Per Byrdie, one key difference between the regular smokey eye and its naked version is that the latter uses simple, matte shades rather than shimmery ones. TikTokUser @zoekimkenealy recommends going for cool-toned browns, so we reached for ColorPop’s Stone Cold Fox palette. We chose “Quarry Days” (a lighter, sandy brown) as the main shade and “Fickle Fate” (a darker, more chocolate brown) to add a little dimension — both light-to-medium, matte shades.
Unlike many of the makeup trends we’ve seen on TikTok and Instagram, applying the naked smokey eye was seriously was as easy and as quick as it looked. We began by using a fluffy brush to apply “Quarry Days” all over the surface of a bare lid and across the lower lash line until it was completely covered with a light layer of subtle, yet detectable brown color. Depending on how oily your eyelids are, or how pigmented your shadow is, you may need to do more than one swipe. We then used the same brush to gently blend the shadow at the corners outward for that signature ‘smoked out’ effect.
Finally, we carefully added our darker brown shade, “Fickle Fate,” to the upper lash line and outer corner using a smaller fluffy brush to better frame the eye shape and create definition. As we got further to the outer corner, we pulled the shade up towards the brow bone, carefully blending inward over “Quarry Days” shadow that was already there. This helped to achieve the somewhat smudgy effect we’re used to seeing in a smoky eye without the need for eyeliner.
