EOTD: Antique Smoky eye

This is an eye look that came together as I was getting ready to go out to celebrate a friend's birthday. I wanted to do something sultry and smoky but also something different. I used pewters and greys and MAC's Heritage Rouge pigment to do a half-half eye look. I call it my Antique Smoky Eye because I used greys and pewters and of course Heritage Rouge!

It's a fairly basic eye look and you can use pretty much any combination of colours, from the dramatic to the neutral. This one though gave me the chance to use Heritage Rouge - a colour that can veer a bit too much to the red side (and make me look sick!). The red adds a pop to my eye colour as does lining my waterline with black eyeliner.

I wanted a slightly messy half-half eyelook so I let the colour bleed into each other a little. It's not a straight line down the centre of my eye. 

What I used:

As a base, I applied MAC Greasepaint Stick in Dirty to my whole eyelid, heavier on the outer corners than on the inner corner. I smudged it with my finger and had to work quickly as the Greasepaint sticks dry quickly. 

MAC Greasepaint Stick in Dirty

On the outer corner I applied MAC eyeshadow in Smut, smudging it from the lashline up to the crease and blended it slightly above with a clean brush.

MAC Smut

On top of Smut, I layered Laura Mercier eyeshadow in Pewter. This is one of my favourite eyeshadows - it's a medium grey-taupe with hints of khaki green and gold.

Laura Mercier eyeshadow in Pewter

I went back and forth with Smut and Pewter a little, adding a little more of each and blending with a fluffy brush.

Finally I applied Heritage Rouge on the inner corner, from the lash line up to the crease and buffing it out slightly above. Pigments are well, heavily pigmented so they go over other colours very well. I smudged it a bit messily onto the Pewter/Smut in the middle.

Tip: When you want a heavier application of eyeshadow, whether it's a pressed powder as Pewter and Smut are or if it's a loose pigment like Heritage Rouge, using a flat brush (like MAC's 242 and 252 brushes) will give you that application.

MAC Pigment in Heritage Rouge

To finish the look, I smudged a black pencil eyeliner onto my waterline, top and bottom for a smoky eye effect and smudged it slightly into my lashline. Then I curled my lashes and coated them with lots of black mascara. You want as much as possible for a dramatic smoky eye look like this. 

I've also done this look using MAC's Smoke & Diamonds instead of Smut/Pewter, with Heritage Rough on the outside half of my eye and without the black waterline liner. It's more subtle than the above look but I think the Heritage Rouge is too much on the outside corner - it makes me look a bit sick!

The Smoke & Diamonds is a richer consistency however and looks soft and rich, nearly as much so as the Heritage Rouge.

MAC Smoke & Diamonds

As always, clicking on the photos will open them in another window and give you a larger image if you want a better look.

C.