It is beauty's most enduring incarnation. The affectation that has the power to propel actresses to icons, staid women into desired and desiring creatures and the singular thing that can create a whirlwind of mystery around someone we think know inside and out.

It is of course, the smoky eye. It began in ancient Egypt with Cleopatra, smearing coal soot around her eyes. And it ended... well, no, it hasn't ended and doubtfully ever will. The smoky eye is everlasting.

The smoky eye is the one make-up technique I'm asked constantly about. 'How do I do it?' 'How do you do it?' 'How do I make sure it suits me?' The answer is, well, there is no right answer. Because not all smoky eyes were created equal; each one has it's own quirks and geometry.

Hundreds and hundreds of years later, we're still coming up with new ways to do one. And yet, the smoky eyes of the past are indelibly ripe for referencing. 

Click the gallery for a visual feast of the smoky eye in all it's grand and dramatic incarnations.