Smoky eyes are big fun, and they aren't that hard to get. But you want more than eye shadow: you'll want some eye liner, too. Use dark colors: gray, or soft purple or dark blue are the best "smoke" colors. You might want to start with a light base coat, just to give you an even palette. Use a creamy color over the whole lid. Then, add eyeliner in charcoal color, over the top eyelid and, if you're going for serious drama, smudge some on the lower lid too. Smudging is vital here: you don't want any harsh lines. Blend and blend again.
Once you have your eyeliner on, use the deeper shadow to cover the upper eyelid, but extend it a bit as you get past the outer half of the eye. (Check: your shadow should start to rise after the midpoint of your pupil). Bring the shadow over the eyelid crease and toward the eyebrow. If you were to look at an outline of the shadow, it would be teardrop shaped, horizontal, with the thinnest part of the drop at the corner of your eye and the roundest part closer to the end of your eyebrow. Again, smudge everything and blend , so there are no hard lines.
You can finish your smoky look with mascara, brushed on fairly thickly closer to the eye. Going for length isn't that necessary here: you're trying more for a sort of inky brush of lashes against the eyeliner. Length will actually detract from the look, so if you want long lashes, put on a coat all the way to the ends for the length, but them put succeeding coats on just halfway to get a thicket of lashes close to the iris of your eye. Now you're smokin'!
