10 Easy Steps To Create A Perfect Smokey Eye Makeup Look For Boudoir Photography

When it comes to glamour and boudoir photography, a smoky eye makeup look is the one that is most requested

What most people don’t know is that a traditional smoky eye consists of black, white, and grays. Realistically you can use any color scheme that you like and turn it into a smoky eye. There are more than one way to achieve that sultry, sexy look. In this tutorial, I will show you in 10 easy steps how to create a perfect smokey eye look for a photo shoot or a night on the town.

Step 1- Start With A Clean Face

Starting with a clean face gets rid of any dirt or makeup you had on before. It also makes applying your cosmetics easier by providing a clean surface to work on. Also, if you have dry skin you can apply a small amount of moisturizer to your face to help keep your skin smooth.

Step 2- Apply Primer, Foundation, and Concealer

PREP: Apply a face primer and an eye primer. A primer is important because it will help the makeup to be applied smoothly to achieve a flawless and dewy finish that will help to last all day.

FOUNDATION: Apply a foundation that best matches your skin tone. This will even out the skin tone. Set with a face powder of your choice. Tip: Translucent face powder is best because it won’t change the color of the foundation as some “colored” face powders tend to do.
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CONCEALER: When it comes to brightening up the eyes and covering blemishes, concealer is your best friend. Choose a concealer that is one to two shades lighter than your skin tone and apply under the eyes and blend into the foundation.

Step 3- Apply A Light Brown Eyeshadow Right Above The Crease Of The Eye

EYES: Applying eye shadow. A good rule of thumb is you want to start light and gradually go darker until you reach your desired look. It is always easier to fix a lighter shade than trying to correct a mistake with darker shade.

Step 4- Apply A Medium Brown Eyeshadow To The Crease And Connect To The Corner Of The Eye

I personally think it’s best to use matte eye shadows when achieving a smoky eye as it helps to create definition and depth and shimmery eye shadows to bring out the highlighted areas such as the brow bone. Start with a base eye shadow that is neutral color to your skin tone and apply all over your eyelids from lash line up to the brow bone. Choose your color range and start with your lightest shade in and right above the crease.

Step 5- Apply Darker Eyeshadow To the Outer Corner Of The Eye

Gradually darken and apply your layers of shadow to your crease and outer corner until you have achieved your desired look. Use a high light eye shadow to bring out the brow bone. Remember to blend delicately so that the colors transition smoothly but still keeping its distinction. You don’t want your layers to turn into one big cloud of mixed colors. Apply your eyeliner along your upper lash line and in your waterline if you desire. If you choose to, you can line underneath the lower lash line to open up the eye and make them appear bigger.

Step 6- Fill In Eyebrows. Apply Highlight To Brow Bone And Blend Lightly

EYEBROWS: Filling in the eyebrows always makes a difference both on and off camera. Eyebrows shape the face. On camera, they will get washed out under the lights. Fill them in to add little more drama to compliment your eyes. You can use a matte eye shadow that matches your hair color and/or pencil.

Step 7- Apply Eyeliner To Lash Line

Eyeliner defines the lines of the eyes and makes them stand out.

Step 8- Apply Eyelashes And Mascara To Upper And Lower Lashes

MASCARA AND FALSE LASHES: If you choose to, apply false eyelashes of your choosing. I personally think they pull the whole look together giving you that sultry, sexy look. Plus they look great on camera. Apply a couple of coats of mascara to mesh your real eyelashes with the falsies. 

Step 9- Apply Blush To The Apple Of The Cheeks

CHEEKS: Choose a blush to your liking and apply it to the apple of your cheeks. If you choose to, you can also apply a bronzer to your cheeks, temples, forehead and chin. This will aid in giving a sun kissed, glowing look.

Step 10- Apply Lipstick

LIPS: Choose a lip color of your liking. To make them look pouty and fuller, outline your lips with a lip liner that matches your lipstick. Carefully apply your lip stick and top with a lip gloss. The gloss will catch the light and make your lips appear fuller. 

Final Before And After

As you can see from this before and after picture that adding a smokey eye look will make you look amazing in a boudoir or glamour photo shoot. It gives your eyes that sultry look that really makes them stand out. It is recommended that you add a professional makeup artist when scheduling a photo shoot. They know the proper makeup application techniques and are experienced artists for your face. 

A big thank you goes out to my makeup artist, Leilani Tayaba, for being the model, makeup artist, and guest writer for this blog post. You were awesome!!!