How To Do A Very Straightforward Smokey Eye

    Smokin'.

    Ailbhe Malone
    by Ailbhe Malone

    BuzzFeed Staff, UK

    Jenny Chang / BuzzFeed

    You will need:

    Emma-Jane Lewis / Via emma-janephotography.co.uk

    1. Kohl pencil and mascara. We're using a Topshop Kohl, and Maybelline Great Lash.

    2. Two eyeshadows: We're using the Soft Brown (top right) and Najm El Lail (bottom right) from the Rimal Dahabia quad by MAC.

    When it comes to picking your eyeshadows, the choice is up to you. There is no one standard smokey eye: You can make it as dramatic, or a soft as you like. If it's your first time, it's hard to go wrong with a palette (like the Naked palette, or for a high street version, the Sleek Au Naturel palette). If you don't want to invest in a palette, Revlon do a range of individually packaged shadows which you can click and slide to attach to each other.

    Roughly line your upper lash line with kohl, and blend using a brush.

    Emma-Jane Lewis / Via emma-janephotography.co.uk

    You want your kohl line nice and strong, and very close to your lashes.

    Using the lighter of your two eyeshadow colours, bring it from the lash line to the top of the socket.

    Emma-Jane Lewis / Via emma-janephotography.co.uk

    Aim for a kind of half-circle. This is your base. We'll be blending up to this, from the kohl through the dark eyeshadow colour.

    (We're using a matt colour here, but you can experiment!)

    Next, bring the darker eyeshadow colour up from the kohl line.

    Emma-Jane Lewis / / Via emma-janephotography.co.uk

    The idea here is to create a gradient. The dark kohl blends into the dark eyeshadow, which blends into the light shadow, to bare skin beneath the brow.

    Get rid of any fallout with a cotton bud.

    Be careful to make sure that your shadow stays in an upward angle.

    Emma-Jane Lewis / / Via emma-janephotography.co.uk

    Top tip: Use your lower lash line as a guide. Imagine a line from the lower lash line going up toward the brow. Keep your shadow within this imaginary line to prevent your eye from being dragged downward.

    Add kohl underneath your lower lash line and blend. Finish with mascara.

    Emma-Jane Lewis / Via emma-janephotography.co.uk

    For extra impact, you could line your waterline with kohl too.

    Yeesssss you look so good!

    If you have eyeliner and mascara on already, you could do an easy '60s smokey eye.

    Emma-Jane Lewis / Via emma-janephotography.co.uk

    You just need an eyeshadow in a dark colour, and a lightliner pencil.

    We're using Najm El Lail from the Rimal Dahabia quad by MAC and the NC15 NW20 Chromegraphic Pencil by MAC. Rimmel also does a good lightliner (Eyeliner in Nude (005)). We've already lined the eyes using MAC Fluidline in Wholesome, but Rimmel Scandal Eyes gel liner is a good high-street buy.

    Take your dark eyeshadow straight into the socket, leaving a gap between the shadow and the liner.

    Emma-Jane Lewis / Via emma-janephotography.co.uk

    We're creating depth by using a dark shadow in the socket, leaving the space between the liner and socket a fleshy tone. This is a slightly lighter take on a '60s eye.

    Next, use a flesh-coloured liner in the waterline.

    Emma-Jane Lewis / Via emma-janephotography.co.uk

    Traditionally, a '60s eye uses a white pencil, but a flesh colour is less severe than white, and less cartoony. It will also make your eyes look bigger.

    Celebrate your smokin' eyes!

    Jenny Chang / BuzzFeed

    Make-up by Lucybloom Webb for BuzzFeed.