Soft Spring Smoky Eyes: Two Shadows and a Step-by-Step Photo Tutorial
I warned them I'd use that photo. *grin* This is model Dauphine goofing around backstage with Maybelline makeup pro Grace Lee a few hours before the runway preview of a new, highly anticipated Canadian designer collaboration with Target Canada. In stores now, the Sarah Stevenson for Target collection is splashed with vivid florals and bold hues. To complement the clothing, Grace gave Dauphine beautiful soft Spring smoky eyes and flushed cheeks. Best part? The look is a snap to recreate. Detailed step-by-step photo tutorial below.
soft spring smoky eyes: sarah stevenson for target canada
The colourful prints in the Sarah Stevenson for Target Canada collection were inspired by flowers -- irises, poppies, pansies and posies -- that grow each spring in the designer's North Toronto neighbourhood. Grace deliberately chose a neutral makeup palette that would complement rather than compete.
soft spring smoky eyes: it's not about black
"It's a very soft, diffused smoky eye. Everything about it is very pretty, feminine and delicate," said Grace about the makeup. "This is an adaptable makeup you can wear day or night -- pretty eye shadow, pretty natural cheek, and a nude lip, which will be huge for Fall." (And it's another seriously gorgeous wedding makeup option, too.)
This is the Maybelline Expert Wear Natural Smokes eye shadow palette Grace used for the soft Spring smoky eyes for the show. And guess what? She used only two shades for Dauphine's eyes: the top right taupey shimmer marked "LID" and the darkest matte shade marked "LINER." She also dabbed a tiny bit of Maybelline Color Tattoo Barely Branded cream shadow in the inner corners of Dauphine's eyes.
soft spring smoky eyes: photo step-by-step
The soft spring smoky eyes is "not the typical black all around the eye," said Grace. "It doesn't even need to be a gradation. It can be as simple as a diffused wash of colour that gives dimension to the eye." In the photos below, note as well that Grace uses a small, fluffy brush that delivers a soft, blended finish.
1) Apply your primer and base. If your complexion is as lovely as Dauphine's, apply foundation or BB cream in a t-zone format -- forhead, nose and sides of the nose, chin -- and blend outward. "It gives a very natural look," said Grace. Blend a brightening concealer such as Maybelline NY DreamLumi Touch Highlighting Concealer ($12.09 at well.ca) over any darkness at the inner corners of the upper lids, under the eyes, and around the base of the nose.
2) With a small, fluffy brush, apply a silvery taupe all over the lid. Try Maybelline Expert Wear Mono in Tastefully Taupe ($4.99 at well.ca) a Grace-Lee favourite, or the top right shade in this Maybelline Expert Wear Natural Smokes palette ($8.99 at well.ca).
See? Just the one colour all over the lid and blended into the crease.
3) Use the darkest "liner" shade along the base of the lashes for soft definition. Grace used a fluffy-ish gently angled brush, not a small fine angle brush.
"A fluffy brush gives you that less intense diffused effect, and makes blending really easy too," she said. "And if you make a mistake, just keep blending until it almost disappears."
4) Use the same brush and shade to add soft definition along the lower lashlines, too.
5) Also with the same brush, blend the same "liner" shadow into the outer vee of the upper lid to add depth.
You don't have to do much blending with a brush like this, but you do want to make sure you blend enough to avoid obvious colour lines.
6) Brush brows up with clear mascara, such as Maybelline Great Lash Clear Mascara ($6.07 at well.ca). "Brushing up the brows will usually tell you exactly where you need filling," said Grace.
7) With an appropriately coloured brow pencil, such as Maybelline NY MasterShape, and light, feathery strokes, fill in the sparse areas.
As you go, blend the colour into the brow with the brush on the other end of the pencil.
On Dauphine, Grace very lightly filled in the last third of the brow on the left; on the brow on the right, she filled in a little at the front, and then the last third just after the arch.
8) Curl lashes and apply mascara to the top lashes only, making sure to get from the roots of the lashes to the tips. If you feel incomplete without lower-lash mascara, Maybelline NY Volum'Express Falsies Big Eyes Mascara ($8.39 at well.ca) has a lower-lash wand on the other end. (See how it works here.)
9) Apply sheer creamy blush, such as Maybelline NY Master Glaze in Just-Pinched Pink ($11.99 at well.ca), to the outer curve of the cheeks.
10) Blend a sheer highlighter in a C-shape from the brow bone under the arch down onto the top of the cheekbones. Maybelline Baby Lips Lip Balm in Quenched ($4.49 at well.ca) is another Grace-Lee favourite for its dewy gleam without sparkle.
A little clear Baby Lips on the middle of the lids adds a pretty sheen to catch the light in the runway show.
11) Use a small pointed brush to dab Maybelline NY Color Tattoo in Barely Branded ($8.99 at well.ca) as a shimmery highlight on the inner corners of the eyes, at the tear ducts.
12) If you'd like a little more shimmer in your cheekbone highlights, use a feathery fluffy brush to dust on the lightest shade from the Maybelline NY Expert Wear palette in Natural Smokes.
Sweep a bit of that pale shadow shade down the bridge of the nose, too.
13) Apply nude lipstick and top with a sheer pinky nude gloss. Grace blended Maybelline NY Color Sensational The Buffs in Blushing Beige and Nude Lust ($9.99 each at well.ca), and added a touch of Maybelline NY Color Sensational Color Elixir in Rose Redefined ($10.99 at well.ca) in the centre of the lips for dimension.
What do you think of Dauphine's soft Spring smoky eyes? Will you try the look? Or is this already in your repertoire?
The limited-edition Sarah Stevenson for Target collection launched in select stores on March 23rd; have you already scooped something up?
