The Smoky Eye: Redefined

Variations of the classic smoky eye have cropped up everywhere this Fall.  From more dramatic "goth" styled eyes, to variations in purple, green and blue… the smoky eye has morphed into something much more creative this Fall!  The products below will help you achieve these new techniques.

Bella Il Fiore is a line I’ve been recently introduced to… but I feel like I’ve been reunited with an old friend.  The colors selected by founder Jennifer Maloy for the Princess Palette are perfect to create an edgy purple smoky eye.  Mama Mia and Celebrate are such deep shades of purple and plum, they are almost black.  Bella Il Fiore’s Princess Palette retails for $13 on the Bella Beauty website, and at Henri Bendel.

The list of Pout Cosmetics Eye Shadow Duo shades read like a veritable who’s who of the pageant world.  Miss Scotland, a pair of coordinating olive green shades, are the shade of green this Fall.  Pout’s Eye Shadow Duo retails for £13 on Pout’s website. Pout shadow duos also retail for $18 at Victoria’s Secret and Sephora.

For a blue smoky eye, Jane Iredale PurePressed Triple Eye Shadow in Truly Denim is a must.  A wet-dry formula makes these gray-blue shadows versatile enough to create a dramatic or conservative look.  Jane’s crease resistant formula will ensure you look fantastic for hours and hours.  Jane Iredale’s PurePressed Triple Eye Shadow retails for $27 at Jane Iredale direct, and directions for proper application are provided on her site!  Following her instruction even made a amateur like me apply this shadow like a pro.

Only the most daring need apply to the club of David Scott’s Ebony Matte shadow wearers.  This silky formula is black as coal and wears for an eternity… perfect to achieve the borderline-goth intense smoky eye that would blend effortlessly in the clubs of LA and New York… Suburbanites like me are equally devoted, but stick to using it as a lush black eyeliner.  David’s collection will be available soon at his David Scott Cosmetics website.  This Ebony Matte shadow will retail for $27.95.

For the budget-oriented smoky eye fan, ELF offers this terrific kit of everything you’ll need to apply a deep, dark smoky eye.  ELF’s brightening eye color quad in "Drama" contains a deep dark black, two shades of cool gray, and one white highlighting eyeshadow.  This kit also contains mascara, a black eye pencil, a smudging brush, and an eyelash curler.  The Smokey Eyes kit retails for only $5 at Eyes Lips Face.

Shadow primer is a must to prevent creasing, and to keep shadow in place.  I’ve reviewed Urban Decay’s Primer Potion in the past, and highly recommend it as the beginning of your smoky eye application process.  This sheer formula will ensure your eyes look as good at the end of the evening as they did at the beginning.  Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion retails for $15 at Sephora.

For a great "how to" article that will walk you through a step by step process to create a smoky eye, check out "How to Get Smoky Eyes" written by Julyne Derrick.