Smokey eyes from an amateur

I’ve never been a makeup guru, but I’ve always wanted to perfect a smokey eye look.  It’s a great look this time of year for holiday parties…something more dramatic than your standard 9-5 makeup look.

To attempt my look, I tried the Holiday Smokey Eye Palette from Studio Gear (currently on sale for $25).  I loved that it had everything in one palette (except for brushes) and even had directions. The colors worked great together and had a bit of shimmer to them too.

I decided to try out the smokey eye for a holiday party on Friday night.  I followed the directions and referenced the illustration (which I have to admit…the directions were a little wordy and referenced brushes that I didn’t have), but in the end I was pleased with the end result!

Here I am with and without the eye makeup…


I feel like the eye makeup took me from the “I just rolled out of bed” look and brightened up my whole face.  Craziness.  Here’s a better look at the eyes:

I also completed the look with a few extra things (eyelash curler, eyeliner from my Wantable beauty box, Rimmel mascara courtesy of Influenster, and Clinique eye tint/primer):

I didn’t want the eye makeup to be super heavy like the photo that accompanied the directions since I usually like to keep it relatively natural and light, but I definitely wanted more of an accent to make my eyes pop, and I think this did the trick!

Want to get the Holiday Smokey Eye Palette?  Get 10% off with code SGHOLIDAY. (This code does not expire and is good for 10% off your entire order on www.studiogearcosmetics.com. Score!)

Disclosure: This was a sponsored post powered by Brandbacker.  I received the product for free and all reviews are my own.