How To | Daytime smokey eye + makeup routine

I started my whole "how to" section, and then promptly forgot about it. I remembered it today, and decided to update. But what to share?! What do you do so well that people would want to read about it? And then it hit me... makeup! A) I love doing makeup and B) they tell me I do a pretty ok job. So I thought I could share my daily makeup routine, a few beauty tips and secrets, and how I do my daytime smokey eye. So, here goes: 

I am loving the Urban Decay's Naked 2 palette... amazing neutrals and tons of choices, depending on my mood.

All the colors blend beautifully together, and there are countless combinations for a beautiful smokey eye. I choose Snakebite, Suspect and Pistol if I'm feeling edgy or YDK if I'm feeling a little more girly and romantic. Foxy is a great Sunday look, and Busted always finds its way into the mix no matter what my mood. My daily daytime look for work is:

Eyes:

1. Cover entire lid with YDK and sweep along lower lash line
2. Blend Busted into outer corner of crease and outer corner of lower lash line
3. Dot Verve with your ring finger into inner corner of eye for highlight
4. Urban Decay Whiskey eyeliner on top water line
5. Urban Decay Zero eyeliner along your top lash line ~ blend and slightly wing out with flat eyeliner brush using a charcoal shadow (I have a Smashbox Quad that has a great color for this- it's actually called Matte Navy but looks very grey. I find that the Blackout in this set is a bit too dark for day)

Lips:

1. Line with Jordana liner in Tawny
2. Gloss with Flower Shine on lip gloss in Hibis-Kiss

This look goes into night very easily. Simply blend a little more Busted into your crease and under lower lashes, and follow with Blackout in the very corner of your eye. Freshen up your liner and add Zero to lower lash line, and if you want to add a darker lip, feel free. I typically don't because I hate darker colors on my thin lips. 

That all being said, it was recently brought to my attention that I was doing my makeup 100% in the wrong order!!! Um, thanks Pinterest!! I hated the way I would get shimmer from my eyes all over my cheeks, but there was no easy way to fix it once my makeup was done. Never did it occur to me that maybe, just maybe, I could switch it up a bit... I now am dedicated!

Daily routine:

1. Primer {face + eyes}
2. Brows {fill + shape}
3. Eyes {shadow, liner + mascara}
4. Face {concealer + foundation}
5. Cheeks {bronzer + blush}
6. Set {powder, brow gel}
7. Highlight {brow, cheekbones, and cupids bow}
8. Lip color

Products used on a daily basis include: BareMinerals Prime Time Foundation primer and Eyelid primer; BM brow kit in Medium Blonde; Urban Decay Naked 2 palette; UD 24 hour glide on eyeliner; CoverGirl Lash Blast Fusion mascara; BM warmth and blush; BM Mineral Veil translucent powder; Benefit High Beam highlighter; Flower Shine on lip gloss