Q&A:I Love Rock & Roll

A quick guide to smokey eyes

November 13, 2015 by Liselotte `Lilo' Hegt - More about our team

Make-up artist Merit Bertilsson is the owner of Make Up Store Eskilstuna (Sweden). She is two times awarded for best Make Up Store worldwide and one time awarded as best marketer of Eskilstuna (Sweden).

Photo: Make Up Store Stockholm

Q. How do I make a smokey eye?
A. ,,To make a real good smokey eye you need to take your time. Start with a good black eye pencil. Use it under the eye, inside the eye, inside the upper eyelid and on the eyelid close to the eyelashes. Then smudge it out with a small flat brush and start to apply black eyeshadow on your eyelid with a brush. Don’t strike but press the eyeshadow on the eyelid. You have to repeat this more then a few times to make it look good, because the skin absorb the make-up. If you like you can add other colours to the black smokey eye as well to have a cool effect. For a nice colour transition you first need to apply a middle colour like brownish or grey brownish on the crease of your eye, above the black eyeshadow. Then you can add more colour to your smokey eye like orange, wine red or green for instance under the eye or in the outer corner of the eyelid a bit up to the crease. You can add a highlight under the eyebrow but if you want it more rock ‘n roll, just skip that. Finish it with black mascara and if you really want the wow-effect use fake eye lashes.’’

Q. Can I make a smokey eye other than black?
A. ,,A smokey eye is a technique so you can use complete different shades as well. Though it has to be a middle colour, it can be from the lightest till the darkest, like grey, green, blue, purple, brown. It’s important to use good brushes to smooth away the clear lines of the eyeshadow, so it looks smokey.’’

Photo: Make Up Store Stockholm

Q. Can I combine a smokey eye with wearing obvious lipstick, like red or orange?
A. ,,It depends on who you are and the occasion but of course you can. Especially a rock chick, because that’s rock ‘n roll! I would recommend a matt lipstick though.’’

Make-up by: @rita_milia for Make Up Store Stockholm

Q. How do I create the perfect eyeliner?
A. ,,Hold the eyeliner pencil like a pen, your little finger leans on the cheek and your elbow leans on something steady. Start in the middle, from the eye pupil, as close as possible to the eyelashes. Take short swipes towards the outer corner of the eye and stop a little bit before the eye ends, to avoid a sad look. Then pull the line a little bit up. Make a short line from the outer corner of the eye to connect with the other line and fill it in with eyeliner. Then you start a thin line from the inner corner of the eye up to the middle to complete the eyeliner. Just practice a lot.’’

Photo: Make Up Store Stockholm

Q. How do I avoid a make-up hangover?
A. ,,Make sure you always clean your face before you go to sleep, even if it’s really late. If you want to do it quick use special make up remover wipes. If you didn’t remove the make-up and you wake up next to an unexpected date, try to fix your make-up with some concealer, mascara and a lip pencil. To recover from rock ‘n roll nights and festivals treat your face first with a good scrub and then with a nice mask to make the skin happy again.’’