Multivariate smoky eyes: makeup that suits everyone

Tatyana Boyko, makeup artist, international style artist, director and teacher of the author's school of style and makeup BOYKO BEAUTY SCHOOL, author of the three-volume book “The Art of Transformation”

In the art of makeup, there are many types of eye makeup. I boldly divided all the presented options into three main schemes: “From light to dark”, smoky eyes and “Arrows”. All these options can be mixed with each other, but one or another makeup is always performed according to one of the schemes. The choice of the most advantageous one depends solely on the structure of the eyelid.

Smoky eyes makeup translated means “smoky eyes.” This is the most winning eye makeup scheme in the art of makeup. With its help, you can correct various age-related, congenital and acquired deficiencies, and asymmetry. Thanks to its versatility, it suits everyone! This scheme is very fashionable and is the make-up of the 21st century, which cannot be said about another, outdated scheme “From light to dark”, which is unreasonably popular among make-up artists. But more about her later. And now about the main thing! Only a dark color in makeup is the leading color that attracts attention. Therefore, with the help of a dark color, you can control the attention of the “viewer,” correctly position close or wide-set eyes, model them, giving them different shapes, enlarge and even reduce them, and, of course, achieve a fairly expressive look. It's a stereotype that smoky eyes are just black eye makeup.

In order to choose a winning makeup scheme, first consider the structure of the eyelid. It can be upper and lower, and the upper eyelid, in turn, consists of a movable eyelid (from the ciliary contour to the dividing fold) and a fixed eyelid (from the fold to the eyebrow).

One of the popular, modern fashionable schemes is the classic smoky eyes . This type of makeup involves completely lining the eyes with a dark color, which can “sketch” various imperfections and model any eye shape. In it, the color is located both on the upper movable and fixed eyelid, and on the lower one. Classic smoky eyes are characterized by the use of black with gray or brown transitions - a more natural color for human skin.

But smoky eyes can be made not only in black as an evening option, but also in brown-gray tones and even beige - to create light makeup (daytime, wedding, or makeup for red or other bright lips). The balance of colors can always shift: for example, with a fairly intense upper eyelid and a moving and motionless eyelid, you can shade the lower eyelid very softly or not use color on it at all. And with soft, calm smoky eyes, it is enough to intensively highlight only the upper moving eyelid, i.e. the ciliary contour. This way you can get a lot of options.

When creating makeup, you can play with colors and textures. Therefore, any of the smoky eyes options can be colored , which gives rise to its different options. Colored smoky eyes can be done either with one color or using several: for example, the lower eyelid is one color, and the upper eyelid is another. For me, it is not the color itself that is very important, but how dark or light it is, because this is the modeling factor. Also, any type of smoky eyes can be either smoky without the use of eyeliner (I call it a “velvet eye”), or quite clear and expressive: the eyelash contour of such makeup will always have eyeliner or shaded face painting, a pencil on the mucous membrane of the eye. And smoky eyes can be matte and even pearlescent.

Based on the smoky eyes scheme, you can distinguish smoky makeup at the eyelash contour - also oriental . In this version, darkening occurs only on the upper and lower eyelids. Eastern eyes are distinguished by a fairly high, mobile upper eyelid, but this form is found not only in Eastern women. It is on such eyes that smoky eyes at the eyelash contour will look win-win. This option in its traditional design does not extend the color to the entire upper eyelid, and only in exceptional cases, when it is not the most advantageous for a particular eyelid, does the color extend to the fixed upper eyelid.

For me, eyelash contour is very important in makeup. I always try to repeat it, emphasize and model it on the moving eyelid, placing a dark accent along the entire eyelash contour or, if necessary, on the fixed eyelid (if it is blocked, as in women of Asian appearance, or with age-related sagging, which can be hidden this way). This makeup, even done in intense black, will always look elegant. So, based on smoky eyes, I highlighted an option with darkening only the upper eyelid (both moving and fixed). It's always good when the top is darker than the bottom. I confidently use this scheme for older people. And the more intensively I use color, the faster I cope with age-related eyelid folds, various age-related eyelid changes and asymmetry.

For women of an elegant age, I almost never use darkening of the lower eyelid, as it weighs down the look, making it more dramatic, and pulls the eyes down. Also, based on the smoky eyes scheme, I identified a special variety - darkening the entire upper eyelash contour from the first to the last lash. Outwardly, it looks like a shaded arrow. This option is suitable for a very high mobile eyelid, which does not suit the darkening of the upper fixed eyelid, which makes the wearable image vulgar. It is also ideal for daytime makeup and quick “5-minute makeup.”

But you need to understand that smoky eyes and smoky eyes are different. Its result is influenced by the stylistic direction - it can be quite elegant and restrained (red carpet, business style), as well as tough and intense (rock, goth style). In addition, the direct influence is exerted both by the master’s vision, his professionalism and the author’s handwriting, and, of course, by the structure of the century.

I am a supporter of both a democratic style and the search for new combinations, but I always try to adhere to some rules: the more intense the eye makeup, the lighter or more neutral the lips should be, and, conversely, with bright and dark lips I try to choose a soft intensity of eye makeup.

How is smoky eyes schematically different from others? Its main difference is that the color that is located on the moving eyelid and enters the dividing fold always comes out of it onto the fixed eyelid in the same saturation.

Of course, for competent work and proper execution of smoky eyes makeup, there are still a number of rules and exceptions to them, since there are many eye shapes and their different locations. But if you want to do beautiful makeup, choose multi-variant smoky eyes!

The article was first published in Makeup&YOU Professional magazine