Simple, elegant, understated—Gucci has been dreaming up a fresh spin on the smoky eye that’s ultra-wearable for holiday. Having honed her makeup artistry skills over years on film sets with Spike Jonze and Vogue editorials with Grace Coddington, she’s putting her signature touch on a rich khaki eye.

It’s a look that translates beautifully for parties or dinners with friends and family. Here, she demonstrates how to do it in three easy steps, all while sharing the story of her makeup artistry beginnings (a top question in her DMs these days from aspiring industry hopefuls). “Eventually I got to work with my dream list of photographers and stylists,” she says of her early days on set—but things didn’t happen overnight. “Really, I took every opportunity I could get.” Listen in!

Once skin is prepped, Gucci swirls and sweeps the khaki shade from the Eye Pods Trio in Rendezvous over the lids—using the Eye Shadow I Brush to focus the cream-to-powder shadow below the socket, gently extending the color out towards the temples. Then, she works a bit more of the khaki shadow along her lower lashes to velvety effect.

Now, to add definition to the eyes, she traces Eye Love You Pencil in Khôl Brun along the upper and lower lashes and blends gently with her fingertip. (Bonus: the same matte terracotta brown pencil creates a few freckles along the bridge of the nose for an authentic ‘real skin’ effect.)

The final step features Eye Want You Mascara in Clean Black for a boost of length and volume. With one or two coats (your choice), the clean, buildable formula makes lashes full and fluttery to frame the look. Et voilà!  

“I just love making people happy,” says Gucci of makeup’s instant mood-boosting potential. “You know that feeling?”  Why yes, we do.