Coordinate Dark Shadows with Clothing

• Choosing the color makeup that will coordinate with your outfit is one of the most important parts of achieving a dramatic dark eye. It doesn't need to match necessarily, but a bright turquoise dress might not work with navy blue makeup. Typically, using two to three eye shadow colors is plenty. Sometimes women choose just a light base color and one dark overtone, but other times they will select a light base, medium overtone and a dark eye shadow for the crease of the eye.
  
  Some popular dark eye color combinations include a light pearl or gray shimmer with plum, navy or charcoal overtones.
  
  

Creating the Dark Eye Foundation

• Apply some liquid foundation to each eye with a foundation sponge before adding any eye shadow. This will help prevent the makeup from soaking into your eye and creating crease marks where your eyelids fold.
  
  Begin creating the design with a lighter base color that starts at the bottom of your lids and works its way up to just below the eyebrows. You should be able to see a hint of color without the color dominating your eyelids. If the eye shadow contains shimmer or glitter, you can generally use less than for a regular cream or matte shadow.
  
  

Apply Dark Eye Shadow

• Create a dramatic or smoky look by sweeping the darker eye shadow from the outside corner of your eye toward the inside corner, staying below the crease line of your eye. The crease line is where your brow bone ends and your eyelid begins. Depending on the color you chose, you might need to sweep across the eye several times before the color appears the way you want it to.
  
  Take caution when using purple shadows, though, as using too much purple can make your eye appear swollen, as though someone gave you a black eye. If you have thick eyelids, consider using grayish, charcoal or navy tones instead of purple or crimson colors. Stylelist.com suggests using under eye concealer and redness-reducing eye drops to take out the redness in your eyes and around the edges of your eyelids when using purple eye shadow.
  
  To make the eye look more smoked, use the remaining dark eye shadow on the brush and brush in an upwards direction from the middle of your eyelid up to the brow bone. If you're going for a more pronounced look, work in a little more dark eye shadow into the crease of your eyelid just below your brow bone.
  
  

Finish Off the Look

• Draw a line of eyeliner at the very top of your lash line on your eyelid and just beneath the lower lash line. You don't have to use a dark black eyeliner for this; charcoal, dark brown, navy or gray/silver liners work just as well.
  
  Paint your upper and lower lashes with mascara. Use a gentle touch to avoid getting clumps or excessive mascara on your eyes. Jazz up your look by using electric blue, green or glittery mascara instead of dark black or black/brown mascara.