The fiberwig works better than applying a layer of white fibre for length, followed by a layer of black for volume. However, the extended fibre does not curl upwards when I use it unless my eyelashes are curled beforehand.

Most importantly, I like how natural it looks on my eyelashes. It doesn’t clump or make my eyes look like hairy spiders. It is perfect for my short Asian lashes. At times, people would think that my lashes are naturally long!

Right now, I have 3 tubes of it lying in my room. All because I am a kiasu Singaporean, and I dig good buys. If I didn’t remember wrongly, it is retailing for about $26 in Sasa. I bought mine in Hong Kong last year for only $18 per tube. Don’t we all love buying things overseas?

Using mascara is subjective. Some girls dig the long hairy lashes look, whereas girls like myself prefer not to have spiders on our eyes. If I want to achieve that kind of dramatic effect, I would use falsies and not mascara.

What’s your favourite mascara?

My smokey eye looks punched.

“My smokey eye looks punched!”

…Just how often do we exclaim in horror when we look into the mirror? I, for one, have said that a zillion times after countless of attempts to achieve the smokey eye effect.

My idea of a perfectly smudged asian smokey eye

Credits: asian-trends.tumblr

I remember my first attempt very vividly. That was after I watched a chick flick when I was still in secondary school. At that point of time, the girl in me wanted to transform from geeky school girl to a hot chick. Think Christina Aguilera, Olsen twins and Britney Spears (when she was skinny). But hey, don’t we all secretly love attention?

So, my attempt to look like a white chick flopped and I looked like a deranged psychotic asian girl who lives in a haunted mansion instead.

My next few attempts were no better. The looks I achieved were I-just-got-punched, Gothic princess, amateur teen with smudged eyeliner still in the midst of learning, and drunk party girl.

From there, I learnt a few lessons. To be able to create the smokey eye requires a hell load of techniques, and I will discuss a few of them here.

Bad smokey eye on Kelly Osbourne

Credits: webparkz

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Number #1 – “I am Asian, hence I don’t imitate Taylor Swift”

One of my biggest mistake is to copy the smokey eye effect on Caucasians. And that means an extra thick layer of eyeshadow that we don’t need. We should keep the smokey eye as natural as possible (Number #12 elaborates the details), and not as dramatic as the above picture unless our next destination is to a Halloween party.

Although I have double eyelids, my Asian eyes are not as deep set. Applying dark coloured shadow a few centimetres above my eye would immediately turn me into a gothic chick.

Unless you want to look punched, the over-exaggerated application of dark eyeshadow is a recipe for makeup disaster.

Taylor Swift’s smokey eye

Number #2 - Use a pigmented eyeshadow so the colour stays

Have you ever tried black eyeshadow from Daiso? For those of you who tried, you would probably agree with me that the quality is so bad that the black eyeshadow, when applied to the eyelids, looks grey mainly because the particles are too thick to stay on the eyelids.

After trying a couple of black eyeshadows, I would say that most brands work well. That includes Bobbi Brown, MAC, L’Oreal, Maybelline and 88 eyeshadow palette.

So, if you want a black eyeshadow to stay on, don’t try buying the product from Daiso.

88 Eyeshadow Palette

(To purchase, go to “Makeup shop” at top right hand corner)

Number #3 – Prevent eyeshadow from falling all over your face

Many times I used a brush to apply eyeshadow, and little particles will drop on my cheeks. When I swipe it away gently with facial tissue, I get a long streak of black. And this is a major bitch.

However, we can prevent it from happening. Using a piece of tissue on the cheek while applying the eyeshadow with a brush should do the trick.

Tissue!

Number #4 - Let the eyeshadow last all day

You might ask – How do we let the shadow last all day? Wouldn’t the pigment fall off automatically after 12 hours?

Well, thanks to the primer potion by Urban Decay, eyeshadow can now last for very, very, very long hours and make your eyes look more vibrant at the same time.

If you want a creaseless effect, this Holy Grail of eye primer is the product for you.

The holy grail of eye primer

Number #5 - You need a base colour to highlight

If you have dark eye rings like me, you probably need a highligher to cover the dullness. A white or light coloured eyeshadow serves as a great base before application of dark coloured eyeshadow because it creates a three dimensional effect as well as make the eyes look less tired.

From my lazy-days experience, I have tried using black eyeshadow without a highlighting base and it does not look as great. So my point is, the base colour works wonders, if you know what I mean.

White base

Number #6 - Get rid of dark eye circles

Smokey eyes with dark eye circles are for vampires, not a pretty girl.

Without concealing, smokey eyes will not look good. To begin with, dark eye circles do not look good! For the dark smokey effect to look red-carpet worthy, there should be a contrast. Dark eye circles or heavy eye bags will destroy the look.

