The Best Eye Makeup Tips You Have To Try
How to do the smokey eye look
Sometimes you want eye makeup that makes a big, bold statement and helps you stand apart from the crowd. The ancient cosmetic traditions of North Africa, the Middle East and Southeast Asia were designed to help you achieve this effect through the application of a special kind of eyeliner called kohl.
Traditionally, kohl was made from a type of naturally occurring charcoal called stibnite or from a mineral called lead sulfide. Today, kohl is manufactured by a number of cosmetics companies using organic ingredients. Commercial kohl preparations include beeswax, plant charcoals, cocoa butter, coconut oil and an assortment of other natural oils.
Unlike many cosmetics, which aim to highlight the beauty in as unobtrusive a manner as possible, kohl’s appeal is that it looks artificial. It’s applied in a thick band of black or deep colour around the upper and lower lids of the eyes. Often the line of the lower lid is drawn upwards to create a look of winged eyes. Sometimes the kohl is smudged for a smokey effect.
Most kohl you’ll purchase in stores or online comes in the form of an eye makeup pencil. You can purchase both thick and thin kohl pencils. You will find out soon what is the best eyeliner pencil for your own needs. Be sure to also check out these French makeup secrets for some more great tips on accentuating your eyes.
• The Ancient Roots of Kohl
If you look at Egyptian wall paintings dating back well before the birth of Christ, you note that practically every human figure is depicted with thick black lines rimming their eyes. This is true of both genders and of all social classes from peasants to pharaohs.
While kohl had an aesthetic function in ancient Egypt, it was also considered a type of protective magic that had been handed down from the gods. Indeed, laboratory analyses of ancient kohl residues show the substance had many unique antimicrobial properties that probably helped safeguard its wearers against a range of ophthalmological diseases.
Greeks and Romans picked up the habit of wearing kohl (which they called ‘kollurion’) from the Egyptians. Kohl remained a part of the Western culture until the fall of the Byzantine Empire in the 15th century. Today, kohl remains a mainstay of Middle Eastern, North and West African, and Indian beauty regimens. Kohl imported from these places, however, cannot be sold or distributed legally within the United States. It typically contains colour additives that have not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
Fortunately, a number of domestic companies manufacture kohl organic makeup, and this distinctive eyeliner is gradually becoming popular once again throughout the West. Do you remember these old mascara boxes, the ones with a tiny brush and a kohl stone in? Wasn’t that the best mascara ever?
• How to Apply Kohl Eyeliner
Here’s a short video with the best eye makeup tips on creating a gorgeous smokey eye look I have found on YouTube. You just need your eyeliner and your fingers …
• The Smokey Eye Look – Step by Step
• To begin the application, make sure your face is clean and dry. Sharpen the point of your eyeliner pencil to a taper.
• Next, apply your eyeshadow base and an eyeshadow colour on top of that. Kohl looks best with eyeshadows in a grey or subtle brown palette.
• Then, beginning at the inner corner of your upper eyelid, slowly draw a line toward the outside corner of your eye. You may need to practice a few times before you get this movement exactly right.
• Stay as close to possible to the lash line as you can. If you like the winged eyes look, try drawing out the line a little bit after your eyelid ends.
• Now, draw another line of kohl beneath your lower lash line. A sharper pencil will give you a thinner line. It’s important to try and get this line to be as thin as possible in order to avoid the panda eye look.
• Some people also apply kohl to the inside of their lower lash line. If you like this look, be very careful not to get any makeup in your eyes.
• To achieve that sexy, smokey eye look, you are going to use a brush to smudge the eye pencil. Work in tiny, swift strokes. Try to retain a consistent thickness to the line. Nothing looks messier than eye makeup that appears to have been applied with a wobbly hand.
• However, you will want the eyeliner that’s closest to your lash line to stay most concentrated so that the smokey effect seems to blend in with your eyeshadow.
• Use the same technique to soften the eyeliner beneath your lower lash. You’ll probably have to use a thinner brush with a slight angle to achieve the optimal effect.
Just be awesome,
Klaudia xx
You have definitely mastered the art and look amazing! Thanks for being so open and honest too.
I do so love kohl eye liner – my favourite make up look is the heavy kohl/smoky eye combined with glossy lips in a nude colour!
🙂 that’s us 70s girls! Do you remember the stone-old-fashioned kohl mascara , that came in a box with a tiny brush? We used to spit on it ….. LOL