How to Create a Smoky Plum Eye and Neutral Lip Look

Plums, greens, and browns make fabulous fall eye shadow hues. Learn how to create an amazing smoky eye using this season's sexiest shades.

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Grooming Your Brows

Well-groomed brows can have a dramatic effect on your overall appearance. To get a nicely manicured look begin by removing any stray hairs from the brow line and adding a slight arch – there are several kits on the market that come with stencils to help eliminate the guess work for beginners. Once you've achieved the shape you want it's key to use an eyebrow pencil a few shades lighter than your hair color to fill in sparse spots and make the eyes look larger. Clear eyebrow gel can be used to tame brow hairs. In a pinch, a little hairspray on a baby toothbrush also does the trick.

Prepping the Eyelid

A simple way to make any eye color sizzle is to mix rich dark tones with an overlay of a softer, shimmery color. To prep the lid so as to ensure that your shadow won't melt, coat the lid with an oil-free base. A touch of concealer or a strong, matte base does the trick.

Line Your Eyes

Apply liner to both the top and bottom lids, carrying it deep into the corners. Don't feel forced to only use black. Rich green, blue and burgundy shades can also do the trick and serve as a great base color for layering lighter shadow tones. For extra sizzle, smudge your liner along the bottom lid and outer corner of the eye. Hard lines don't mix with this look; keep everything soft and smooth.

How to Apply Eyeshadow

Using an eye shadow brush, blend in dark eye shadow color starting at the lash line and blending up. Make sure to blend color into the lash line so the eyeliner disappears. Stop your deep tone at the crease. Sweep a light, shimmery shadow over the lids up to your brow bone. Finish off with several coats of mascara.

Pairing a Strong Eye with A Neutral Lip

Remember to keep lips nude when applying strong or smoky eye makeup. The focus should be on either the eyes or the lips, not both. When too many features pop at once the effect looks clownish.
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