Smokey eyes- Black VS Brown

Left is black smokey eye and right is brown.

I’m going to attempt to answer a huge debate in beauty history, whether to do a black or a brown smoky eye!! Before I tell you about my preference it’s important to remember that everyone is different and what one person loves another may hate, not only that but our skin colourings are all so different, and people suit different colours.

I used to rock the black smoke every day, but over the last year and a half I have converted to brown. This doesn't mean I don’t ever wear black smokey eyes, (in fact I prefer this look for nights out ,as it is more dramatic) I've just have grown accustom to my beloved brown eye. It’s a softer look for daytime, makes my eyes appear larger and is easily transferable into an evening look just by applying more colour on top of the day makeup.

Uninterrupted and Carbon

How to Brown smokey eyes

1.       Apply a brown eyeliner along both the lower and upper lash line, this doesn’t have to perfect as it will be blended out, you can use a gel or pencil for this. I use Bobbi Brown long wear gel eyeliner in espresso Ink, (this is a black brown) great for creating  intensity.

2.       Blend the eyeliner outwards to the corner of your eye. Make sure to work quickly as this product becomes transfer resistant once dry.

3.       Next take a light brown shade, such as Mac Uninterrupted, and a Mac 217 brush,  blend this shade into the crease of your eye, then take it underneath your lower lash line, making sure to blend fully.

4.       Now take a darker shade such as Mac Charcoal Brown and push the product into the outer crease of your eye, try to concentrate on a small area rather than washing it all over the eyelid.

5.       Now  curl your eyelashes and apply 2 coats of your favorite mascara- I used Girogio Armani Eyes to Kill Mascara.

To create a black smoky eyes use the same step by step guide but replace the Bobbi Brown eyeliner in Espresso ink to Black Ink, and swap the Mac eyeshadow to Carbon.

If you wanted to make this look more subtle for the daytime you can skip the eyeliner all together which I sometimes do.

Let me know which is your favourite in the comments below