L'Oreal Paris: Open Eyes Pro Review and Smokey Eye Tutorial

My first impression of the L'Oreal's Open Eyes Pro palette when I popped it out of the bag was that it looked very classy. There's a certain heft to the box, not so much as to be inconvenient when you carry it around, but definitely heavier than your average plastic box. It comes with a sponge applicator and an eye-shaped mirror (nice touch), and the colors themselves are quite friendly to morena skintones.

I've used this palette twice thus far, and during my first roadtest I used it without a primer. The colors are not vibrant if worn over a simple powder foundation, and they tend to provide more shimmer than actual color. Ideal if you want a very understated smokey eye, but if you want your makeup to pop, you *must* use a primer.

I've created a quick tutorial below so you can see my application process from beginning to end. I used all four shades according to the instructions on the back of the box, and I think it turned out wonderfully.

STEP 1: Prime your lids. This is a *must* if you want vibrant colors and opaque application. You can use any primer (Etude House Proof 10 Eye Primer, Urban Decay Primer Potion), or a cream eyeshadow in a neutral color as a base. I used a pale lilac shimmer cream eyeshadow and applied it with my pinky finger.

STEP 2: Use the base color (marked shade 1 on my photo), to go over the entire area that you put primer on. (I covered everything from lid to browbone, but you can do a subtler look by not extending so much.)

STEP 3: Use shade 2 to add dimension to your eyes. Carefully go over your inner and outer Vs with a contour brush, and blend them inwards and upwards (whilst still maintaining the central pale blue color). This will give your lids more sparkle and dimension.

STEP 4: Use shade 3 to line your upper lid with a small eyeshadow brush. The initial line may be thicker (or thinner) if you wish. Using a clean brush, carefully blend the initial line upwards, thus creating the smokey look. You can also go over shade 2 with shade 3 if you want even more dimension and drama, but I'd reserve this for party nights.

STEP 5: Use shade 4, a translucent white shimmer, along the corners of your eyes and right below your browbone.

STEP 6: Apply mascara, fill in your brows, put on a nude lipstick, and you're good to go. As you can see, I skipped the blush for this look and I think it looks quite interesting.

Interested readers can pick up this palette for P875 wherever L'Oreal products are sold. It's a bit steep, but I do think it's a great choice if you're interested in learning how to do a smokey eye. All the colors you need are in there, and you can easily turn it into a casual eye palette if you don't use a primer underneath.

Stay beautiful, ladies~!

*Disclaimer: This palette was sponsored by L'Oreal Philippines. All reviews/opinions are my own.