Skin Deep — The Alternative

The 90s Smokey Eye, Step by Step.

September 10, 2026

Smudged, sultry, unapologetically dark — the 90s smokey eye never really left, and this season it's back for good. This is the definitive, product-by-product breakdown of how to get it right, down to the exact blending motion that separates "smokey" from "muddy."

Step 1: Prep — Curl, Condition, Cover

A great smokey eye starts before a single shadow touches your lid. Run Lash Rejuvenator through clean lashes the night before — it conditions and primes so mascara grips harder and lasts longer under all that smudged shadow. In the morning, a light coat of Foundation Primer across the lid keeps color from creasing by noon.

Lash Rejuvenator, applied along the lash line before bed

Step 2: Build the Smoke — Shade by Shade

The 90s eye is dark, smudged, and deliberate — never sharp, never precise. Reach for The Eye Edit in Dark Storm, built specifically for this look: charcoal, smoke, and a true matte black, all in one palette.

Prime the lid — sweep the lightest neutral shade edge-to-edge to lock everything in place.
Pack in the mid-tone — using a fluffy blending brush, work the warm brown through the crease in windshield-wiper motions.
Deepen the outer corner — take the darkest charcoal shade into the outer "V" and blend inward, softening the edge as you go.
Smoke the lower lash line — the signature move. Use the same charcoal shade with a small brush (or a clean fingertip) and smudge it directly under the eye, following the natural lash line.
Blend the line between — connect the upper crease color to the lower smudge so there's no harsh gap. This is what makes it read as "smokey" instead of two separate looks.

The finished smoke, softened at the lash line

Sharp is a cat eye. Soft, smudged, and a little undone — that's the 90s.

Step 3: Line It Without Lining It

Skip a hard liquid line. Instead, use Kohl Eyeliner - Black — a creamy, long-wear kohl built to smudge on purpose. Run it along the upper waterline and lower lash line, then blend the edges with a fingertip while it's still soft. This is the step that makes the whole eye look lived-in instead of drawn-on. Step 3 Lower Lash Line Smoky

Step 4: Lash Out

Finish with two coats of Mascara, wiggling the wand at the root before pulling through to the tips. Volume over length — the 90s eye wants full, slightly clumpy lashes peeking through all that smoke. Step 4 Mascara Over Smoky Eye

Step 5: Anchor the Brow

A dark, smudged eye needs a defined brow to hold the whole face together. Fill in sparse areas with the Automatic Eyebrow Pencil using short, hair-like strokes — bold enough to anchor the eye, soft enough to still look like your own brow. Anchor the Brow Step

Defined brows anchor the smoked-out eye

The Full Face

Want the dark lip and barely-there skin to go with it? We already wrote the complete routine — see How To Get The Perfect 90s Makeup Look for the lip and base steps. This one's just for the eye — because it deserves its own tutorial.