Eyeshadows are like lipsticks, you can never have too many but somehow you still feel like you don't have the perfect one. With singles and palettes, it's hard to keep track. How many times have you bought a quad of eyeshadows but only use one color and the rest are brand new?

While traveling during Fashion Week, I decided to leave all my shadows behind and just take one palette. To my surprise it was all I ever needed. Do I just get rid of all my eyeshadows now and only use this palette? Well, I can't promise you that but I can show you how with one palette, you can really go from the office to a wedding with the perfect eyeshadow colors. It really saves so much time and space and it makes you feel like you are an artist with a beautiful color palette in one hand and a blending brush in another. Enough suspense?

It's the Urban Decay Naked Smoky palette and it's going to change your life! It might even cut down your getting ready time. Many times we buy these palettes and are so excited but then we get home and have no idea who to properly use it. 

I used to be into sparkly colors and Urban Decay is known for these gorgeous shimmery metallics, but lately I'm all about matte. The great thing about the Naked Smoky is that it has both. I do still love using a bit of shimmer if I'm going out or to a special occasion, but for every day it may be a bit much. After seeing Ellie Saab's bronzy eyeshadow look, I did have a change of heart about these shimmery shades. A new approach would be to only use on shimmery eyeshadow along the lashline and then just blend it up so it's more subtle.

Each color in this palette has an amazing burst of color, so a little goes a long way, thanks to their Pigment Infusion System™. I love it when science meets makeup, this basically means that your eyeshadow not only blends beautifully but it will stay on.

The Urban Decay Naked Smoky palette even comes with a brush. It's up to you if you want to use more brushes, I'm all about blending so I need a few brushes to make sure the dark colors and light ones don't get messy.

How to use it for day?

First use Combust in the crease, Thirteen on the lid and also on the brow bone. Blend, blend blend and that's all! If you are wearing mascara, chances are you have to wash this off and start all over because the shimmer can fall on the lashes and that doesn't look cute. Maybe if you are in a rush you can lay a piece of tissue to protect the lashes and add some more colors to take this look to the next level. Might run into your crush today? Spice up this day look by adding High with your ring finger to the middle of your lid. 

For Evening?

It's basically the same idea but darker. Use Dirtysweet as your crease color. Apply of at the outer edges of your lid. If you aren't a pro or just crazy about having an even look, grab a piece of paper or a tissue (honestly I use toilet paper) and fold it in half to create a diagonal line. This way you kind of make a cat eye with your eyeshadow. I'm not a fan of this exaggerated look because it doesn't look natural. That's why I grab my blending brush and just blend it until that line completely vanishes.  You can use Black Market if you want extra drama but if you are just starting out the brown tones are more forgiving. Radar is one of my favorite colors for the lid. For the under eye, use Combust with a pencil brush underneath your eye at the bottom lash line.

This may sound complicated at first so you may need a cheat sheet a few times. I'm always taking my cell phone or Ipad in the bathroom to play videos or read how-to articles on how to get a look. Once you do it a couple of times, you get the hang of it. Experiment with different shades and don't be afraid to think outside the box. 

 

Aline Agopian