Smoke Signals.

Byline: CHRISTINA HAN editor: Sarah Brown

Dark, high-impact eyes make their debut for fall, flecked with silver and gold.

At Balenciaga, it all started with a coat: "It's the blackest black. Sexy," marvels makeup artist Pat McGrath, gesturing to a shot of model Anabela Belikova in structured, streamlined patent leather armor on Nicolas Ghesquiere's fall runway. Beauty translation: As with the fashion--the collision of ladylike details (vintage, estate--inspired jewelry) with tough, futuristic clothes--something slick and sleek, but feminine and polished. A bold new take on the "sexy eye," says McGrath: "Loads of black shadow, grays, black creams and pencils, with a bit of highlight on the lid." Elsewhere at this season's strongest collections, the trend continued: impactful, daringly dark eyes--austere, minimal, rimmed in black with a touch of silver at Lanvin ("channeling thirties Berlin," says McGrath); spiked with copper and rich coffee tones at Versace; a black-and-gold smoky effect meant to mimic a Klimt painting at Oscar de la Renta. The new, sculpted eye is equal parts shadow, liner, and mascara. Dior's Matte and Shiny Duo compact in Blackout Look comes with an opaque black shadow--perfect for the requisite, lid-sweeping wash--and a shimmery silver, ideal as a liner (over black) or dabbed at the corner, as at Gucci. Estee Lauder ...