The French Bohemian Smoky Eye

VIOLET LOOK: THE FRENCH BOHEMIAN SMOKY EYE
Makeup artist Jeffrey Baum creates a smoky eye inspired by mid-twentieth-century free spirits.

Written By JESS BASSER SANDERS
Makeup By JEFFREY BAUM
Photography By HEATHER GILDROY
Hair By ASAMI MAEDA
Styled By DONATELLA MUSCO

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THE ARTIST
Jeffrey Baum | @jeffreybaummakeup

THE INSPIRATION
Australian artist Vali Myers’ liner-heavy raccoon eyes in Ed van der Elsken’s 1956 photo book celebrating the mid-twentieth-century bohemians of Paris, Love on the Left Bank.

WHERE TO WEAR
Roaming the streets of Paris with your lover; a Ryan McGinley exhibition opening in Chelsea.

MEET THE FACE
Agnes Sokolowska | Model | @agnessokolowska

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PREP SCHOOL
Baum readied skin with Avène’s ultra-hydrating Skin Recovery Cream, followed by Laura Mercier’s Oil Free Primer and Chanel’s Vitalumière Aqua Foundation. Next, he covered imperfections with Laura Mercier’s Secret Camouflage, and finished with a dusting of Mercier’s Setting Powder to keep it all in place.

EAU THERMALE AVÈNE SKIN RECOVERY CREAM
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GET IN LINE
Using this deepest of black pencils, Baum first added some definition around the eye, then used a brush (VIOLET recommends: Utowa Brush #10) to blend and soften the look. Rather than elongating the liner into a cat eye, Baum used his brush to blend the pigment into a rounded shape around the eye.

TOM FORD EYE DEFINING PENCIL IN ONYX
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KEEP IT LIGHT
Baum opted to maintain a bit of lightness on the lids using a softer shade of shadow. To get the look, he layered Dior’s long-wearing formula in Mirage in the middle of the lid using the same Utowa brush. The aim was to achieve a matte and smoky look without going too heavy. “You didn’t lose the roundness of the eyeshadow and the depth in the center of the lid,” he says. For the final flourish, Baum gave lashes a coat of Tom Ford’s Extreme Mascara.

DIOR DIORSHOW FUSION MONO MATTE LONG-WEAR PROFESSIONAL EYESHADOW IN MIRAGE
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MADE IN THE SHADE
To keep the remainder of the look as simple as possible, Baum used MAC’s Cream Colour Base in Tint on both cheeks and lips. “I just wanted a bit of easy shade, so I pressed a dab of the Colour Base on the cheek and on the lip with a finger and blended it out. There wasn’t anything super-defined about it.”

M·A·C CREAM COLOUR BASE IN TINT
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