To me a golden bronze smokey eye is the ultimate epitome of a sexy summer look. It goes well hand in hand with the fresh, glowing, sun-kissed complexion that we all aspire to achieve during the warmer months. Bronze also happens to be one of my favourite eyeshadow shades because of its versatility; a light dusting can spruce up your daytime makeup while layering and building up the colour gives you the quickest and easiest smokey eye effect.
For a daytime look I’ve been pairing two L’oreal Colour Riche L’ombre Pure eyeshadows in 204 Nude with 500 Lumiere. The first, albeit the name Nude, is a shimmery golden beige that I use as a base layer to sweep across my lid, concentrating on the inner corner of my eye. The second shade is a gorgeous shimmery yellow tone gold that I use to pack on the centre and outer corner of my lid. Both of these eyeshadows go on quite sheer but you can really build up the intensity by adding more. I find the colour goes on much better when I just use my finger to apply and then blend out with a MAC 217 or any fluffy eye blending brush. This gives a really natural, brightening effect to your eyes with a tinge of golden sheen that’s really flattering especially if you have a bit of a tan.
If I want to add a little more definition I will go in with Rimmel Scandaleyes Shadow Stick in Bad Girl Bronze and I use this to smudge along my lash line to make my lashes look thicker and my eyes more defined. It is a rich shimmery bronze shade, which can also be used on its own to messily smudge along the lash line or you can go all out and sweep this all over your lid and blend for a smokey effect.
Of course I can’t talke about smokey bronze eye without mentioning MAC Woodwinked, which is probably my favourite eyeshadow by MAC. It is a warm bronzey gold with brown undertone and gives a gorgeous metallic effect. A light dusting with MAC 217 gives a defined and sophisticated daytime look, while you can smoke it up for a night out by packing on the colour with MAC 239 to create a beautiful deep metallic bronze shade. To complete the look I sometimes pair it with either MAC Wedge or MAC Cork to define the crease and MAC Teddy along the lash line to give even more definition.
For the quickest and easiest way to achieve a smokey eye look I always opt for cream eyeshadow and my two current favourites are at the opposite end of the spectrum in terms of shade and price range. The first comes from the drugstore and it is the MaxFactor Excess Shimmer in 25 Bronze. It is a dark bronze shade with just the right amount of shimmer and a gorgeous mousse texture, which is so easy to apply and blend. The colour is perfect for a sophisticated smouldering look and you can build up the colour to be as dark and smokey as you like or with a quick wash across the lid you can even pass it up for a day-time look.
I save the best for last and we should all take a moment to appreciate the sheer beauty of Charlotte Tilbury Eyes to Mesmerise in Bette. Where do I even begin? It is the most breathtakingly gorgeous amber gold shade that gives a beautiful glossy sheen and makes you feel like a real goddess when you have it on. It has the same mousse texture as the MaxFactor but it’s also soft and cooling to the skin so it’s a dream to apply to your eye. This is probably what I’ve been reaching for the most this summer just because it’s so beautiful on and it has an incredible lasting power. I am now very tempted to go and pick up more shades in the Eyes to Mesmerise range.
What are your favourite eye products to create a summer smokey eye look?
