I like going from lighter to darker colors, which means I start with my crease. For better longevity I apply eyeshadow primer which I set with powder or nude matte color close to my skin tone. Then I start building up colors by firstly using the lightest neutral brown in my crease and a bit above it. If you have hooded eyes make sure your lightest shade is above the actual crease, but not touching the brow. 

Then I go in with more of a cooler medium brown and start to apply it in the crease and just a bit above it. Here you can make your shape. If you have smaller eyes which are more close together like me, you can concentrate more on the outer corner which you can pull up and out. On contrary, if you're eyes are more wide set, you can take that medium brown and apply it heavier in that hollow close to your inner corners. You can also make your shape more wide and pulled out or keep it rounded.

As the last step of eyeshadows I use black matte shade and apply it on the entire lid and just a bit into the crease and blend it just a tad above it. I have hooded eyes, so I want some of that black shade to show up even when my eyes are relaxed. I also applied more black on the outer corner and used much less in the inner corners because I don't want to further darken my already sunken in inner hollows where I naturally get shadows.

I used the same steps around my lower lash line. With lighter shade you can apply it in a more blown out way, lighter and more diffused. Then the darker you go with the shades the closer to your lash line. That's the general rule of smokey eyes - darkest around your lashes and lighter going outwards. 

You could leave it like that, but in my opinion there is no proper classic smokey eye without dark water line. So I used very soft gel liner in pencil shape and lined my upper as well as lower water line. You can definitely apply gel liner on your upper lid close to your lashes, but if you have hooded eyes, apply it only in the waterline. That way you save lid space for eyeshadows. If you eyes are very small you can skip gel liner step as it will close up your eyes even more. That's why I avoid it on my eyes as well, but for the purpose of classic smokey eyes, I used it. Apply mascara and you're done. You can also apply false lashes which will make this look even more dramatic. 

I find that classic smokey eye looks best on lighter eye colors like blues and greys. Black frames light eye color so well and makes it much more dramatic. You can use colorful smokey eyes to bring back other eye colors like purple smokey eye for green eyes or blue smokey eye for dark brown eyes. 

If you're like me and you love shimmery eyeshadows and need something to sparkle, because matte is just too flat for you then you can upgrade this from matte to party festive shimmery smokey eye. You can use either creamy shimmery eyeshadow, shimmery pigment or shimmery powder eyeshadow. 

I used creamy shimmery eyeshadow which is so easy to apply. I usually apply some on the brush and lightly tap it all over the mobile lid up to the crease. This way you can also create cut crease. But if you blend the edges you get shimmery smokey eye. 

If you use shimmery pigments you can mix those with liquid mediums like Inglot Duraline or apply them on the brush and spray the brush with setting spray to make it stick to your eyeshadow better. The same goes with shimmery powder eyeshadows. You can also apply a bit of glitter eyeshadow primer and then press pigments and powder eyeshadows on top of that. 

I don't know about you, but this shimmery version is more up my alley. It's so much more fun and dimensional because of all the shimmer. I also think, if you have hard time creating perfect matte smokey eye and you feel like your blend just isn't there or your eyeshadows may not be as pigmented, applying shimmery shade on top always makes everything look more put together, because shimmery particles hide any mistakes you may have had under it as long as they are opaque enough. I find it easier for beginners at makeup.

Whether you prefer matte or shimmery eyeshadows, smokey eye is technique that many love or at least know of. It's one of those classic eyeshadow applications that you can use with any color scheme and adjust it to your eye shape. Once you know how you would like your eye shape to appear, it's just the matter of blending from darker to lighter shades.