There is no specific sweeping that can be called the best or perfect. The perfect sweeping is about adapting the make-up to the shape of the eyes and what exactly you feel good and comfortable in.

The perfect sweeping for me may not suit another person at all, if you do exactly the same.

But here come mine 10 best tips to get the perfect sweep for you! :)

Step 1 - Darkness
Do you enjoy very dark and intense make-up, or do you feel slightly over-made up?

If you thrive in the dark, I recommend using a lot of black eyeliner in addition to the black eye shadow. With the eyeliner along the waterline, down on the lower lash line and quite wide on the upper lash line, you easily get that carbon black really intense feeling! You can also apply black make-up in the corner of the eye to really frame the whole eye.

Step by step on this makeup is available here!

If, on the other hand, you feel easy for  dark around the eyes, so try to lighten the inside of the eye - it can be as much as the inside of the eyelid or maybe even the entire lower lash line, but just a little light shimmer in the corner of the eye actually does a lot even if you do not want to remove it intense feeling you get by sooting around the whole eye.

Step by step on this makeup is available here!

Step 2 - Use eyeshadow primer
Vissa säger att en sotning blir mer mjuk och lätt att sota om man skippar primer, och det stämmer ju eftersom ögonskuggorna inte fäster lika bra och inte blir riktigt lika starka, då blir looken lite mer “soft”. Men har man som mig väldigt oljiga ögonlock (det har de flesta, även om man inte är oljig i övriga ansiktet) så kommer ögonskuggan lägga sig i veck på ögonlocket efter några timmar, vilket syns extra mycket när man har mörka ögonskuggor.

My favorite primer is Lumene Eye Shadow Primer, ca 115kr.

Step 3 - Effect
Det kan vara väldigt svårt att titta sig själv i spegeln och sedan titta på någon slags mall och säga “sådana här ögon har jag, då ska jag ha en sådan form på min sotning”. Det jag istället brukar tänka på är vad vill jag uppnå för resultat? Vilken effekt vill jag att sminkningen ska ge? Vill jag lyfta upp blicken mer, få ögonen att se större ut, eller bara rama in ögonen?

I show two examples, of Karin and Linda:

On Karin I wanted to do a sweep that lifts her eyes (which with age has started to hang a little, a little in the outer corner of the eye) at the same time I want to open my eyes and make her eyes look bigger.

Därför valde jag att markera undre fransraden ganska starkt, så att man får den intensiva känslan. Sedan jobbade jag upp den svarta skuggan längs globlinjen så att ögat liksom “följer med uppåt” i halvcirkeln. Det gör så att ögat inte ser ut att gå så mycket neråt som det gör.

Then I chose relatively light eye shadows on the rest of the eyelid and in the corner of the eye, to open up the gaze so that the eyes look big and alert.

På Linda som har lite mindre ögon valde jag istället en mer utdragen cat eye-form som lyfter upp och “drar ut” blicken lite mer. Jag har även valt att ljusa upp i innerkanterna för att ögat ska se mer öppet ut. Själva ögonlocken är väldigt små, men eftersom hon har stor yta under brynet så ska man inte vara rädd för att sota upp mycket över den riktiga globlinjen!

The biggest difference in their eye shapes is that Karin is more round while Linda is very almond shaped. The easiest way is therefore to make a more elongated shape on the almond eye and a more rounded shape on the rounded eye. If, on the other hand, you want your round eyes to look more almond-shaped, or that an almond-shaped eyes should look more round - then you do the opposite!

Step 4 - Adjust to eye shape
As you have hopefully understood, there is not only one form that is right for one eye, it depends on what you are looking for results and what you enjoy.

But there is a guideline that you can get help from regardless, to get the sweeping adapted to your own eye! What I'm talking about is the slope of the lower lash line, if you follow it when you blur outside the eye, you automatically get a shape that suits your eye. This applies both if you make a cat eye shape or a more rounded sweep.

Hope you see what I mean!

Step 5 - Release the panda eyes
Anledningen till att många får typiska pandasotningar som bara ser ut som två stora hål, är för att man inte anpassar den sotade formen efter ögat. Jag pratar dels om tipset ni fick i “steg 4”, men det finns ett till knep man kan använda sig av för att få en mer “formad form”.

* Either you can soot wider in the outer edges and a little narrower in the middle, to get a more almond-shaped eye.
* Or you can soot higher in the middle of the eyelid, and lower in the middle of the lower lash line, to open up the eye more.

Hope you understand my dot pictures! In any case, this is how you get a clearer shape that suits the eye better and gives a more harmonious impression.

Step 6 - Makeup Brushes
Everyone uses different types of brushes, it is very much a matter of taste. For just sweeping, I usually only have soft fluffy brushes, what sets them apart is the size.

Application - Medium-sized soft makeup brush.
Erasing - Large, soft and fluffy makeup brush.

Step 7 - Technique
How to use the brushes when making a sweep is not so easy to know. This is what I usually do:

1. Dab black eyeshadow on the entire eyelid with the smaller brush. It is important that you dab and not pull, and that you apply properly with eye shadow so that you saturate the primer and get an even black result.
2. Then blur the edges by pulling back and forth in the middle of the line between the skin and the black eye shadow. Use the larger brush for this. You should only blur the edge, not the eyelid.

Feel free to take a little eye shadow at a time if you are unsure, it is easier to add extra than to remove.

Step 8 - Highlight
There are thousands of ways to vary a sweep, how to highlight and match with the rest of the makeup.

Svart sotning och röda läppar är klassiskt, men många säger att man antingen ska satsa på “mycket ögon” eller “mycket läppar” och att därför nude-läppar är bättre till en sotning. Annars blir det dels väldigt mycket smink samtidigt som man stjäl fokus från ögonen. Jag själv håller bara delvis med, för samtidigt som ljusa läppar såklart framhäver de intensiva ögonen mer, så får man mer balans i ansiktet om inte allting hamnar på samma ställe i ansiktet.

Do as you please, I say, but my basic rule is:
Dark eyes and colorful lips - Very little blush.
Dark eyes and light lips - More blush / shading & highlighter.

No matter what you do then, you still get balance in the face, without being made up! And if you are unsure, you can always choose an intermediate color on the lips and you have solved the problem :)

You can also add a little color to a sweep, for example to match the clothes or to emphasize the eye color. Gold if you have blue eyes, blue and you have brown and purple and you have green. Or, for example, silver glitter if you wear silver jewelery.

Nicolin's make-up (far left) I have matched the sweeping with red lips. However, I have only smoked quite discreetly on the lower lash line, so as not to get a very sharp look.

On Frida's sweeping (along the right) I have added purple eye shadow to highlight her green eyes!

Step 9 - Hard to get a nice fade?
The idea with a sweep is that it should be so faded that you do not see where the eye shadow ends and the skin color begins. This can be a little difficult in the beginning when you are not used to it, then you can apply a little brown eye shadow right in the transition when you smoke. It is easier to get a brown eyeshadow to blend in with the skin, than a black one.

You can also take your blush brush or foundation brush that still has a little make-up on and pull with it a little lightly just in the transition.

Step 10 - Video tutorial
You can read as much as you like about make-up, but the very best thing is to really see it in front of you. That's why I'm now offering a previous video tutorial where I show how to make black smoky eyes!

Hope this post was helpful! I've been tinkering with it all morning, which is why the first post of the day is published a little late :)

Hug you and have a super nice Friday!