Smokey Eyes For Small, Close Set Eyes - Decoded!

I've been smitten by the mystical smokey eye look for as long as I can remember. I bought my first black eye-shadow in 2006 and used it ever since. Not the same one. err.
Please note:  This is not a tutorial, that's the next post (I  just used the same picture I edited for that), I've been editing pictures since 2pm and it's 9 pm now! 



I made a tonne of mistakes with it, some unforgivable, I even posted them as "tutorials" on my blog once, that I promptly deleted as soon as I started blogging again! It was frustrating, seeing how pretty it looked on everybody, and how easy it seemed, but I could never get it to look even normal. It continued to look ridiculous on me and I stopped. I really thought it wasn't for me. I stopped reading tutorials, I stopped watching videos, and while I still don't, while bbming my friend about how to do a smokey eye (yes, we do that. Apply pencil liner first, then smudge it, No, don't wipe it off. Then put black shadow on it.Only outside. Inside apply some gold. *Sees the picture* Ya, perfect. Apply mascara when you actually have to do this). I decided I wanted to try it out again. I did, and it was so much better than what I called a smokey eye, in 2009!

Thing is, when I did this, I realized that I did some things differently, because I'd finally figured out my eye shape, after being clueless for way too long. So I decided to put it here. These were supposed to be footnotes to a smokey eye tutorial, but it got too long. So, go read!

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• Makeup shouldn't have rules, but when you follow some, it get's easier and less frustrating when you're trying to achieve a certain look. Also, you don't waste 6 years not doing it, or worse, doing it badly.
• I've learnt that there are mainly 2 ways of doing smokey eyes (smoking out the dark coloured eye-shadow). One, when you blend the dark eye-shadow upward, and the other when you blend (smoke out) the dark eye shadow outward. 
• You can do both together, if you're blessed with a lot of eye lid space and a lot of space in between the outer corner of your eye and the point where your hairline starts. Wherever you have "space", you can smoke out the dark eye-shadow. I don't have much eye lid space, but because I have close set eyes, there's a lot of space to the side (between the outer corner of my eye to the point where my hairline starts) so I smoke out the shadow outward instead of doing it upward. Because I find that when I go upward, it gets too messy and my eyes look smaller and closer than they are. But hopefully, I'll figure that out and do it successfully!
• Ideally, a smokey eye shouldn't have obvious eyeliner peeking (or eyeliner showing), which is why, make sure you tightline your eyes and blend out the eyeliner with the dark eye-shadow  But when you're using light coloured eyeshadow mostly, like I did here and here, it's absolutely fine.
• Blending is the key. There shouldn't be any harsh or obvious lines. Every colour should gradually merge into the other, while maintaining their particular identities (for example  frosty gold should be frosty and gold. Matte blue should essentially be matte and blue) . But when you barely have any eyelid space, it's okay to cheat, and blend just a little bit. Otherwise, the dark colour (that you are using) will overpower everything else and it'll be all you can see. (which means the frosty gold and matte blue will look like a matte black, assuming that's what you're using).
• While using a dark colour, start with very little. you can intensify it as you go. When you pack in too much black (or dark eye-shadow), there's no room for any other colour to show, or any rectification.
• Use a shimmery, light colour in the corner of your eyes, to instantly brighten them up, and so they don't look too close.
• Remember that if you have hooded eyes like mine, anything applied too thickly (liner or eye shadow) it will end up on the part almost under your eyebrow.
• I don't use a highlighting shade that's frosty. It's going to be just too much going on, all over the place and looks quite garish. When there's so much black on my eyelid, I use The Body Shop's Loose powder (that has a satin-y finish).
• I prefer wearing my under eye concealer after I finish the upper eyelid and before starting work on my lower lash line (Kajal, mascara, etc). I don't use concealer/ foundation for the rest of my face, but if and when I do, I apply it after the eye makeup is complete. In a picture above, I wore the concealer before starting my makeup and you can see the fall out of the dark eye shadow stuck to my under-eye area.
• Fill in your eyebrows. It makes a huge difference!
• That's all. Now gather your stuff, the tute will be up next!