There are tons of articles and blogs out there telling us that we should have “this” mastered by “that” age, that it can feel like we don’t know how to do anything properly. The same can be said for makeup. WIth all of the YouTube tutorials and self-professed makeup artists, it can be difficult to cut through the noise.

The truth is, there are really only two makeup looks for your eyes that you should learn. The smokey eye and the classic look. That’s it, just those two. Once you have these mastered, you can move onto more complicated looks or just stick with these two crucial and everyday appropriate looks.

1. Smokey eyes using eyeshadow
Considered as a bold look, the smokey look using eyeshadow is for the brave. To be honest, it is a difficult look to achieve, but not impossible. A simple mistake and you will need to clean up and start all over again. Whether you are a beautician, a normal college girl, or a working professional, you need to know that this look needs practice. If you overdo it or do not create it perfectly then you can end up looking bawdy. The secret to a perfect smokey look is the perfect blending to get the shadowing effect.

The steps involved for this look is to start by applying a good quality creamy concealer onto both the eyelids.  Next, apply powder over the complete eyelid to reduce creasing. Then, take a black eye pencil and trace the top lash and the lower lash, inner to outer. Subsequently, the expertise comes in where one needs to use a blending brush or your finger to splotch the line. After this, sweep the eyeshadow (lightest shade) across the entire lid. Do the same with the other shades. Always use a good velvety brush to sweep the darkest shade and highlight the angles. Use the brush to blend properly working towards the outer corner of the eyes.

2. Classic look using eyeshadow
The classic look is evergreen and always works well. Use two colors of light and dark shades. First, apply the light color onto the eyelid. It should be done upward toward the brow. Then, sweep the eyeshadow brush over the darker color and apply it on the lid. If you want to create an outline, then apply the shadow at the outer corner of the eye and then brush it along the eyelid. Do it several times to blend perfectly. Follow this process for the other eye too to give you the classic eyeshadow look.

A tip that most beauticians give is to do the eye makeup first and then continue with the rest of the face. This will help to avoid dust from the eye makeup. Another point to remember is to always possess good quality eye brushes. It does make a lot of difference. It’s also important to keep in mind to tap the brush to remove any excess eyeshadow before the application.  Try both these looks and go for the one which suits you the best.