By Silvia Manzoni.
Down with perfection! The Slept-in smoky eye look is our new crush. Long live smudged eye tracings that look like you haven’t properly removed your makeup the night before, giving off a rockstar vibe.
The anti-clean trend (the slept-in smoky eyes) has taken over social media this summer, appealing to those who want to break away from overly standardised beauty and express slightly rebellious creativity through makeup.
FROM KATE MOSS TO EUPHORIA
Some see this trend as a revival of punk-gothic: eyes with charcoal shades that unambiguously recall rockstars’ iconic and powerful looks, whether women or men. And that goes very well with leather dresses and accessories, underground print t-shirts, and military boots. Dedicated to grunge enthusiasts, fans of Wednesday Addams and nostalgic for the Kate Moss of the 90s. For an expert like Doniella Davy, the make-up artist responsible for the creations in the Euphoria series, among other things, “the slept-in smoky is an ode to imperfection, and that makes it cool. It’s a sassy makeup that’s a little bit scary. But this approach also has a very fresh and modern twist because it forces you to ask yourself how you can make your makeup weirder and less perfect”.
In addition to Kate Moss, more modern examples of how to wear such provocative makeup include Deepica Padukone, Emma Chamberlain or Maeve Wiley, the Sex Education character played by Emma Mackey, who moves around the screen with makeup that “always looks shabby, as if she did it in less than a minute, or slept in it”, Davy says.
HOW-TO TIPS
On Byrdie.com, the make-up artist also gives tips on how to achieve it: “When outlining the eyes, concentrate the eyeshadow tracing along the lower lash line, as if the mascara were runny, a technique that goes against all conventional smoky eye wisdom. I know this might sound strange. But that’s the point!”
Another tip: don’t necessarily use black. If this shade seems too intense, replace it with darker shades of blue, purple, green or brown. Or, layer shimmering metallic colours over black for a softer, contrasting result.
Rockstar effect guaranteed.
Silvia Manzoni is a journalist and a beauty expert.
