Back

Hailee Steinfeld's makeup artist just dropped her 'halo eye' routine and we're obsessed

Meet the shadow look that proves bronze is anything but boring

By Delaney Loane

Digital Beauty Editor / July 22 2020

We're not trying to frame shimmery bronze smokey eyes as revolutionary or anything (um, perhaps you've heard of them?), but what we are saying is that where you apply what can make all the difference when it comes to the finished product.

Because while bronzey shadow looks are obviously sparkly and fun and wonderful in general – perfectly toeing the line between glitzy and neutral – an overload of cinnamon and cocoa colours all around the lids and lash line can tend to close the eyes off a little.

In a bronze blessing, however, makeup artist Melissa Hernandez (who counts Hailee Steinfeld and Dove Cameron among her gorgeous celeb clients) has a secret strategy for keeping all of the eye-framing, chocolatey smokey action without losing the wide-eyed-affect many of us are after.

It's a hybrid look she's coined the 'halo eye', and she's breaking down exactly how to nail it.

Step 1: The primer

“[After I apply a light wash of foundation], I skip concealer and get started on the eyes just in case there's a little bit of fallout, [because then I] can just wipe everything off. [Instead] I’m just priming my eyes, patting primer all over [the lid]."

Step 2: The crease

“[To start the shadow look], I’m going to dip into this [warm copper-cranberry] colour, and just start building that in my crease," she said as she fanned back and forth with a fluffy brush to work up the colour.

Step 3: The corners

“Now I’m going to go in with this brown colour on a smaller pencil brush, and I’m just going to start popping that on the inner corner of the eye, and also on the outer corner. [Then] I'm just going to [slightly] blur the edges,” she shared, swiping her brush across any harsh lines to blend and smooth the sharpness.

Step 4: The blending

“I keep a microfiber towel on my makeup table, just so that I can clean off my brushes in between, so I’m cleaning off the brown and now I’m going to go back in with the first colour we used, which was that cranberry colour," Hernandez explained. "I’m just going to blur out all of the edges and make sure everything is blended.”

Step 5: The cleanup

“So now I’m just taking a tiny Q-tip with a little bit of makeup remover and I’m just going to start cleaning up the edge, and then we’re going to blend that out [once it’s sharpened]."

Step 6: The concealer

Here comes the halo effect. “I’m just going to take concealer, and put a little bit in the centre of my eye, and I’m just blurring out the edges so we get that really pretty [wide-eyed] doll look [thanks to the light centre]," she said.

Step 7: The shimmer

“Now for the star of the show - I’m going in [over the concealer] with this really pretty orange-peach-gold colour and I’m just going to put that right in the centre," she said as she tapped the colour into the very middle with her finger. "And then because I want to be so extra, I’m [also] going to go in with this really sparkly [pearl] colour, and I’m just going to pat that over the top of the colour we just put down," she added, building over the gold with a glistening cream shade able to lift the look and open up the eye even more.

Step 8: The softening

“Now I’m just taking my concealer brush and stamping that right over the outer corner of the eye just so we get rid of the harsh line," she said next, using the base formula to blend and blur the winged effect.

Step 9: The lower corners

For the lower lash line, you want to reflect the same shades as you applied on the upper lid. "I’m taking the same brown colour and putting that on the outer corner of the eye, and the inner corner,” said Hernandez.

Step 10: The lower shimmer

“Now I’m going to take that colour that we put in the centre of the eye and put that right in the centre [of the lower lashline]," she explained, filling in the remaining gap with the same gold-and-pearl shimmer combo from the middle of the lid.