By stufflovely
British makeup artist Alexandra Clare has never felt compelled to name one of her bold looks before, but “Bardot Eyes,” as she calls her dramatically inverted smoky eye look taking over Instagram, demanded its own moniker. “I hadn’t seen the style before,” she tells Allure. “To me, it reminded me of a top that I own that sits just below the shoulders known as a Bardot top, and so, Bardot Eyes were born.”
The mesmerizing eye makeup is a revival of a look Alexandra Clare originally tried back in 2017. Over the years, she’s refined a grungy style that she calls “smoky and quite full-on with lots of blending.”
With Bardot Eyes, Alexandra Clare believes the daring look offers up a way to do eye makeup that could easily be adapted to fit all different styles by creators in all areas of the makeup industry — and of course, anyone who’s looking to try something new as we start to go mask-less more and more.
Building Up Bardot Eyes
If the latter just so happens to be you, Alexandra Clare luckily shared tips with Allure for mastering Bardot Eyes. First, and foremost, do your foundation first before gathering up some tools: a gel liner, a thin eyeliner brush, and an eye shadow in the same shade, as well as a shadow in a hue that you want to blend the base into.
In Alexandra Clare’s case, she chose black as her base — particularly, the Melt Cosmetics Onyx Gel Liner and the brand’s sold-out Muerte Palette — and pink shadow from Colourpop’s Cloud Spun Palette as her secondary color to act as blush.
From there, paint a line going from your lash line up to your temples, all the way to your hairline, Alexandra Clare says. Then, drag the pigment left on your brush downward toward the high points of your cheeks. Next, blend out the liner in the same direction with the coordinating shadow on a fluffy brush.
“It’s a makeup that can look a little bit crazy until it all comes together at the end,” Alexandra Clare notes. “So many people commented, ‘This was really a trust-the-process moment.'” And finally, grab your blush or another color of eye shadow to make the transition from your eyes to cheeks more seamless and sleek. Finish off with some mascara, and you’ll be good to go.
