Bright Eye Makeup Tips

I was compensated for this shop by Collective Bias, Inc. on behalf of Neutrogena for this #NewNeutrogena campaign #AD #Collectivebias. All opinions are mine alone.

I struggle with making my eyes look bright and engaged all day. I blame the cold weather, chronic under-eye circles/bags (they are hereditary! I promise I get enough sleep), and my ever-changing eye makeup routine. I recently picked up the wrong eyeliner in a bronzy red, in lieu of my normal espresso eyeliner, and the wrong mascara, it's blue! Ever since, I've been struggling with getting my eye makeup to look passable, much less lovely!

When in doubt, turn to your make-up go to and favorite brands. In this case? The Target beauty aisle and Neutrogena had to come to my rescue. I'm sure you all turn to Target when things get dire for your nails, hair care, make-up needs and beauty problems and like I do, I'm sure you all spend at least a day's salary getting your basket lost in those aisles. Luckily it usually results in something pretty spectacular. In my case? Bright, happy eyes. Even through the remnants of the flu! Seriously folks, I took these photos in the midst of a fever (perhaps that's to blame for my glassy eyes). If that's not proof enough of these items to brighten up eyes, then I've got nothing for you.

Read on for a tutorial! And click through for 10% off your cosmetic purchases and facial/skincare products at Target!

1. Use Neutrogena's Rapid Dark Circle Repair Eye Cream underneath your eyes for one week underneath or in place of concealer/under-eye make-up. It'll reduce your dark circles within one week! I'm definitely already seeing a difference.

2. Once your eyes are looking bright and dark-circle free, use the Neutrogena Nourishing Long Wear Eye Shadow palette in the following steps. Use the first shadow color in the palette on your lids alone (from the lash to the crease).

3. Move on to the next shadow color in your palette and brush it onto your eyelid above the crease and up to the brow bone. It's a bright, shimmery color, so it should not look too heavy.

4. Take the next color in your palette (it's the darkest color) and smudge it into your crease with the tip of your applicator brush or a smudging brush you have at home. You'll also want to line your eyes both the upper lashes and lower lashes by smudging more of the dark color along the lash line. Be careful to use a thin brush and be gentle with your application! It can result in looking a bit too smoky.

5. A smoky eye can't be supported with untouched brows! Never forget to use either a brow brush (or in this case, the lid color from your eyelash palette as it matched my hair color) to touch up your brows. Use a light hand to apply a bit of color to your brows.

6. Finish with a few coats of mascara on the lower and upper lashes. I usually do two coats on the upper lash and one coat on the lower. Touch up any mistakes with cover-up.

Voila! A gentle smoky eye that actually brightens your eyes!