Blog post revisited alert! Yep, those eagle eyed of you who’ve been around a while might have spotted this very post back in October 2019. I’ve made a few little updates, but yeah…I’m still being asked about this signature smoked wing regularly enough, so thought I’d share again while there’s less other exciting/ interesting stuff going on thanks to the current global pandemic which still exists so hopefully you’re all being a good human and doing the necessary things to look after yourself and other folk. If you missed my last post I’ll link that here too – Pro Tips To Mask Proof Your Makeup – not everyone wants to go makeup free under their mask/ face covering and you’re going to want it to stay put as much as possible…if that’s you these tips are for you!
Anyway, here’s the smokey wings in action (it me!) paired with one of my favourite nude lips (Melt Cosmetics Liquid Set Lipstick in the shade Dreamboy*…it’s the most perfect wearable sepia nude and a bit deeper on my skin tone which I love for a change…but the beauty is, it would look amazing with any lip colour!
Who doesn’t love a winged liner, a smoked one is more flattering and way less hassle than a precise wing though. Paired back and effortlessly put together for any occasion. One of the (many) great things about this smokey winged liner is that you can switch up the colour of the liner itself, to whatever you fancy if black’s not your thing. I love using a deep maroon to make my green eyes pop or brown for an even softer look. Even your favourite metallic pop of colour! Whatever your eye shape, it’s achievable (yes, that includes you my fellow hooded eye folk). Really easy, using minimal products and brushes, so here’s the quick (it really is!) steps to smokey winged liner…
➕ Start with the rest of your face makeup, brows etc on. Take a light brown transition shade (I used the shade Blurr by Melt* but you could also use a bit of your bronzer too) through your socket/ crease on a big fluffy brush and also run this beneath your lower lash line.
➕ Using a mid tone brown (I used Unseen again by Melt from the Dark Matter stack*) and a slightly smaller blending brush, gently buff in to the outer corners of the socket and lower lash line (in pretty much a ‘V’ shape)…you can apply as much or as little as you want, just build up the depth you want and just make sure everything’s well blended.
➕ Not essential, so if you don’t want to/ don’t feel confident doing this bit (maybe I’ll do an updated liquid liner how to post?) feel free to skip but I find it gives the eye look more staying power…especially for me because my eyes can be super watery! Using your preferred liquid or gel liner (mine’s pretty much always the KVD Vegan Beauty Tattoo Liner* go in with a quick wing…the beauty is you don’t even have to be precise with it because it’ll be mostly covered anyway. It’ll just give you a guide and a waterproof base. I always run a pencil liner along my tight line (upper waterline) too at this point, it’ll make everything look more seamless at the end. Put some in your waterline too if you want, not essential though.
➕ You can take an angled brush if you’d prefer, but I love the Zoeva 226 Smudger Brush (Vegan)* for this. It’s a bit thicker than your typical angled brush, but still allows for precision while smudging out pencil/ liner/ shadows at the same time. This brush will be your new best bud for smokey eye looks of any kind! All you need to do is either use the brush and an eyeshadow (I used Melt’s Dark Matter*, the most intense rich black!) to apply your wing or go over the top of your liquid liner base if you have one by stamping on your shadow bit by bit. Makes it way easier to get an even wing if you place shadow down gradually.
➕ Once you have enough wing action going on (and that bit’s entirely up to you), you can clean up any messy bits underneath with your concealer/ foundation brush or beauty sponge and the using the slightly smaller blending brush and the lightest (first) eyeshadow or bronzer…lightly buff the top of your wing to soften as much or as little as you want. You can leave as is if you want a stronger look, but I’ve been loving that bit of a blurred edge. I’d recommend to do all the above with your eye open looking straight on in to a mirror. This is going to mean that your liner, whatever your eye shape, is going to look great when your eyes are in their normal position instead of looking awesome when your eye’s closed and then turning in to a mess once your eyes are back in their normal position. Bottom line, who gives a crap what your liner looks like when your eyes are closed…top tip – concentrate on the eyes open look. I guarantee it will change your liner game forever!
➕ Get some mascara on and if you want to put lashes on, now’s the time. If you’re not wearing falsies just build up a few decent coats with your mascara instead, that works just as well. I like the extra little bit of oomph that a naturally fluffy lash gives. The ones I have on in the picture are the Baby Doll Cosmetics 709’s…they’re cruelty free/ Vegan and super lightweight and comfy. You can pick these up from Penneys/ Primark and they’re so inexpensive for the quality of lash. They’re not too long, more on the natural side and have a lovely curl to them. FYI Brides…these make for great wedding lashes too, I’d use these on someone who wanted a more dramatic but still natural looking fluffy lash for their big day!
And that’s it! Let me know if you try this, also…what are your favourite nude lippies?? Don’t really mind what kind of finish…I have so many (and use loads of different one in my pro kit!), but always find myself reaching for the same handful of shades. Hit me up with any recommendations!
Lyd x
PLEASE NOTE:
Due to the current Covid 19 situation, exact dates are TBC however as of October 2020, I’m excited to be based back in Flintshire, North Wales. Currently taking 2020/2021 makeup bookings for North Wales/ Chester/ Cheshire/ Wirral area, UK.
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