Build a Quad: “Smoky Duo”

To me, the classic smoky eye is a mix of grays, silvers, and blacks–but the best part about smoky eyes? You can make any eye smoky. I thought rather than just doing a monochromatic quad for smoky eyes (at least, this time around!), it’d be nice to give you the ability to create two different smoky eyed looks in one.

This quad includes: MAC Ricepaper eyeshadow (a soft, lightly shimmered beige), MAC Soft Brown eyeshadow (matte reddish medium brown), MAC Silver Ring eyeshadow (shimmery silver-gray), and MAC Carbon eyeshadow (matte black).

A few combinations to try with this…

• Ricepaper all over the lid, Soft Brown in the outer corner/crease, Ricepaper to highlight
• Ricepaper all over the lid, Soft Brown in the outer corner/crease, Carbon dusted lightly in the crease, Ricepaper to highlight
• Ricepaper all over the lid, Silver Ring on the outer lid/corner, Carbon in the crease, Ricepaper to highlight
• Silver Ring all over the lid, Carbon in the crease, Ricepaper to highlight

A few looks I’ve done that can be replicated with these shades…

• Ultra soft brown smoky eyes
• Medium soft brown smoky eyes
• Brown & gray smoky eyes
• Silver-Gray smoky eyes
• Monochromatic smoky eyes

Build a Quad is a feature focusing on creating different eyeshadow palettes that are both beautiful and functional using permanent shades of eyeshadow. We invite readers to suggest their own build-a-quads — just leave your ideas in the comments! Don’t forget to name your quad!

See swatches…

Ricepaper, Soft Brown, Silver Ring, Carbon