How to: Daytime Smoky Eye Tutorial

When I saw Kate Hudson's seriously smoky eyes on the cover of Allure Magazine circa 2006, my life, or at least my makeup routine, was forever changed. I immediately set about my business trying to create a school-appropriate version. Now, on days when I'm feeling like my usual gold-ish shadow is a little too blah, I revert to my high school ways...I've worn the same 'daytime' smoky-eye look ever since. Here are step-by-step instructions:

Start by applying concealer under each eye. Pat with your ring finger to blend.

Apply eyeliner to only the outer corners of each eye. I use brown eyeliner. I like to wing the liner out just a bit on the top. For evening, I generally line my entire top lashline, not just the outer corners.

Apply eyeshadow. I prefer a plum color, as I've found that gray is a bit too severe for day time with my fair skin. Blend upwards so that the eyeshadow is darkest near your lashline, and lightest near your brow.

Dampen a cotton swab/q-tip and load the swab with the same eyeshadow used above. Line the bottom of your eyes with the shadow, refilling the swab with shadow as needed. Here is where you get to use your creative abilities: apply as little/much shadow as you like, though I've found that one good swipe of shadow seems to do the trick for daytime. For evening, I use about 2x the shadow to line my eyes as I do during the day.  

Apply mascara. I apply one coat to the top lashes, then use the residual mascara on the brush to coat my lower lashes to keep my bottom lashes from looking too spidery. I repeat this once more. Then I add a third coat only to the top lashes on the outer corner of my eye- this helps to widen the eye.

Now do your best not to sneeze until the mascara dries..and voila!

Also, I would like to point out that, in this post, you can see that I finally took the plunge and tried out black nail polish...And I love it! Seriously, I may never wear another nail color, unless I'm going to a job interview or something.

Products used: Benefit Erase Paste Concealer in medium via Ulta, Covergirl eyeshadow in Forever Fig, Tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes! mascara via Ulta, Covergirl Perfect Point Plus eyeliner in Espresso.

Top: The Limited, Earrings: Forever 21