Banded Smoky Eye: Urban Decay Deep End and MAC Copper pigment

This is a twist on the traditional colorful eye, created by alternating 2 shades concentrically outwards. It's definitely a dramatic look, and plays on subtle color and a very strong, defined eye line. The shape of the look means it will only work if you have a crease. If you don't, but want to recreate this look, you will need to use lid glue to create a fold or the colors will not show up.

I'm not categorizing this as an Urban Decay 15 Year Anniversary Look, as one of the key shades is a russet metallic brown pigment from MAC called Copper. 

Products Used (All Urban Decay shadows are from the 15 Year Anniversary Palette: 

• A teal blue shadow (Urban Decay Deep End)
• Rich russet brown shadow (MAC Copper -  you can also use MAC Sable)
• Matte black shadow (Urban Decay Blackout) 
• Pale sheer-gold shadow (Urban Decay Vanilla - you can use MAC Vanilla pigment)
• Black kajal (The Body Shop)
• Black liquid liner (Bourjois Liner Pinceau 16 Hr)
• False lashes

Step 1: Pack the teal blue right in the center of the lid, leaving just the innermost and outermost corners bare as other colors will be packed in there. 

Step 2: With a pointed brush, run a coppery brown shade along the crease, stopping short of inner and outer corners as well. You can use a normal brown for the crease color, but a red-toned one stands out better against the teal blue on the lids.

Step 3: Fill in the outermost corner with matte black. Do not pull up into a wing or flare. This is important for the next step.

Step 4: With a pointed pencil brush, pick up the teal blue shadow again, and run it lightly around the rims of the deep copper shade, blending into the black at the outer most corners. Then with a very soft blending brush, blend the outer corner gently so you don't have any overly-harsh lines.

Step 5: On the inner corners, apply just a touch of pale, translucent gold and very gently blend in and up just to tie the colors together. Then apply black kajal generously to the water line. You can use any black pencil but I recommend kajals if you can get hold of them, as they have this beautiful creamy sheen to them.
IMPORTANT: After applying kajal along the water line, use a fine pencil brush to run teal blue shadow right under it, along the bottom lash line. This sets the outer edges of the pencil and prevents smearing. Repeat at innermost corner using the pale gold.

 Step 6: Apply black liquid liner along the upper lash line, then curl lashes and apply falsies to complete the look.

Definitely pair this with muted or nude lips, and just a touch of blush. The drama should all be on the eyes.

Holiday Glam: Smoky Blackened-Gold with Crimson lips

Most of the time, we pair dark smoky eyes with muted lips to keep things in balance, but it does not mean that you can't pair it with a strong lip for the holiday season. 

To keep the eyes sultry but not overly heavy and severe, I adapted the traditional black eye with 2 things:

• A pale gold on the lid (I mixed a blend of translucent silver and gold mica to get that specific "cold-gold" shade, but any gold pigment would work as long as it's very metallic (e.g. MAC Gold Metal Pigment) or applied with a dampened brush for a foiled finish.
• Pigmented matte black shadow (you can get this from inexpensive brands with strong pigments such as Wet n Wild, Sleek, etc. as they work just as well as MAC or other high-end brands)

Step 1:  Using a firm, pointed pencil brush or a flat angled brush, apply a stroke of black along the lower lash line, starting ALMOST from the inner corner (leave the inner-most corner clean so you don't close off your eye totally) and pull out past the outer corners slightly.  You'll likely need to re-dip your brush to get an even stroke of color as firm brushes give precision but do not pick up a lot of product.

 

Step 2: With the same brush, draw another line along the socket, but don't touch the inner corners of your eyes. (If your eyes are very close set, you might want to start the line nearer the middle of your eye,)
The outer corner of the upper line should meet the lower line in a rough wing shape. Do not worry about getting neat lines. 

Draw a third stroke along the outer half of the upper lashes as well.
The finished look will be something like the below. Look straight ahead into the mirror or take a picture to check that the top line looks more or less symmetrical on both eyes.

