Last week we had beauty expert Erin Dudley come over and play hair-dresser with us. It was so much fun learning the art of the braid! Today, we brought Erin back to help me shore up one of my other weaknesses – makeup trends! I know I can rock red lips and always wear mascara, but that’s about as far as my skills go.

I’ve always wanted a look that I could wear to the office during the day and tszuj {I urban dictionaried the spelling of that!} a little before going out. I don’t like to wear a ton of makeup nor do I take the time in the morning to do anything super complicated. So, we wanted to keep the tutorial as simple and streamlined as it gets! This is Ms. Dudley’s fool proof day-to-evening smokey eye look that even I feel confident I can replicate!

DAY LOOK

Step 1 (Face): First things first, start with a clean face. Then to achieve that glowy look, apply a radiance primer and then a tinted moisturizer {Erin’s favorite: Nars Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturizer with SPF 30} to keep your face looking and feeling healthy all day long!

Step 2 (Eyes): You want your eyeshadow to last all day {who wants or has the time to touchup makeup when they’re working?} so Erin recommends one of her favorite products: Smashbox Waterproof Shadow Liners. {They’re an amazing pencil that you can smudge onto your eyelids! SO easy to use}. Apply the liner all over the lid and into the crease and buff with your finger. Next, apply an eye liner to the outer corner of the top lash line and inside water line. Opt for a charcoal gray instead of black- it’s less likely to close off your eyes and create a look that is harsh for day. {Erin’s fave: Nars in Madison Ave} Apply mascara. You can curl your lashes for a more awake look. Erin’s tip – blast your eye curler with your blow dryer. Once heated, it acts like a curling iron for your eyes!

Step 3 (Brows): People tend to skip the brows, but they make such a difference in the structure of your face. Be nice to them and apply some brow gel!

Step 4 (Cheeks): For a glowy look, you want to use a peach tone on the cheeks. For oily skin, use a powder blush and for dry skin try a cream based blush. Ladies with darker skin tones can use a blush in a deeper apricot.

Step 5 (lips): It’s important to tie the color on your lips and cheeks together. So, use something within the same color family. Since the lips are the anchor of your face, treat them nicely. Erin suggests a conditioning lip balm – she loves Tarte’s LipSurgence Natural Lip Luster {to avoid cakey, dry lips after your first lip application, Erin’s quick fix is to remember to run your toothbrush over your lips while brushing to exfoliate!}

Step 6: Since you’ll be at work all day, use setting powder that is mineral based to set your makeup. It won’t get into the folds of the skin and will give you that polished, radiant look!

Transitioning your eye makeup from day to night is in fact easy {who knew!}. It’s time to rev up the smokey eye for a more smoldering look!

NIGHT LOOK

Step 1: Add a mineral based eyeshadow to the eye and blend it into the crease. You’ll want to stick to bronze and gunmetal shades {Erin recommends Bronzeite and Moonstone by Opivu}

Step 2: Apply a black coal liner underneath the eye, smudging it out as you go. You’ll also want to do an additional liner application to your water line, inside rim of the eye and inner and outer corners.

Step 3: Apply a setting powder to give your glowy skin a more matte look for evening – the last thing you want to do is look shiny under candlelight.

Step 4: To finish the look, slap on your favorite lip balm. You don’t want your lips to compete with your eyes so a lip balm is a great way to achieve a true nude lip.

The best thing about this day/night combo is that you can sum everything up in three key products: Smashbox Waterproof Shadow liners, Nars Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturizer and Tarte LipSurgence. You mean I don’t have to buy the whole makeup counter? If it’s this simple, I think I can actually handle it.

Now that I’ve learned how easy it can be to create a smokey eye look I’m going to try it more often. Makeup should be about having fun. Sure, you can have your signature look, but why not switch gears every once in a while. Bookmark this tutorial for your next date night!

Need more inspiration? Erin and I have teamed up on more than tutorials – we’re pinning our favorite fall makeup on hair trends on Pinterest right here!! Maybe we’ll attempt another tutorial soon!

Do you like to change up your normal makeup routine? We’d love to know what you’re interested in learning about.