That said, you need to conceal, conceal, conceal.

[Concealing is another tough part, so I will blog about the art of concealing in another entry.]

15 Concealer Palette

(To purchase, go to “Makeup shop” at top right hand corner)

Number #7 - Decide on whether you prefer liquid, gel, pencil or other types of eyeliner

They are not the same, although the purpose of eyeliner is to enhance our eyes and make them bigger.

Pencil and gel eyeliner are easier to control and slide on our eyelids. However, it is not easy to smudge it if we want to create a smokey eye effect. Hence, we can try applying eyeshadow before using eyeliner to define the shape of the eyes.

My method is to blend and smudge eyeshadow, before applying a thin line of liquid eyeliner for definition. Liquid liner will be more contrasted against the eyeshadow as compared to pencil eyeliner, but that is how I like it. For those without a steady hand, you might choose to use a pencil eyeliner instead.

(To purchase, go to “Makeup shop” at top right hand corner)

Number #8 - Decide on whether you prefer a shimmer or matte texture

Kawaii girl, or smoldering eyes that make men go weak?

For the kawaii look, I will use the new Chanel shimmer black eyeshadow for the top, and shimmer white eyeshadow on my lower lash line.

For the smoldering look, I will definitely go with my matte Bobbi Brown black eyeshadow.

Number #9 - Minimal application on our lower lash line

Applying minimal eyeshadow on our lower lash line is extremely important.

Being Chinese, it is not easy for me to carry off the dark lower lash line look. But I personally think that Indians can carry off that look beautifully.

What I do to my smokey eye is to line only the outer half of my eye. This would prevent me from looking like a panda, yet enlarge my eyes at the same time.

Number #10 - Decide on whether you want to use a brush, or fingers

For those without a sponge applicator, smudge applicator or an eye defining brush, you can too smudge your eyeshadow with your fingers.

In fact,  I believe that most people will agree with me that the effects of using fingers to smudge works way better than any sort of applicators.

Being lazy and tired of the many steps I have to take to get my smokey eye, I would usually apply my eyeshadow with a brush. With sufficient practice, the brush effect can too look good.

Number #11 – You need a few eyeshadow colour to create the smokey eye effect

To be able to make a nice, gradual, smokey effect, the trick is to blend the dark colour such that it fades out beautifully.

Have you ever seen smokey eye instructions at the back of little eyeshadow boxes, where the instructions tell you exactly where the dark and light colours should be?

Well, try it!  The different colours will make your eyes more three-dimensional and deep set, so your features will not appear flat.

It is not simple, but practice makes perfect!

Number #12 - Do not over apply

Over applying black eyeshadow is the highway to Ugly Avenue.

Black eyeshadow is supposed to enhance our eyes, not make us look as if we put on eyeshadow so people would know that we are wearing makeup.

We should always keep in mind where our eyebrows are, and how would the proportion of our eyes be like after application.

Unless you want to look like Kelly Osbourne (refer to Kelly’s image at the top), it’s best to be less dramatic.

Number #13 - You do not forget the brows, unless you have bangs

Smokey eyes work if eyebrows work. It is rather pointless to have a gorgeous, perfectly smoked eyes, only to have it ruined by messy eyebrows.

So, do yourself a favour and trim the brows as often as you can.

Number #14 – Take your time

Time is precious in Singapore, and every second counts. I know how is it to have only 10 minutes for makeup before rushing off for work.

But the last thing you want to do is to re-do your messed up smudged eyeshadow after spending 15 minutes on it.

Take your time, no one can rush perfection.

Number #15 - Don’t forget the lashes

Short lashes and beautiful eyes do not bode well, like how uncurled eye lashes could ruin pretty fake lashes.

If you have the intention to smoke your eyes, do also take some time to curl the lashes and apply mascara. This would open up the eyes, creating a doll-like effect.

Number #16 - Don’t forget the pupils

This is optional, but I prefer to enlarge my pupil by wearing big-eye lens.

Smokey eyes would also more captivating with light coloured lens.

Number #17 – Don’t try to use loose powder on your smokey eye

Common sense, right? Apparently, I have subconsciously applied loose powder to my eye area after application of black eyeshadow.

Dumbest. Thing. Ever.

What do I do after that? Well, remove makeup, and start from Step #1.

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Phew, that’s about the basics of applying smokey eye without looking punched. I have not entirely discussed how to exactly apply eyeshadow the right way, but I will do so in another post.

I came up with the above after years of experimenting and perfecting the smokey eye (though I don’t wear them out everyday), and I hope these little tips would help you in achieving the perfect smokey eye.

Till my next post, enjoy digesting this.