Clarins Smokey Passion: My Go-To Every Day Smokey Eye

I've been doing a great smokey eye over the last few weeks, and I have to share it! The secret is this amazing palette from Clarins. While it comes in seven different shades, Smokey Passion is the one I have. It is definitely worth hunting down. I'm reaching for this palette over and over. A brown smokey eye for work... for heading to the mall... for hanging out at home with my 8 month old... Why not?

Read on for pics of how it looks, swatches and directions on how to achieve the look!


As you can see, this is smokey, but it isn't screaming "I'm trying to be a VS model" for your every day look.

To achieve this look, I use all 4 shadows, a black eye liner (I used Buxom Insider Liner today) and mascara (this is Revitalash Volumizing Mascara and Primer, the review will be in a few days).

To start, I take the warm copper shade (1) and spread it over most of my eyelid. I concentrate on the middle and inner 1/3 of my lid. I then put the pewter shade (2) on the outer 1/3 of my lid and blend the two together a tad. If you blend or overlap them too much things can get a bit muddy, so only a little blending is needed.

Next I line my eyes, really smooshing the liner down into my lash line. I put a small amount on my lower lid line, but not much. I don't concentrate on making a perfect line. Because next I take my eyeliner brush (a stiff slanted brush, my all time fave is from Billy B, but I don't think he makes brushes any longer), and I dip it into #3. I then work this down into the lash line as well and let it be a little smudgy. It doesn't need to be perfect, this bit takes about 10 seconds per eye but does make a big difference.

Finally, I use #4. This is interesting, because while the other shades are the typical powder shadows that you expect, #4 is more of a gel with suspended shimmer. A small dab will go a long way. Just dot this on to the brow bone. It works best on the outer 1/3 of the brow bone, and slightly blended toward the center of your eye. Don't go too crazy applying it everywhere, this small area of shimmer really seems to make the whole thing pop. Finally, finish it off with curling your lashes and applying mascara.

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