Happy Monday! How was everyone’s weekend? I think I’m going to coin the phrase “T.G.I.M.” because I don’t know about you, but I’ve been so excited about these makeup posts that it’s almost made Mondays un-Monday themselves.

Today, let’s talk about taking your day makeup and turning it into a simple yet glamorous evening-appropriate look with minimal effort.

Sometimes it happens: you’re out running errands and you get a call from a good friend to meet for appetizers, but you only have 10 minutes to go home and freshen up. Or maybe you’re at work and your coworkers suggest hitting happy hour. You might have been in class all day and need to freshen up before catching up with friends at an evening production at the college theater.

Or perhaps, like me, you’ve been wearing your everyday makeup around the house all day and your husband calls to surprise you with an impromptu date… in 15 minutes! (Hey, a girl can dream!) Whatever your situation, sometimes a girl just needs to glam up a bit without doing the whole wash-face-and-start-from-scratch routine.

So let’s start with the day look that I outlined in my No-Makeup Makeup Look… this assumes that you have on the basics: foundation, concealer, blush, mascara, a little liner on your upper waterline, and you’ve filled your brows. Perfectly acceptable for daytime. But now, let’s get fancy!

Side note: Admittedly, I can be rather messy with eyeshadow and liners. I’d rather not mess up my freshly applied foundation and concealer if I drop some black liner on top of it. So when applying intensely-colored eye makeup, I prefer to start with my eyes, that way if any shadow does accidentally fall down onto my under-eye area, I can clean it up easily and then freshly apply my foundation and concealer.

Alright, let’s get started. Take Gem Mine, a deep, rich silvery-blue shadow, and apply it in the outer corners of your eyes with our Angled Sculptor Brush. You’ll want to blend well and keep the darkest color on the outer third of your lid, getting softer as you work inward.

Next, freshen up your highlight color (I love Champagne Pearl) under your brows and on the inner corners of your eyes.

Now, bring on the drama with liner! I like to moisten my Angled Liner Brush with a drop of water, then mix some Matte Black shadow in the lid to create a liquid liner. (Careful not too water it down too much; you want it nice and pigmented!) Starting on the outer corner and working inward, line your eyes. If you like, you can bump up the wow factor by tightlining (applying liner to the upper waterline).

At this point, wipe off any dark shadow that may have fallen on your under-eye area, and then freshen up your concealer and foundation. Don’t forget to touch up your blush, too! Dim evening lighting has a way of washing us out, so don’t be afraid to really warm up your color, blending everything well, of course.

Lastly, let’s complete the look by adding shadow and liner to the lower lids, creating a sultry smoky eye. Dab a bit of your Gem Mine on the outer third of your lower lids, tapering off the color as you work inward. Add a bit of black liner to your lower lid and waterline if you want seriously glam peepers.

Finish off by freshening your mascara.

Voila! You just spent five minutes transforming your fresh-faced daytime makeup into a glamorous, mysterious smoky nighttime look. Now how about that date?