40 Smokey Eye Ideas & Looks To Steal From Celebrities

Every lady knows what a smokey eye look is, that is for sure. It has won the same place in the makeup world as the little black dress did in the fashion world. It's a recognized classic that everyone turns to sooner or later. The “smoky” makeup trend appeared in the 1920s, under the influence of the silent film stars - Theda Bara and Clara Bow. The girls became addicted to this dramatic eye look and infected others with it. These days smokey eye makeup can be worn even on an everyday basis. All you need to do is to come up with a proper set of colors to use. Today I'm going to reveal all the best smokey looks that are going to rock in 2024. Do not miss it!

How Do You Do An Easy Smokey Eye?

You may be surprised when I tell you that trying to achieve the flawless look is a bad idea. But that is true. No matter how weird it sounds, but perfection lies in the slight imperfection.

Ask an expert: What are common smokey eye mistakes and how to avoid them?

Ana Argachal

Expertise: Makeup Artist

Some smoky eyes end up looking patchy because we tend yo try to give them intensity by adding more and more powder pigment with no cream base. If you feel this, consider starting to create the look by applying concealer as a base, then use liquid or cream eyeshadows and lastly use powder eyeshadows on top. Hope this works!

Before we dive deeply into the ocean of smokey makeup art options and nuances, I will give one more general 3-step instruction to those who consider it too complicated to handle:

• Step 1: Emphasize the shape of your eyes and make your look more expressive with a pencil. Draw a line along your eye shape and bring it a little further than the outer corner of the eye. Blend it slightly.
• Step 2: Layer an oil-based shadow to your eyes and blend it lightly. Its great advantage is that it is perfectly distributed on the eyes.
• Step 3: The final touch to your perfect smokey eyes is a deep black mascara that will make them look expressive and sexy.

Day And Night Smokey Eyes

Smoldering smoky eyes are above all a go-to look for a night out because they are so sultry and edgy... You can use numerous layers of eye shadow to get the seductive look when creating your smokey eyes for an evening makeup look. Feel free to use glitter eyeliners to emphasize your smokey eyes after applying eye shadow and liner.

However, smokey eyes are no longer considered an exclusively evening eye makeup option. If done correctly, they can also be worn throughout the day. Today you can wear them even at a business meeting. The main thing is to choose neutral, not too bright colors, and not to use a black eyeliner, as it will immediately make your makeup more "aggressive". One of the best daytime smokey makeup options is the use of pink and peachy eyeshadows.

Useful Tip: First of all, you need to get rid of dark circles, as they can ruin the whole magic of your makeup. A bit of concealer will help to hide the unnecessary dark circles under your eyes.

Attractive Smokey Looks For Hazel Eyes

Hazel-eyed girls are lucky to have a huge choice: most eyeshadow colors suit them. In addition to the basic dark shades (black, brown and gray), you can use golden, olive, greenish and purple ones. Light brown or hazel eyes can be perfectly emphasized by warm shades, such as caramel and honey, while dark brown eyes, on the contrary, require cooler shades: gray, blue or purple.

P.S. See how skilfully Yasser Rego - a makeup artict from Mexico, creates a bold transition from violet shades to darker blue ones. As a result you get the so-called "haze" effect.

Useful Tips:

• Use bronzer. If you have dark/tanned skin, you can probably do without it. But if it is light, or you do not like to sunbathe, bronzer will help you emphasize your smokey eyes and add a little warmth to your look.
• Choose a product one or two shades darker than your skin tone and apply it to the center of the forehead, cheekbones and nose bridge to “maintain” the color of your eyes.
• The main thing here is light movements and good shading.

Hot Smokey Eye Ideas For Blue Eyes

Smokey eyes for blue eyes can be done in classic colors - black, light beige and light gray. The best smokey eye makeup option for the blue-eyed beauties are all shades of gray and bronze sand. Don't be afraid to experiment like Sarah Chambers and line the base of your upper eyelid with a black eyeliner!

