How to brighten your eyes in 5 easy steps

While a deep smoky eye might look amazing after dark, your daytime look generally needs to be a bit softer. There's no need to sacrifice your eye appeal, though, so this video will help you look naturally bright during work hours. The nice thing about this look is that you can easily amplify it for evening when going from your desk to dinner.

For daytime brightness, subtlety is key. Going too dark on the lid will make you look tired, and using a heavy hand with the glitter can look cartoonish. In our video, we've combined five easy steps to get you looking awake and bright-eyed without a lengthy routine. You'll need a few different brushes to re-create this look, but we're betting you have everything you need. Let's get started!

Materials
- Warm neutral matte mid-tone eye shadow
- Shimmer eye shadow, preferably gold
- Liquid glitter eye shadow
- White eyeliner pencil
- Mascara
- Fluffy or angled crease brush
- Small flat eye shadow brush

Directions
1. Begin by picking up some of the mid-tone shadow on your fluffy brush and apply it to your crease. To reduce kickback, sweep the shadow on slowly in one direction and then switch to a back and forth windshield wiper motion to blend.

2. Once your crease is defined, apply the gold shimmer shadow to your lid, being careful not to drag it into the crease.

3. Wipe off your flat brush, then use it to pick up some of the glitter from the wand. Using a brush gives you more control than the wand itself. Place the glitter below the lower waterline from corner to corner in a patting motion.

4. Now it's time for liner. Grab the white eyeliner pencil and line your lower waterline. If the color clings to your lashes, simply use your flat eye shadow brush to blur the edges.

5. To finish, apply 2 to 3 coats of mascara. Concentrate on the center of your eyelashes to achieve the most wide-awake look.

You're all done. If you have any harsh edges, just blend them again with the fluffy brush. Stay pretty!