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Bold and smoky eye make-up will give your face instant drama and bring out your sexy side.

More than beauty

In ancient Egypt, a kohl-rimmed eye symbolised divinity. However, some say it was also used to protect the eye against ailments, and the blinding glare of the sun.

If you are in the habit of wearing the same make-up look for day and night, it’s time to master one of the key evening looks of the season. Autumn calls for boldness and glamour, and evening is the perfect time to dive in headfirst. Dust your eyes with smouldering shades of charcoal, ink or navy, and the effect can be truly powerful. We have received many emails from readers asking for guidance on this seemingly tricky trend, so we asked make-up artist, Claire Thompson, to shed a bit of light on the subject. With her easy-to-follow steps, anyone can unleash their inner seductress.

Basic beginnings

Bold eye make-up always looks best on an even complexion. Apply your foundation and concealer as you usually would for a night time look – but leave the under-eye area bare. Little flecks of dark eyeshadow can fall from your brush as you sweep it across your eyelids. If this happens and you remove the smudge with a cleanser, you will also take away any under-eye concealer, so leave applying it until last.

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“It’s especially important to have defined and groomed brows with a dramatic eye, because it’s the focus of your face,” says Claire. Pluck any rogue hairs ahead of time as heavy layers of eyeshadow will grab onto strays below your brow and make them more noticeable. Fill any sparse areas with a waxy brow pencil, such as Clarins Retractable Brow Definer, $36, then give your brows volume and depth with Laura Mercier Brow Definer, $40, a tinted gel that thickens and sets eyebrows in place. It is best applied with an angled synthetic brush, so the wax will glide off, rather than clump and accumulate as it would with natural bristles. Sweep a nude-coloured eyeshadow across the entire lid to provide a base to block natural oils, as dewiness will make your eyeshadow slide. The colour should be invisible on your eyelid – so you can’t see a colour difference at the outer edges.

Middle ground

Sweep a middle-tone eyeshadow across the entire eyelid - from the lash line up to the crease of the lid, and from inner corner to outer edge. Claire used a round-bristled brush and a cool, steely shade of grey. Try Giorgio Armani Beauty Eye Shadow in shade 44, $42. Other seasonal shades include lavender, violet, dark blue and taupe. Bobbi Brown has encased many of the season’s best in the Stonewashed Nudes Palette, $99, a range of pebble-like colours that flatter most skin tones. It comes with a double-ended brush, which is brilliant for creating a smoky eye. One side has wide, rounded bristles for shading large areas; the other has short, densely compacted bristles for precise eyeliner application. Clinique Colour Surge Eye Shadow Trio in Black Truffle, $50, also has a great colour combination and a mini brush.

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