The 6 simple steps to perfecting eye makeup

Still haven’t mastered the fine art of eye makeup? Eve Pearl, five-time Emmy Award-winning makeup artist and founder of the Eve Pearl cosmetic line, explains the simple steps to making your very own eyes sparkle:

Eye makeup can be a bit confusing. It may be easy to tell the difference between a natural eye, an ultimate eye and a smoky eye, but the most important aspect is knowing how to look good and polished while focusing on the eyes. 

Women are constantly asking me to help them “bring out their eyes,” and while it may sound appealing to think that there is a specific technique and color that works best for each person, I find the opposite to hold true. I’ve come up with six simple steps that every woman can follow when applying their eye makeup:

Apply foundation to your eyelid 
The foundation will act as a base and hold your eye makeup together all day long. But remember — it's important to use powder to set it. I recommend a foundation that has two tones, the lighter tone being the best for this purpose, and to set, use a pressed powder.

Add eyeliner to the top lid
I prefer using a liquid liner. When using liquid eyeliner, most people make the mistake of holding it like a pencil, but it’s very important to hold the eyeliner parallel to your eye. Liquid eyeliner is best because it has a brush tip rather than a felt tip, for flawless application and so that it's completely smudgeproof once dried. Try not to take the eyeliner really far outside the eye since doing that will drag the eye down and make it look droopy. 

Smoke it out
Now here’s my secret trick for creating the illusion that you drew in a perfect line during step two: I simply smoke it out using a dark shadow. Let’s face it, “smoking it out” is a term makeup artists use which really means “clean up the crooked eyeliner.” So next time you’re applying your liner, don’t be intimidated — there is always a cleanup stage that can hide any imperfections. Try mixing brown and green shadows (you’ll be pleasantly surprised with the results).

Add some definition
After you smoke out the eyeliner, use a small crease brush and create some definition on your lid with the same dark colors. Try to think of drawing in a sideways “V” from the outside edge of your eye into the crease of your eyelid. It is important to blend that out — you don’t want it to look harsh. In the summer, warm tones like peach and bronze work best. Repeating this step is ideal for longer wear, which I call layering.   

Clean it up
Lighter shades can be used to clean it all up. Regular pressed powder can be used for this. It is important to make your products as versatile as possible (which also saves you money). I suggest finding a palette with many shades to create the perfect look for your eye.

Don’t neglect the bottom
Apply black or brown eyeliner to the bottom lid. Remember, you can always smoke it out using a shimmer such as gold or peach. Adding some mascara finishes the process and makes your eyes look great. 

So there you have it, my six easy steps for applying your eye makeup. And trust me, this process works for every woman. Whether you’re going for a natural look or a smoky look, the process should always be the same. 

For more great makeup tips, visit www.evepearl.com

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