Grunge-Inspired Burgundy Smokey Eyes With Brown Lips

I'm so excited to share this look with you today! I know it's going to be something you either love or hate, but I had so much fun creating this look, and I love the way it came out. My day-to-day style is more on the glam side, but I love and appreciate all styles of makeup. I've got a definite soft spot for messy grunge looks like this one. Something about it just felt right. I may have to start wearing messier, smokier looks more often! Details on how I created it are down below.

The key to this look is layering. That's how you'll be able to get that really smoked-out look, rather than looking like you just got punched in the face. Also, concealer. I have super dark under-eye circles, so to make a look like this work, I have to do a whole lot of color correcting and concealing.

Because I knew I was going to be smoking things out under the eyes and keeping things messy, I opted to do my foundation and concealer first. There's nothing special about the skin here, it's just a layer of Rimmel Lasting Finish all over. I've used this a couple of times now, and so far I'm really enjoying it. I have to mix two colors, but I like the formula enough to go through the trouble of doing it, which is saying something. The concealer under the eyes was a bit tricky. I ended up layering the Urban Decay Naked concealer with the Maybelline Fit Me concealer over the darkest parts of my under-eye circles because it has more of a pink/peach undertone that works to cancel out the blue/purple. I normally use the Benefit Erase Paste, but the texture of that is quite sticky, which would have made it difficult to blend shadow underneath the eyes. I also put on some L'Oreal True Match powder over the Fit Me concealer to make it even more opaque and color correct a bit more since the shade I used it a little bit peachy. I used the contour shade from the Lancome Blush Subtil palette to give my face just a touch of warmth, and then concentrated Urban Decay Naked2 in the hollows of my cheeks. That's a fantastic contour for pale skin, by the way. For the brows, I wanted to keep them quite undone, so I ran a bit of Benefit Gimme Brow through them, and only used the Anastasia brow powder where I needed to fill in larger spaces.

The eyes are actually absurdly simple, just time consuming due to the amount of layering and blending. I packed MakeupGeek Cherry Cola all over the lid, blended it, and started to create the basic shape. I initially went all the way into the inner corner, but wiped some of that away with a Q-tip because it was looking a little too round for my liking. I continued to layer on Cherry Cola, bringing it out just a little bit farther each time until it was almost as far out as I wanted it. At that point, I switched to Cocoa Bear to add in a warm brown hue, then went over the edge of everything with Creme Brulee to create a gradient effect. I re-intensified the lid with more of Cherry Cola, then lined the lash line and the waterline top and bottom with Anastasia Creme Color in Jet, setting it and smoking it out with a bit of Noir from the World Traveler palette. To create a more seamless transition between the black and burgundy, I softly blended in a bit of Fudge between the edges of the two colors. Layer on some mascara, and that's it for the eyes!

Lips are the ColourPop Lippie Stick and Lippie Pencil created by the lovely KathleenLights as part of her second collab with ColourPop, Where The Night Is. I absolutely love this color! I do think that the formula of the ColourPop Lippie Pencils could be better, though. They're too creamy for my liking. I had the hardest time getting a sharp line. I still love this color though, just thought that was worth mentioning in case you were thinking of buying any of the ColourPop Lippie Pencils. My favorite lip liners are (were?) from Essence, but I just discovered that they changed the formula! I haven't used them yet, so I can't say whether or not I like them. Just know that if it has a silver cap, it's the old formula and if the cap is the same color as the rest of the packaging, then it's the new formula.

Products:

Eyes:

Julep Blank Canvas Mattifying Eye Primer
Makeup Geek Creme Brulee, Cocoa Bear, and Cherry Cola
Anastasia Beverly Hills Fudge, Noir, Waterproof Creme Color in Jet
Essence Get Big Lashes Triple Black Mascara

Face:

Givenchy Mister Mat Mattifying Primer
Garnier BB Cream for Eyes
Maybelline Fit Me Concealer in 15 Fair
Urban Decay Naked Skin Concealer in Light Warm
Rimmel Lasting Finish With Comfort Serum 091 Light Ivory and 100 Ivory (mixed)
Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Powder in Medium Brown
Benefit Gimme Brow in Light/Medium
Laura Mercier Translucent Finishing Powder
L'Oreal True Match Powder N1 Soft Ivory
Lancome Blush Subtil Palette 385 Plum Elegance (contour shade only)
Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette- Naked2 (as contour)

Lips:

ColourPop Lippie Stick & Lippie Pencil in Taurus

Whether or not grunge is your thing, I highly encourage you to step out of your comfort zone and try something new. One of the best things about makeup is how easily you can change your look with just a few products or techniques. Have fun with it!