If you're over age 25, you'll probably remember (try not to cringe when you do) a time when you happily hit the streets with at least three different bright colors splashed around your eyes. Thankfully that look ‑- along with wedge-shaped shoulder pads, too-tight curly perms and Madonna-inspired crucifix necklaces ‑- died with the 1980s.

Today's eye makeup trends are radically different, ranging from a "nude" look to a "smoky" effect to a "clean" style. But while the colors and textures of makeup may change, one thing always remains the same ‑- the basic construction of the eye.

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Darrell Redleaf, a celebrity beauty expert based in Hollywood, California, says the key to a modern look is following five simple but elemental steps of eye makeup preparation and application.

"Most women will always end up applying makeup in the style that was in fashion when they came of age," he explains. "So if you started wearing eye makeup in the 1980s, then yes, you'll favor the three-color look that was popular then ‑- a light color on the lid, particularly the inner corner, a dark color in the eye crease and then a highlighter on the brow bone. That's a completely outdated style."