How to Do Sultry Eye Makeup

Create a sultry eye with varying shades of eyeshadow.

No eye makeup application makes a woman stand out more than smokey, sultry eye makeup. By creating a gradient of dark to light eye color on eyelids and around lashes, a woman can instantly transform her aesthetic into one of pure glamour. The key to executing a perfect sultry application is to line the eye and blend the eyeshadow with artful precision. With a little practice, you can have smoldering eyes in no time.

Things You'll Need

• Dark eyeliner (pencil, pen or wand)
• Eye pencil sharpener
• Cotton swabs
• One to three eyeshadow brushes or sponge-tipped applicators
• Dark eyeshadow
• Medium eyeshadow
• Light eyeshadow
• Mascara

Instructions

1. Sharpen your eyeliner to a fine point with a sharpener, if you are using a pencil. Precision is paramount when applying eyeliner.

2. Place the middle finger of your non-dominant hand next to the outside corner of your eye. Pull the skin gently toward your hairline to stretch and steady the skin.

3. Place the tip of the eyeliner -- pencil, pen or wand -- on the inner corner of your eyelid, against your lash line.

4. Draw a heavy line of dark eyeliner immediately above your lash line. Make a continuous stroke that follows the contour of your lash line from the inner corner of your eye to the outer corner of your eye. Avoid stopping mid-line. Blend the line outward slightly with a cotton swab.

5. Apply eyeliner along the bottom edge of your eye. Make this line thin but even and continuous nonetheless.

6. Dab an eyeshadow brush or small sponge applicator in a dark eyeshadow color, like graphite gray. Place the applicator on the inner corner of your eyelid. Sweep it up from the liner against the contour of your eye socket. Brush the eyeshadow 1/4-inch out from the corner, along the edge of the eye area, and slightly toward the center of the lid.

7. Dab the applicator into the dark shadow again. Place it on the outer corner of your eyelid. Sweep it from the eyeliner outward 1/8 inch. Run the applicator across your eyelid to connect the shaded corners with an eyeshadow line that is as wide as the eyeliner directly below it. Blend the shadow outward slightly with a cotton swab.

8. Swab a clean brush or applicator in a medium-tone eyeshadow color, like basic gray. Apply the shadow to the center of the eyelid. Blend the edges of each eyeshadow color slightly with a cotton swab. Blend the outer edge of the medium color with a swab. The colors should fade into each other.

9. Dab a clean brush or applicator in a light-colored shadow, like silver. Brush the shadow lightly across your brow bone to highlight the area.

10. Apply dark mascara to the upper and lower lash lines of your eyes.

Tips & Warnings

• Use eye products from the same color family to create a sultry aesthetic. For example, to create a brown sultry eye, line the lids in dark copper, apply chocolate, chestnut and champagne shadows, and finish with brown mascara. Use three different applicators to apply each shadow color, or clean the same applicator after you apply each shade.