Products used: Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-on eye pencil in “Cuff”, MAC Pearlglide Intense Eyeliner in “Petrol Blue”, Urban Decay Shadow Pencil Blending Brush, Too Faced Lash Injection mascara.

With my recent efforts to cut back on highly pigmented lipsticks (I said cut back, not give up!), in order to keep my Invisalign as clear as possible, I’ve been turning back to my shadows and false lashes and shifting focus to my eyes. It occurred to me, however, that I sometimes spend an exorbitant amount of time and products on my more dramatic eye looks, which makes traveling a statement-lip-only affair. Sometimes the most difficult thing for me to do is to simplify and pare down; all I want to do is build and build and blend, blend, blend, because half the reason I love makeup is because I love doing makeup. But for those days when I want to call a little more attention to my eyes, I have to remember that it can be done with the bare minimum – both in terms of time and product. In under a minute, I gave myself this simple smokey eye, using just a bit of smudged liner and mascara. I simply let the colors do the talking. Here’s how:

1) Line the inner corners of your eyes with silver liner, or another shimmery, light liner you have on hand – and bring the color a little less than halfway out on your lash line (both above and below).

2) Line the remainder of your upper and lower lash line with navy liner, making sure to get inside your waterline for that smoldering look.

3) Use a densely packed brush to smudge and soften the line, and blend the two colors where they meet.

4) Add mascara, and you’re done!