Permanently Beautiful

Nicole Scherzinger

With her sultry smoky eye makeup, gorgeous high cheekbones and beautifully defined full lips, Pussycat Doll Nicole Scherzinger was a dance floor standout from the first day of this season’s Dancing With the Stars. Her sexy smoldering look was a good match for the flirty crowd-pleasing tango she danced with partner Derek Hough to win the mirrorball trophy this week. Nicole’s weekly appearances on the tenth season of the popular dance show have women across the country clamoring to re-create her alluring smoky eye makeup. Far from the overdone shadowing of some smoky eye fans, Nicole’s eye makeup highlights and outlines her eyes, making it impossible to take your eyes off them. Well, maybe not impossible. I’m sure my guy wasn’t the only one checking out those incredible costumes!

To create Nicole’s smoky eyes, first apply a sheer nude color over the entire lid. Then, from the lid to the crease, apply and blend a rich plum or dark brown eye shadow. Blending is the key to creating perfect smoky eyes. Keeping eyeliner as close to lashes as possible, line your entire eye in the same plum or brown shade as your shadow. Use a super thin brush to gently smudge liner up toward your crease and toward the eye’s outer edge. Finish with a double coat of black mascara.

Artistically applied permanent eye liner makes your eyes look sexy 24/7 and creates the perfect foundation for Nicole’s sultry smoky eyes.

The sensual Smoky Eyes that super model Heidi Klum shows off to such spectacular effect are the ultimate in dramatic eye makeup. Softly smudged shadows surround and feather out from the eyes, creating dramatic depth and making it seem that your eyes truly are the window to your romantic soul. It’s a look meant for romantic, candlelit dinners in exotic restaurants or red carpet nights dancing at the hottest new club. But it’s not an easy look to achieve. Start with too thick a line of eyeliner or get a little heavy-handed with the eye shadow and you have raccoon eyes, disaster unless you’re going Goth to a midnight showing of Rocky Horror.

Here’s how to create Smoky Eyes without the raccoon effect. Start with a very fine line of black eyeliner. For perfectly outlined eyes every time, consider permanent makeup eyeliner. Thicken the line slightly at the middle of the eye to create depth. Don’t use black for the eye shadow. Runway makeup artist Linda Hay creates Heidi’s smoky eyes using soft gray or chocolate shadows. Dark greens also work, but avoid blue shadows. Choose two shades of the same color, a dark and a lighter, neutral tone. Sweep the darkest shade from your lash line to the eyelid crease. Apply the lighter tone from the crease to the brow bone. With a cotton swab, stroke gray or medium-dark brown shadow under your lower lash line. Finish with three coats of black volumizing mascara on the top lashes only.