Useful Tips:

• Experiment with shades that contrast with your blue eyes. Orange, bronze or brown shadows will add depth to your look.
• Black or brown eyeliner will highlight your eyes and make them look sexier and more expressive.
• When choosing your makeup color palette, also consider your natural hair color: cool and warm shades can create different accents on your face.

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Smokey Looks For Gray Eyes

Smokey eye makeup for gray eyes can consist of warm ocher, golden, copper and coffee shades. The classic smokey eyes with black and dark gray shades will also look very impressive, provided that your skin is not too pale.

Green Eyes And Smokey Look – Perfect Mix

Violet shades go well with green eyes. Pay attention to the lilac colors, like the warm-toned Dry Peach Blossom and cool-toned Dry Lavender compact eyeshadows by Romand that come in matte and glittery finishes. However, olive and emerald tones will help you highlight your green eyes even more. For everyday makeup, you can choose light brown tones, or you can dilute them with gray.

Useful Tip: A black eyeliner will help highlight your green eyes and make their shade even more saturated. For a more casual look, use a pencil in a warm brown shade.

Sultry Smokey Looks For Dark Eyes

Dark-eyed girls should choose brighter and darker eyeshadows that will highlight their eyes and make them look deeper and more expressive. Green, plum, chocolate, lilac and rich gray tones are ideal in this regard. The latter are this season's trend, so make sure to have the eyeshadow of this shade in your makeup bag.

Styling Tip: Smokey eye makeup for brown eyes looks especially great in the evening, and shimmer pigments will help you make it bright and unusual. I suggest trying a gray range of shades.

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Bold Smokey Eyes Makeup Ideas With Nude Lips

Nude lipstick is a perfect accessory to complement your bold eyeliner or your sultry smoky eyes. From light pink shades to darker browns, from matte textures to creamy ones, there is a choice for everyone.

Useful Tip: The secret to selecting a lipstick to wear with smokey eyes is to select one that will harmoniously enhance your appearance. Choose a hue that will complete your look without drawing attention away from your eyes, because they are the major attraction.

Smokey Eyes Makeup Ideas With Bold Lip Colors

Lipstick is an eternal symbol of femininity and seduction! A bright makeup with bold lipstick will give your look unique depth. So, don't be afraid to combine smoky eyes with bright lips. Yes, it is better to have only one accent in makeup, but if you are going to a party, this rule can be neglected.

Useful Tips:

• Choose plum shadows for your smokey eye makeup to make it look less heavy.
• Opt for a red lipstick that is not the brightest, but a little more subdued, and you will look neat and stylish!

Matte Eyeshadows For Smokey Eyes Makeup

As mentioned above, while smoky eyes are typically worn for evening events, you can make them work for daytime events as well if you use matte makeup colors that aren't too bold. Samer Khouzami often creates everyday looks with matte shadows, which is logical: evening looks, as a rule, cannot be done without shiny shadows. So, opt for matte shadows and choose natural, universal shades for your daytime smokey look.

Smokey Eyes Makeup With Eyeliner

Gel liners work well for creating smoky eyes because they immediately make a strong black line that may seem extremely sharp, or be softened with a blending brush. A pencil liner can be a better option if you want to get faint smoky eyes. Remember, there are no limits when it comes to makeup. Of course, there are basic shades that are considered to be classic, but who sets the limits? Don’t be afraid of experimenting!

Useful Tip: When working on your smokey look, bear in mind not to rush. Sounds silly, but it is really important since a rush move can force you to re-do the whole thing. Keep calm and work slowly.

Glitter Smokey Makeup Ideas

Glitter eyeshadows like Diamond Dust - Sheer Silver & multicolor glow liquid eyeshadow by STILA and Shiseido pop powder gel eyeshadow (#16 Zawa Zawa Green) are ideal for creating bold evening and holiday smokey makeup looks. They can be used on their own or layered over eyeshadow as a shimmering top coat.

Styling Tips:

• To create a shimmering accent in your daytime smokey look, apply glitter to the inner corners of your eyes.
• For bolder evening looks, use glitter to add sparkles to your upper eyelids, draw sparkling arrows and emphasize your lower lash line.

