I think that this is a perfect daytime makeup look – more intense than I’d usually go, but not so heavy that it looks OTT in the sunlight. Forgive the pics – I’ve taken some stills from a video edit so I’m not posing or smiling! Not that most people pose or smile when they’re doing their makeup, alone, in their study…

So here’s a simple step-by-step for the look. I’ve started off with a brilliant Smashbox cream shadow in Quartz (find it here). This shadow reminds me a lot of the Benefit creaseless ones, but this is perhaps even silkier. I’ve been using it for quite a long time now, sometimes on its own and now and then as a kind of eye primer or makeup base. In the picture above, you can see that I’ve applied to the left lid only – it gives a wonderful sheen and lift to the eyes. Below, it’s on both lids…

Now for the excellent bit; a touch of complementary shadow towards the outer parts of the lid to create a definite smokiness. I used my current favourite neutral-with-oomph: Sunday Riley’s Prismasilk shadow in Lady Godiva. (Find it here.)

I’ve very simply pressed the shadow into the crease of my eye at the outer corners and smudged it in with a large, firm eye brush. The best brush for this that I have ever found, in terms of shape and ease of use, is the Deluxe Crease brush from Real Techniques (here, part of kit). You can simply press it into the crease at the outer corners and twiddle it to blend, and you get the perfect amount of depth – at least, this works well for me. You’d have to experiment and find out what suited you, but nevertheless it’s a handy old brush to have.

Finished look above – slightly wobbly on the lashline because this was a still from before I neatened it all up, but you get the gist, I hope. I love the way that the powder shadow blends with the cream – it seems to work well. It looks like quite a graded bit of blending, but it’s not really – the cream just catches the light and gives the eyes shape, whilst the rudimentary shading in the outer parts gives depth and contour.

I suppose you could do this with any cream and powder shadows, though some of the cream ones have too much grip and set too tightly to allow any blending over the top. This seems to be the perfect combo – I also used Lady Godiva on the lower lashline, just a tiny bit to define the eyes. Let me know what you think – does anyone else have the wondrous Deluxe Crease brush from Real Techniques?