Smoky eye makeup is one of those classic looks that will never go out of style. It’s heavily customizable, making it adaptable to any occasion, from red carpets to date night to casual day-to-day wear. Despite its popularity, you might not feel confident that a smoky eye is a fitting look for your eye shape due to its reputation of being a pretty intense and often overpowering look. Well, we’re here to tell you that that’s false!
If you’ve found yourself mimicking a smoky eye look that just didn’t look quite right, there’s a good chance that just a minor tweak could get you on the path to an enviable smolder. After all, a smoky eye isn’t a one-size-fits-all kind of deal, and perfecting it comes down to choosing the right colors and blending your product in ways that complement your eyes instead of competing with them. This may sound like a lot to consider, but once you know what you’re looking for, it’s actually really simple. To help, we located 18 stunning smoky eye looks—from soft washes of color to dramatic black moments—and styles with shadow blended every which way on celebrities with all different eye shapes to help you select the best looks for yourself. We promise that there’s a smoky eye look for you here! Keep scrolling to get your life.
Elongating round eyes with shadow extending out past the outer edges of the peepers is a smart way to create a different shape.
A simple, diffused wash of color is just so pretty on round eyes.
This sparkly smoky eye comes complete with smudged-out lines across the upper and lower lash lines for even more drama.
If you didn’t know smoky eye makeup could also look fab on monolid eye shapes, now you know. Gemma’s soft, purple color palette is everything.
This stunning neutral look could be worn day or night.
If you’re looking for more drama, opt for a full strip lash like Lana to get there.
Whether you’re interested in lifting the eyes up or maintaining the natural downturned look, a smoky eye can achieve it. Just look at how Katie’s rich, blue eye shadow creates a subtle lift.
This gold eye makeup is so gorgeous, but the smoky phantom wing extending out from the outer corner is what makes it a show-stopping look.
Ms. Judith’s smoldering shadow is perfect in every way. It’s applied so beautifully, following her natural eye shape and playing up her protruding lids. Plus, it’s dimensional without looking too dark or dramatic.
Eye makeup can get lost on hooded eye shapes since there’s some skin that hangs down from the brow bone, but smoky eye shadow can be extended out to compensate for that. Peep the smudged wing blended out almost far enough to touch the tail of J. Law’s eyebrow.
This smoky eye is dark and dramatic, but the shadow placement is pretty low-key, so it doesn’t look over-the-top.
This bronzed look creates the illusion of more lid space by extending the accent color all the way up to the inner brow bone before extending out beyond the outer corner of the eye. Perfection.
There are so many fun looks that can be executed on almond-shaped eyes, but a metallic smoky eye just hits different.
Don’t be shy about mixing kohl-lined eyes with your smoky look.
Here’s a classic smoky eye that may look intimidating because of how dark it is but that is truly just a chic look.
Upturned eyes are similar in shape to almond ones, but you’ll notice that the outer corners of the eyes are angled slightly upward. This pretty shape makes for such a fun canvas to create smoky eye looks like this gorgeous mocha-brown creation.
This two-toned eye look brings in some elements of a cut crease while still offering that diffused smolder that makes smoky eyes so alluring.
Who says your smoky eye has to be dark and dramatic? Just look at how pretty Hailey’s rose-tinted eye look is.
Up next, Runway Fantasy: 3 Epic Makeup Looks to Try This Spring
