How to Do Smokey-Cat Eye Makeup
Wearing smokey eye or cat eye makeup looks are beautiful on their own, but mixing the two looks together can make for one pair of seriously smokin' eyes. Lately we have been seeing more and more of this style of eye makeup showing up on the red carpet, fashion week, celebrity events, and on gals around town. It's a popular eye makeup style that is usually created in darker hues but can easily be done in brighter colors that are trending right now for spring and summer. We say spring since it isn't officially summer yet, but in Los Angeles it certainly feels like it could be.
To get the look, start first by creating your smokey eyes. Using a shadow in a medium tone apply to the outer eye area, crease and lid as seen here and blend 3/4 of the way in so that the inner eye is untouched. Using a shade slightly lighter than your lid color follow the same line and apply above so that the colors overlap. Make sure to blend well. The colors should be seamless. Once you've done this, the next step is to do your cat eye makeup.
Your cat eyeliner will go over the smokey eye. It's a more subtle design but if you look closely you can see the point which is strong at the outer eye and blends into the lid color towards the center of eye. Since it's a softer shadowy look use only a dark shadow to create without wetting the brush before applying your color. The more prominent cat eyeliner in black and closer to the lash line will come next and should be done with a liquid, gel or felt tip liner. If you love the look of cat eyeliner but have trouble getting the liner to your liking try using a cat eye makeup stencil instead. It's easy to use and will create the exact shape you want for both the shadowy liner and tight black liner along the eyelid.
If you plan to create your cat eyes using a cat eye makeup stencil follow these easy steps to achieve the perfect shape. Start by placing your stencil over your eyelid, your lashes should be poking through the cut-out shape, hold in place with your index and middle fingers (positioning the cat eye makeup stencil further away from the lashline will create the thicker smokey-cat eye shape seen here). Using a medium size eye shadow brush, sweep a darker shadow inside the cat eye shape, pressing the color up into the point. Remove stencil and blend only the color in center of crease without compromising the cat eye point.
Depending on how comfortable you are using a liquid liner create your tight cat eyeliner starting from the inner corner and working your way out. Line underneath too and make sure the two lines meet at the point as seen here. You can also use a gel liner in a pencil or pot to create your liner. To use your cat eye stencil for this step, place stencil over the lid and this time move it closer to your lashline. Follow the same steps for creating the shape. Once you have removed the stencil, trace along the shape filling in with either a liquid, gel, or felt tip liner to define the line.
Finish your eyes by rimming the inside or waterline with a black pencil. For this look a waterproof formula may be your best bet since you'll want the color to stay on. Try Too Faced Perfect Eyes Waterproof Gel Liner in Perfect Black. Sweep the darkest color used in the crease under the lashline and smudge the pencil liner a touch so that it blends into the shadow. To highlight the browbone use a matte shadow in a lighter shade that compliments your skin tone. Follow the length of your brow, and blend color into the inner corner of eye. Add a coat of your blackest mascara to the top and bottom and comb through lashes to remove any clumps.
The final step to completing your look is to add your concealer under the eyes and go over any smudged edges using a concealer brush. To do, simply outline the areas that need covering with your concealer and finish by patting/tapping the color around the eye using your middle or ring finger until blended. Set with a translucent powder.
