TikTok Has The Easiest Hack For Nailing A Smudged Smokey Eye (No Fancy Makeup Tricks Required)

A good smokey eye should be part of every makeup-wearer's repertoire. For those who lean towards edgy or grungy styles, of course it's a must. But even people who prefer a minimalist or elegant vibe should know how to pull off a decent smokey eye. Especially when you don't wear it that often, a dramatic smudged eye look will set you apart from the crowd and make a statement, no matter what you're wearing.

While a smokey eye isn't difficult to do, it is easy to take it too far and end up looking like you've been crying in the bathroom all night. Or worse: that you survived a punch-up the day before. Even daytime smokey eyes are over-the-top and bold, but not so much that it looks like the vibe you were going for is "racoon." To get the balance just right, it often takes a lot of time to apply and blend out the right shades.

If you're looking for a quicker way to execute a smokey eye and be out the door in a matter of minutes, TikTok has once again come up with the goods. The latest hack takes away the minutes spent blending with brushes and instead relies on your fingers to literally smudge your liner to smokey goodness.

You'll find endless tips on #beautytok that detail how to master seductive smoky eyes in a flash. Our favorite is from user @adityamadiraju, who uploaded a video to the platform showing his take on the finger smudging method.

To pull this off, start by tightlining the waterlines of both your upper and lower lids with eyeliner. Lining your upper waterline can take some getting used to, so you might want to practice before you need to wear this look for a real event. Once you've applied your liner, close your eyes and gently rub them with your fingers, moving your lids from side to side three or four times. You'll be left with a noticeable but manageable smudge directly under your eyes.

Next, grab some eyeshadow in a shade of brown and gently apply it on top of the smudge, so that it helps the black color blend into your skin. Just a few pats of eyeshadow will do. Then go in with your mascara as you normally would. Be generous — this look is about being bold and daring, so heavy lashes work better than those with just a light layer of mascara.

While @adityamadiraju's video attracted a sea of comments praising the final look of his smudging technique, some users pointed out that rubbing your eyes isn't actually that safe. "OK but I just saw an optomolgy [sic] video talking about never rubbing your eyes like that," commented one viewer. According to Atlantic Eye Institute, rubbing your eyes excessively can cause damage, leading to the scratching and thinning of the cornea, accelerated signs of aging around the eyes, and eye infections. It can also worsen your dark circles. In severe cases, you may even experience permanent vision problems as a result of cornea damage.

However, the website explains that these problems tend to come about when you are doing "too much rubbing," which the Institute defines as "more than just once or twice per day." Assuming that you're not wearing a smokey eye every day, you rub your eyes gently, and you only tug a few times, it's less likely that you'll inflict serious damage.

If you do want to wear a smokey eye every day, it might be worth looking for a method that doesn't involve eye rubbing just to be extra safe! Luckily, there are plenty of TikTok videos with other smokey eye tutorials. These tend to rely more on eye shadows than eye iners and require a little more precision and practice. But if you're only an occasional smokey eye wearer, the finger hack takes all the effort out of this dramatic look.