Hydrate & Prep Skin
The best makeup of your life, no matter what kind of eye makeup look you’re after, always begins with great skin prep. And for mature skin, that especially means making sure you are moisturizing your skin well so that your complexion appear plump and healthy prior to makeup application. Along with a facial moisturizer, snag a good eye cream that smoothens the skin beneath your eye and helps firm your lids. One that Gabi loves: City Beauty Lid Lifting Treatment. You can also apply eye masks to your under-eye area to de-puff your skin.
Another important tip: plan to do your base makeup AFTER your smokey eye — not before. Applying eye makeup before your foundation can result in makeup smearing on your skin, which isn’t just frustrating, but it costs you time.
Prep Lids With A Primer
The older we get, the more hooded our eyes can become. Applying a lid primer prior to eyeshadow and eyeliner helps ensure your makeup stays put on the lid and doesn’t settle into creases or smear. Primer also gives shadow colors a little boost and makes them look their most vibrant.
Choose a Soft Color Palette
A smokey eye doesn’t mean darkness everywhere; it just means a darker color by the lash line and then lighter colors as you move up toward your brow.
Choose a medium “transition” shade like taupe to create a lid contour and then opt for a darker color for your lash line. Remember: you don’t have to choose black — a darker brown will work just as beautifully. Your crease color should be lighter to make your eyes pop. Tilt your brush at the corner of the lash line to lift color up.
Take Care of Fallout & Apply Concealer and Foundation
Gabi warns that there is a point in every smokey eye makeup application where you might look in the mirror and think: What have I done? And this reaction is natural because your eyes will look intense and dramatic while the rest of your face appears blank because remember: you haven’t applied any other makeup just yet.
Before you add concealer and foundation, take care of any eye makeup fallout by grabbing a Q-Tip, applying moisturizer to it, and using it to gently wipe away shadow or liner that may have ended up on your skin. Now your skin is ready for the next step: primer and concealer or foundation (or both).
Camouflage Under-Eye Darkness
Color-correcting makeup is your friend when it comes to darkness under the eye. Before you apply concealer, give hollow areas and pigmentation a few dots of peach-colored color corrector and then follow up with you concealer. Blend well and don’t forget to set your makeup with powder so that it lasts. Gabi recommends using a translucent powder and pressing it into the skin.
Define Your Brows
When your eyes are dark and smokey, you need to balance your face with darker, more defined brows, Gabi says. Choose a color that complements your hair color and brush brows up before filling in sparse areas.
Lashes
Lastly, lashes! Curl your lashes and apply a mascara to both the upper and lower lash lines. Gabi also says she likes to fill in any sparse lash areas with individual faux lashes, which creates a full lash look.
You don’t have to shy away from fun, dramatic eye makeup looks because of your age. Balance is key, as is knowing a few good tips on how and when to apply each makeup product for a flawless look.