Smokey Eye.

The smokey eye is a chic look that has been around for awhile, and isn't going anywhere anytime soon. Most people find it difficult to master, but it's actually one of the easiest looks to accomplish.

The key to a fabulous smokey eye is good blending. You want to make sure that your eyelid does not wind up looking like a seven-layer cake. Experiment with colors, too. Many people are unaware of this, but the smokey eye does not necessarily have to be black. Gorgeous color combinations include gold bases with purple jeweled tones, peachy with green, and silver with navy.

1. Apply eyeliner first. Color coordinate your liner with your look. For example, a typical black smokey eye should be paired with dark gray or black liner. If you're going for a violet smokey eye, line your lids with purple. The whole purpose of the liner is generating that first impression - the pop! Line your upper lid, and concentrate on applying a bit heavier towards the middle. Leave your lower lid be, for now.

2. Blend the bottom. Choose a lighter liner (gray works for almost all colored smokey eyes) to line your bottom lid with. Smudge with either your pinky or a Q-tip. The whole point is that your bottom lid does not look perfectly lined. You want it a bit messy, but be careful. You still want your makeup to look fresh, not like you just woke up.

3. Apply a light base color. Whether you're trying to accomplish a black smokey eye or a purple one, always start with a light color in your palette. The light color serves as a base, which you will brush around the entirety of your eyelid. Creams and silvers work beautifully as bases. Sweep color all the way up to your brow bone.

4. Apply your darker base colors. The key to successful blending here is keeping the darker colors below the crease of your eye. Dark color above the crease tends to make you look, well, super scary. Use a small brush to blend your lighter color and darker one (the lighter color can rise above the crease, just make sure you can still see your light base). As I advised before, blend blend blend, or your eye will have a seven layer cake effect: not quite the night-on-the-town look you were hoping for.

5. Mascara! As many coats as you can without winding up looking like you have 3 lashes (clumping - ew!). The smokey eye is dramatic, so bold, dark colors!

MAKEUP NOVICES: When rocking the smokey eye, keep your lips light. Too much color is...just too much.

Some FABULOUS smokey eye palettes? Try:

Sephora Collection Smokey Eyes Palette - $36

Stila Smokey Eye Talking Palette - $40

(the palette literally speaks to you and teaches you how-to!)

(both items can be found at sephora.com)

(photo courtesy of MAC cosmetics - MAC smokey eye)