Music mashups have a way of giving songs a fresh twist. Think Linkin Park featuring Jay-Z, the Best of Bootie series, you get the picture. This summer, make a beauty mashup by mellowing out your fave smoky eye with a bit of shimmer.

The trick to achieving this pretty look is applying shimmery shadows with a light hand. It’s kind of a yin-yang thing – brightening the eye yet adding a little smoky allure. You may want to maximize the drama on the dance floor, but in the plain light of day let the makeup sit back a little and let your eyes simply shine.

• Prep: Fill in your brows. Done well, brows will accentuate your eyes and frame your entire face. Use Clinique’s Brow Shaper. Also, curl your lashes with the highly effective Shu Uemura Eyelash Curler.
• Browline: Using a neutral highlighting shadow, cover your entire eyelid. Make sure the highlighter is not too shiny, as you don’t want it competing with the shadow. Brush a little bit into the inner corners to brighten your eyes.
• Base: Take an eyeshadow brush and lightly dip it into a medium tone, silvery grey metallic eye shadow, like Diamond Lil by Stila. Brush over your lid, up to the crease.
• Crease: Get a darker shade, like sultry Smut by MAC and blend into the crease with an angled brush. Most of the color should appear on the outer corners of the eyes, gradually getting lighter inward. Blend, blend, blend!
• Liner: Use eyeliner for definition, and softly smudge the line with your finger. Combine a pencil liner with a powder liner on top for extra staying power. I like Bare Escentuals Liner Shadows in Luxe or Bark. Skip lining your lower lashline to keep things light for day, unless you’re blessed with fabulous doe-eyes – for those, I say anything goes.
• Lashes: Finish with a lengthening mascara. Lancôme’s Définicils Mascara works wonders!
• Voila: Keep the rest of the face neutral. Complete the look with a pale lip. Matte pink is hot right now and a non-gloss will prevent shine overload.

The beauty of the modern smoky eye is that it can be achieved in many color combinations. The basic look involves greys and charcoals, but play around and find beautiful variations in grey-lavenders, victorian pinks, and edgy gold-greens. If you can’t quite let go of your favorite neutral, you’re in luck. Browns, bronzes and coppers are still hot. Have fun experimenting and coming up with your own signature smoky eye!