Kate's Trick For the Perfect Classic Smoky Eye Is 1 You'll Want to Try at Home

By Tori Crowther

Updated on 6/26/2018 at 3:40 AM

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Getty

Kate Middleton may be a duchess, but she's the queen of royal beauty in our eyes.

She's got the best hair, at all times, and it appears she's already been giving royal-to-be Meghan Markle her top hair tips. When it comes to Kate's makeup, she takes a classic-yet-chic approach. She favors Bobbi Brown and even used the brand for her wedding makeup!

Kate's first outing of the year, a day after her 36th birthday, saw her greeting very excited children at a London school. While others checked out her outfit, as self-confessed beauty junkies, our eyes were fixed on her beauty look. The heavier eye liner, slight cat eye, and nude lip got us dissecting every part of her makeup. Here's how you can replicate it at home.

Foundation
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Foundation

Kate keeps her face makeup minimal and doesn't wear heavy foundation — we recommend a Bobbi Brown BB Cream with SPF35 ($41) if you want a dewy, minimal-coverage finish.

She's often got a good dusting of blush on, giving her a rosy look. We love the Bobbi Brown Neon and Nude Blush ($23).

Kate rarely wear much bronzer, and if she does, she saves it for tour abroad to give a sun-kissed look. She's also lucky enough to have radiant skin without using heavy highlighter. A good way to get a glow without too much product is to mix something like Victoria Beckham Estée Lauder Morning Aura Illuminating Creme ($95) with your foundation. As well as this, we know Kate has a great skincare routine to maintain her glow.

Her brows are well-groomed, but never overdrawn. We suggest Bobbi Brown Natural Brow Shaper & Hair Touch Up ($28) if you want to maintain your natural shape but just tidy up.

Eye Makeup
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Eye Makeup

Kate's eye makeup is a little heavier here than normal. Her trick to a classic smoky eye? Eyeliner. She uses it to change the intensity of her makeup. A brown base has been used on her entire eyelid, even toward the inner corners of her eyes, using Bobbi Brown Downtown Cool Eyeshadow Palette ($42). Next, a thick line of eyeliner has been applied and blended out to create a smoky eye and small wing effect. The Bobbi Brown Smokey Eye Kajal Liner ($27) has a smudger attached to make this blending simple.

This is a supereasy way of creating a smoky eye, or an illusion of one without messing with black shadow on your lid, which is scary for most people, even makeup enthusiasts. Kate finishes off her makeup with a minimal swipe of mascara; she never goes overboard, as most of us probably do (guilty)! A favorite (and my personal everyday go-to) is Bobbi Brown Smokey Eye Mascara ($30).

Lips
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Lips

Kate's lips are always superhydrated, so we wonder whether she's partial to a lip mask on a self-care Sunday? She keeps the color very neutral. We love Bobbi Brown Rich Lip Color in Bare Pink ($28) or even just sticking to a simple lip balm ($23).