Step 3: Smoke it all out! Dip a soft blending brush lightly into the black shadow so there is just a bit of color, and then run it briskly along the top socket line to smoke everything out. This is where you add more black to even out the amount of color on both eyes until they are roughly equal.

Step 4: The fun part. Use a flat brush to pack gold pigment onto the lids. Any shade of gold, bronze or deeper silvers would work for this, but I do recommend loose metallic pigments for the most dramatic effect against the black. Fill in all the bare areas from the inner corners of the lids outwards.
A less shiny shade will give less contrast so if you're worried about looking too dramatic, by all means choose a softer finish.

Step 5: Add definition back.

• I applied black liquid liner along the top lashes and then use the pointed or flat brush to run black shadow along the line. This smokes it out and keeps it from looking too precise and harsh.
• pale yellow pencil to the waterline (my trusty Make Up Store Vanilla Matt pencil), and then 
• went back in the soft blending brush dipped in black. Start to intensify the black and blend into the edges of the gold. Remember the overall look is predominantly smoky black, with a flash of gold.

Step 6: Finish by curling lashes and applying mascara (Bourjois Volume Glamour Max in Black). You can wear lashes with this look, but I chose not to as it might obscure the trace of gold but if you have very big lid space, it would totally work.

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Step 7: On the cheeks, I applied a bit of MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Dark as subtle warm contour just under the cheekbones, and skipped blusher as it would just compete with the lips and eyes.

Step 8: On the lips, I applied a full-on deep-red matte lip using MAC Russian Red lipstick (this is actually not a blue-based red despite what some say; it's more of a dark true-red). I don't have a dark, cooler-toned black cherry shade or that would look even more dramatic with this eye.

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Other Products Used:

• Foundation: Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation #52 for a velvety matte glow
• Concealer: Amazing Cosmetics Amazing Concealer in Fair for a slightly brighter under-eye since the makeup is so smoky and dark
•  Setting Powder: MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Medium

Recommended nail shade: Black creme, to keep things edgy but refined!

Fall Look: Pearls and Oysters (Greyscale makeup featuring MAC Vex Eye Shadow)

MAC Vex shadow with Coastal Scents Antique Silver mix* and Eylure Nicola lashes

I've always been fascinated by duochrome shadow shades, and it's no wonder that Vex is one of my all-time favorite shadows from MAC. It's a soft pale oyster grey with a pink shift, and has a texture very similar to my other favorite, Patina, in that the base is a satiny demi-matte, and the pearl sheen is very subtle.

Step 1: Start with a good eyeshadow base, and then pick up a generous amount of Vex shadow (or any pale pearl-grey) with a blending brush. Spritz the loaded brush with mixing medium like MAC Fix+ to foil the shadow and then buff it gently onto the inner half of the lids, extending down to the inner corners.

Step 2: Then pack a deeper gunmetal grey over the outer half of the lid, foiling it the same way you did the paler shade. I used a pressed pigment I mixed myself using a deep antique silver with pale violet sparks, but you can try MAC Softwash Grey (soft), MAC Scene (medium) or Urban Decay Gunmetal (deep).
Run along the lower lash line as well.

Step 3: Use a matte black shadow to line the upper lids in a slight wing, and  then use a blending brush to  deepen the outermost corners of the eyes for more contour if you're using a softer grey.

Step 4: Apply black liquid liner just along the upper lash line, and if you have a steady hand,  UNDER the lashes along the tide line, keeping just to the base of the lash roots. This will give you that absolutely black, super-thick lash line without having to overdo the liner. (If you go too far down, your liner will run into your eyes. Not fun.)
Then finish by curling lashes and applying dramatic false lashes, and mascara on the bottom lashes. I used Eylure Nicola lashes, which I love.

Final Look: Greyscale with a duo-tone twist. Perfect for that evening soiree.