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Nude Smokey Eyes

Nude eyeshadows are often associated with the notorious natural makeup trend. However, that's not all the benefits of this product. Nude looks are universal. Avia Solomon creates both everyday makeup and spectacular smokey evening looks with nude shades. Did you know that an eyeshadow palette may contain more than thirty nude shades with a matte and shimmery finish?

Note: Neutral-nude smokey makeup looks good on blondes, light-brown-haired ladies and redheads. In addition to solid texture products, manufacturers offer liquid and creamy neutral eyeshadows, like Pro Eye Palette by CLIO, fitted with ten shades from base to brighter statement colors, or Revlon Illuminance Creme Shadow Skinlights (#730). Such products are very durable and keep color intensity throughout the day, without the need for corrections.

Celebrities With Smokey Eyes Makeup

Now that you have all the advice you require, check out some of our favorite celebrity smoky eye looks for more ideas.

Soft & Shimmery Smokey

Our favorite celebrities will always be the best source of inspiration. Isn’t that wise to steal the looks of those who always look flawless? Let’s take a soft smokey look of iconic Lily Collins! Two matching brown colors that gently blend with one another and get finished with a shimmery touch. Not only does the look accentuate her elegant outfit but also enliven her eyes.

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Classic Black Smokey Eyes With Nude Lips

When going for classics, it’s very important to keep the look balanced and authentic. Well, Cher Lloyd’s makeup artist is undoubtedly familiar with this smokey rule. The classic idea of black smokey eyes is kept minimalist and restrained with the help of nude finish. In this way, the singer focuses on her perfectly blended, precise makeup while looking punky yet harmonic.

Subtle Brown Smokey With Black Eyeliner

Let’s be honest, Gigi Hadid is a living example of makeup perfection. The model loves looking natural, and her subtle brown smokey look does stick to the effortlessness. To enhance the look, she finished her subtle play of brown eyeshadow with a slight touch of eyeliner.

Blue Smokey Eyes With Black Smudge Line

You can always play around with colors, remember? Needless to say, Katy Perry never forgets about that. This blue smokey is very affectionate and distinctive at the same time, thanks to the black smudge line. So as not to make her eyes look smaller with a light blend of vivid color, she went for the black finish, thus accentuating the whole look as well.

Cat Eyes Smokey With Red Lipstick Makeup

Emily Ratajkowski goes on impressing us with unbelievably sexy looks. And the same goes for her makeup looks, of course! The smokey eyes that hit her crease forming a cat-eye shape go ravishingly with her classy red lipstick. Simple and breathtaking, who could ask for more?

Shimmery Smokey Eyes With Eyeliner

Many people wonder how to do eye makeup like Mila Kunis because her eyes are always so gorgeous, whatever movie is on. Here you can reveal one of her secrets: her makeup artist enhances her look by focusing deeply on her crease. As for this particular look, it’s stunning for many reasons: it’s precise, shiny, and it really suits the actress’s eye shape!

Shiny Smokey Eyes With Nude Lipstick

Olivia Wilde’s eye shape allows her to slay cameras with a seductive glance. And it’s not hard to notice that most her looks feature smokey eyes: this eye makeup idea knows how to get the most out of her appearance. Here you can see her wearing a shiny caramel-inspired smokey with a soft black smudge and feminine nude finish on her lips.

Matte & Burgundy Smokey Eyes

Kristen Stewart never loses an opportunity to rock a smokey look, as it appears to be very flattering to her eyes. And this time, she decided to go different by showing up with a matte burgundy smokey as the main and only color. Bold and gold, huh?

Glittery Smokey Eyes Makeup

A red-carpet smokey look. Why not? When some special occasion is just around the corner, and you want your look to be posh and rich, smokey eyes will be there for you. Make sure to copy this Zara Larsson’s look: her pointed, glittery eye makeup with saturated black smudge is to die for.

Sparkly & Glam Smokey Eyes

Beyonce is a real queen. A queen who knows that when she’s about to wear an updo that keeps her face open, the right eye makeup is crucial. And this striking glam smokey with sparkles give the needed definition to her eyes, making the whole look simply perfect.

FAQ: Smokey Eye