Smokey Eyes with Surratt Artistique Eyeshadows Patine, Noir Le Plus Noir, Grey Gardens, Scintillante, Marron, Dore Rose, Ingenue

Why is it that we often neglect the ones that we love the most? Whilst I was busy chasing the newest, shiniest thing, I had forgotten about half a dozen of new, gorgeous Surratt Artistique Eyeshadows that I had accumulated last year. I had picked out some colorful hues when I first acquired some Surratt [read here], and so when Nathaniel Hawkins of Surratt Beauty suggested that I try putting together a smokey eye palette the last time him & Troy Surratt [read the interview here] were in town, I thought it was timely. My heart was firmly set on Marron and Patine, and so we built around it.

The black-grey smokey palette was entirely built by Nathaniel incorporating Patine as I had requested. The other palette was meant to be designed around Marron, I picked out the 3 shades there but simply couldn’t decide on a 4th, so I had plucked Minuet (blue) out from my other palette just to fill in the gap.

My customized smokey eye palette comprises of the following shades (clockwise direction from top left):

• Scintillante – twinkling, shimmering pale champagne
• Grey Gardens – cool medium-deep satin grey with some very sparse hidden shimmers (they show up when layered but is otherwise invisible when applied)
• Noir Le Plus Noir – deep matte black with some very sparse fine shimmers
• Patine – medium-deep cool-toned taupe with a generous sprinkling of pink, gold, silver shimmers

And here are the swatches:

The shimmers in these Surratt Artistique Eyeshadows are incredibly fine and subtle, they are not immediately obvious, but lend a dimensional feel to the shadows and show up more when layered or under low lighting. They are all very soft and easy to blend, so there are a million different ways to layer and play with these shades. Noir Le Plus Noir is one of the deepest blacks I own (apart from Tom Ford Titanium Smoke), but I hardly ever have a chance to wear a full on black eye makeup, so here is a softer rendition that I’ve been wearing to some events.

And another featuring Patine more prominently, in a way that is work appropriate:

Next up, is a brown-smokey trio featuring Marron. Unfortunately the picture below fails to capture the shimmering, almost-wet quality of the shadows… please refer to the first picture at the very top.

Counter-clockwise from top left:

• Marron – dark burgundy-brown with a generous sprinkling of purple, pink and gold shimmers
• Dore Rose – light shimmering rose gold with warm-undertones
• Ingenue – light shimmering pink with slightly warm undertones and a slightly sheer finish
• Minuet - reviewed here

And the swatches:

I feel like I may be missing a deep matte shade in this brown-smokey palette, but since matte dark browns don’t appeal to me much, I hadn’t been able to fill the quad. But when putting together an eye look, I realized Noir Le Plus Noir complemented these shades beautifully to bring some definition to the overall eye look, as you can see below.

Overall, Surratt Artistique Eyeshadows are timeless classics that are a dream to work with, so easy to put on and go. I would encourage anyone who is looking to acquire some high quality eyeshadows that will last you a long time to take a closer look at Surratt Beauty. And if you, like me, find putting a palette together somewhat daunting, I hope this post has provided you with some inspiration!

Do any of the shades above call out to your make-up loving heart?

_{^{This post features products that were generously provided to me by Surratt Beauty / TFI Trading. Regardless, all opinions expressed here are my own honest, unbiased views.}}