Victoria Beckham shares how she creates her signature smoky eye for party season

Victoria Beckham is synonymous with a classic smoky eye - but this winter she's embracing an updated take on the look...

Victoria Beckham is pictured with brown smoky eye makeup look and wearing a white blazer at the Business of Fashion BoF 500 Class of 2024 during Paris Fashion Week at Shangri-La Hotel Paris on September 28, 2024 in Paris, France/ in a pink template
(Image credit: Getty Images/Victor Boyko/Stringer)

Along with a step-by-step guide to her signature smoky eye, Victoria Beckham has delivered a masterclass on how to add a pop of colour to your look - and naturally, it's perfect for party season...

When it comes to our beauty routines, we all have that one, infallible look in our wheelhouse that we return to time and time again. In Victoria Beckham's case, that's a smoky eye, which you can now recreate right down to the eyeshadow shade thanks to some tips from VB herself. That's not all though, as the fashion and beauty mogul has also demonstrated a trick to updating the timeless look with a hint of stylish colour - with the help of one of the best eyeliners.

So, if you've been tempted by a bold or party-ready eye look but find the idea intimidating - or perhaps you don't have the faintest clue how to blend out a smoky eye in the first place - grab your best eyeshadow primers because Beckham has some pointers...

How to recreate VB's signature smoky eye, by the star herself

Name a more iconic duo than Victoria Beckham and her smoky eye? We'll save you some time - you can't - but what you can do is recreate it.

Taking to Instagram to share the launch of the new Satin Kajal Liner colour, Orchid, which is a shimmery mauve (and a firm favourite in our team Victoria Beckham Beauty review) Beckham walked us through how and what she uses to create her classic look and how to incorporate the new liner shade, or any colourful eyeliner for that matter, for an elevated finish.

In the video (which was split into two parts), Beckham shared that she uses two key products; the Smoky Eye Brick Eyeshadow Palette and of course, the Satin Kajal Liner in Orchid to create her 'updated' eye makeup: "I use my signature eye palette every single day and then I love to use our colour Kajals to update my look - take my look to another level and make it feel fresh."

How to create VB's update smoky eye

Now, onto the technique. In the video, Beckham said: "Okay, so what I have done is I have used this light shade [Cami] here of the signature Eye Brick and I've dusted over the whole of the upper eyelid. Then I’ve taken this light brown colour [Suede] here - and again a very light smoky eye is what I’m creating because as I’ve said, I’m going to overlay with a bit of colour - but what I do with this darker shade is, I literally just apply it along here," she shows applying it with a fluffy brush into the crease of her lid, 'almost like a contour.'

She adds to never take the colour all the way to the inner corner of the lid and instead, ensure that you're "always just going from the halfway mark to the outside - just to really lift the eye and make it seem well, more lifted."

Beckham again notes that this process is almost like contouring, as opposed to creating a heavy smoky eye because she is going to build upon the look with her Kayal liner

How to incorpoate a colour eyeliner into your smokey eye

Now, to upgrade the look, Beckham recommends adding some colourful eyeliner. Doing so can transform your makeup from day to night and can help add a hint of glamour - especially if you opt for a shimmer liner or a similarly wintery hue as Beckham has.

In the second video, Beckham shows that she has started to softly line her upper lashes with her Kayal eyeliner, before taking a brush to blend it out slightly. "Then I’ve taken the pencil and created a very thin line along the bottom lash line as well and again I take the brush and I smudge it - making sure it's never a harsh line, always dipping down a little bit."

She then applies some of the liner to the back of her hand and, using a bushy brush, dusts it over her crease - where she placed the brown eyeshadow for her smoky eye - "just to bring all the colour together." Then simply apply one of your best mascaras - and voilà!

For a more dramatic finish: "I like to use the Kajal on the inside of the eye because what that does - it gives a very dramatic look - and you can imagine once I then put my Vast Lash mascara on I’m going to get a very very dramatic eye…which I love."

The addition of the shimmery mauve eyeliner works to give the smoky eyeshadow a little oomph, as Beckham notes: "You know normally I just go with colours that I know, colours that I feel comfortable with, but I always encourage people to try something new, because we can all get stuck in a bit of a beauty rut and it’s nice to have fun with colour - and there is a very wearable way of wearing colour."

Naomi Jamieson
Digital Beauty Writer

Naomi is a Digital Beauty Writer from woman&home, where she covers everything from skincare to fragrance but specialises, particularly, in makeup and nail trends. Through her work, Naomi gets to share her trend expertise and share her own shopping recommendations and product reviews. Previously, she worked as a Lifestyle News Writer for My Imperfect Life magazine, where she used her savvy for TikTok to bring readers the latest beauty buzzwords, fashion movements and must-have products.

Before that, Naomi split her time between both GoodTo and My Imperfect Life, whilst training for her Gold Standard diploma in Journalism with the NCTJ, for which she earned a Distinction. Interestingly though, Naomi actually has a background in design, having studied illustration at Plymouth University but leapt into the media world in 2020, after always having a passion for writing. Now, when she isn’t reporting on the best perfumes and latest beauty releases, you can find her drinking copious cups of coffee, drawing and probably online shopping...