The Smokey Eye

There are many different ways to create this sultry look…see my favorites below.

Jennifer Lawrence, Bronze Goddess

Jennifer looks like a Bond girl with
copper hues.

Emma Stone, Play Up the Hue

Emma enhances her green eyes with blue
and silver colors.

Jennifer Lopez, Taupe Beauty

JLo keeps it neutral with as taupes.

Kim Kardashian, Over the Top

Kim K uses black matte shadows
to create a daring and mysterious look. 

The 'smokey eye' is probably one of the easiest makeup looks to do...just remember to keep it simple. 

This look can be appropriate for all types of occasions and it even transcends seasons and years. For a day-to-day look, I suggest MAC Satin Taupe (lid) and Omega (crease) with MAC Teddy eyeliner. 

My Tips & Tricks

**Different eye shapes need different application*


- When creating a smokey eye, it’s so important to prime the eye in order to keep the smoldering colors to stay put. Use a primer like Urban Decay’s Primer Potion or Benefit’s Stay Don't Stray Primer.

- Darker colors go on the lid. Then gradually fade up to the crease with a lighter, complementary color.

- Shimmery/glittery shadows should ONLY remain on the lid while matte shadows be applied to the crease.


- Don't be afraid to apply shadow to your lower lash line to really smoke it out. See the images above for good examples. 

- Eyeliner is not always necessary to create smokey eyes.

- The blackest black mascara always finishes the look. 

Here are smokey eye tutorials from one of my favorite YouTube gurus, Pixiwoo. If the link doesn't work, search "smokey eye pixiwoo" on YouTube.

Add Contouring to Your Arsenal

Bronzing and contouring are essential steps included in my daily makeup routine. Obviously, application differs when achieving a desired look. I step it up a notch when going out in the evening.

What are benefits of contouring? Contouring creates shadows in order to create the illusion that your face is thinner/more angular.

In the picture below, you can see the different areas on the face that are important to contour.  (I use photos of Kim Kardashian’s makeup in order to showcase different effects because her makeup is dramatic.)

Kim K's Contoured Faced

The most important advice when contouring is to blend, blend and blend some more.

See the difference below:

Left is not contoured, while right is contoured and highlighted.

I suggest contouring novices to use a bronzing/highlighting kit, such as Too Faced’s The Bronze and the Beautiful ($38 at Sephora.com) The kit includes three sets of instructions to contour/bronze/highlight the face for different looks. 

Too Faced The Bronze and the Beautiful, $38 at Sephora.com

Contouring gone wrong:

Lindsay's Cheeks :(

Nicki's Nose :(

YSL Touche Éclat

Have you noticed how Kim K and JLo always look awake and fresh on the red carpet?  Well it’s not because they get lots of beauty rest.  These celebrities use YSL’s Touche Éclat to hide the bags under the eyes and provide highlighting around the face. This lightweight product goes on smooth and will brighten up the face without making it look cakey.

After you apply foundation and before you powder, apply your YSL Touche Éclat under the arches of your eyebrows, down the sides of your nose and underneath your eyes. Instead of using the brush that comes with the wand, use the pads of your fingers and tap furiously until the product has a gradual gradient into your normal skin tone.

You can buy this at Sephora for $40.

Not your 90s Nail Art

A friend of mine inspired me to take notice at some awesome nail designs these past few weeks.  Quickly, she became my nail stylist and picks out colors and patterns for me to wear. 

I'm not talking about your mom's 90s holiday design with a snowman on her accent nail. This current nail trend is color blocking - using complementary colors. 

Take a peek at the below:

My nail stylist swears by Essie, Sinful, OPI and China Glaze.  Sometimes, she uses the nail stickers from ULTA or your local drugstore to off set the colors.

How she gets inspired beats me, but I'm inspired by her haha :)

Hair Snobbery

Alright so in college, I was obviously living on some sort of a budget and bought drugstore hair products.  While my hair used to be receptive to inexpensive products, upon graduation my locks clearly communicated “no more of that home girl.”  Slowly but surely, I’ve started to collect some great but pricey hair products – and I’m not lying, they have made all the difference.

Currently, I have DermOrganics– I use twice per week, Bumble & Bumble – I use twice per week, and Kerastase – I use once per week.  I sometimes sneak in Loreal EverPure when I’m just going to be bumming it for the day.

I got my hair cut three weeks ago and it still feels silky and soft from my cut – love.

Not that I’m 100 percent advocating that you must buy pricey products to have great, loveable hair, but I do think it’s improved the condition of my hair as well as boost my confidence.

Do what you gotta do - but I'm a newfound hair snob :)

Little Ball of Magic

Okay. I have a secret and I’m about to reveal it.

There is a magical hair product that smells delicious, makes your hair delightfully soft and smooth, and is packaged in a cute pink ball.

Bedhead Dumb Blonde Smoothing Stuff.

Unfortunately, it’s a bit hard to find.  Whenever I find it, I buy it.  Sometimes ULTA carries it, sometimes Walgreens has it, etc.  It’s not even on Bedhead’s website – so disappointing.

But two weeks ago, I was reunited with my favorite hair product (after about a year)!  The results are still unreal.  After I use it, I can’t stop touching my hair all day because it's so soft, silky and manageable. 

To use: After you shower, towel dry your hair.  Then apply a somewhat liberal (about a ¼ size) amount all over your hair - concentrate less on roots.  Then blow dry & style – Voila!

Buh-nan-us.

BedHead Dumb Blonde Smoothing Stuff Approx $20

The ONLY Liquid Liners You Need

Everyone loves sexy, winged eyeliner. However, it’s so hard to find the best eye liner that is easy to apply and won’t budge or smudge throughout the day and night.  (I hate when I apply eye liner and then a line above my crease appears after I open and close my eye…ANNOYING).

After trial and error, I found two liquid eyeliners that do it RIGHT!


** Here is a video from one of my favorite gurus that has great eye liner application tips! **

1) Kat Von D Tattoo Liner, $18

Kat Von D has an awesome makeup line.  Her eye shadows are highly pigmented and vibrant.  However, her tattoo eye liner steals the show.  It is the best liquid eyeliner I've ever used. After the eye liner is applied, it will NOT budge, smudge or disappear.  The felt-tipped pen provides uuber easy application, which enables some flawless winged eye liner. 

Love Love Love Love.

Kat Von D Tatto Liner

2) Stilla All Day Waterproof Liquid Eye Liner, $20

The first time I tried this liner I had some issues because I didn’t let it set before I started blinking and therefore had that ugly black line above my crease. (I was so mad..grrr)

However, I decided to give it another shot after seeing how many great reviews it received. The second time around, it was fabulous! I even sometimes use it on top of the Kat Von D Tattoo Liner (to create an even darker black).

Once again, the felt-tipped pen gives easy applications and the liner doesn't smudge throughout the day.

Stilla All Day Waterproof Liquid Eye Liner

What I love about winged eye liner is that there are so many variations.  You can go crazy and recreate an Amy Winehouse look or keep it simple like Angelina Jolie. KEEWWWL!!

Another use for liquid eyeliners - after you apply false lashes, drawing over the seem with your liquid eye liner pen, will make the falsies blend with your natural lash line.  

You can see the seem here between the real lashes and falsies.

The seem disappears after liquid eyeliner is applied.