The Step-by-Step Guide to a Cut Crease

Photo 1/8

Before starting this eye makeup look, take heed. Bat a Lash Beauty blogger Samantha Ravndahl calls this the "easiest cut crease ever", but also warns the look may take a few tries if you've never attempted it. "Patience is key," she says. To start the look, apply an eye primer to the entire lid. Next, apply a base shadow like MAC Pro Longwear Paint Pot in Bare Study to the lid, and use a white highlight like MAC Eye Shadow in Gesso on the brow bone and inner corners of your eye.

Photo 2/8

Use any eyeliner you like (Ravndahl uses MAC Chromaline in Black Black) to sketch a V-shape starting from the crease in the middle of your eye and connecting to the outer corner of your eye. "Make the line thicker toward the outer corner, and use less pressure toward the inner corner, to make the liner thinner and lighter."

Photo 3/8

When your cut crease is drawn in, it should look something like this. (No judgment here if you need to grab the makeup remover. We suggest Salon Perfect Eye Makeup Corrector Sticks to erase those errors.)

Photo 4/8

Next, use an eye shader brush like MAC 239 to blend your eyeliner out toward the outer corner of your eye. If you can, try to keep the bottom of your cut crease a sharp line.

Photo 5/8

Using the top line of your eyeliner as a guide, apply any eye shadow you'd like (pictured: MAC Eye Shadow in Plum Dressing) over the line and slightly above it, blending in toward the inner corner of your eye. You can also clean up any mistakes along the way with your white eyeshadow.

The cut crease eye makeup look is on par with a killer smoky eye, the perfect red lip or those loose, beachy waves everyone (but me) seems to be able to perfect. In other words, you see it everywhere, but it's more difficult than it looks to do by your own hand. If you're thinking, 'Uh, what's a cut crease?', it's a technique that contrasts eye shadow color in the crease of your eye for a sharp, defined look.

Bat a Lash beauty blogger Samantha Ravndahl is a pro at breaking down the most intricate makeup looks step by step. Here, the beauty blogger and freelance makeup artist shows us every precise detail of the cut crease eye makeup look step by step so you can nail it the first time around (or, okay, maybe the second or third).

A Mind-Blowing Step-by-Step Guide to the Cut Crease

See how a pro breaks down this dramatic eye in eight easy-to-follow steps

"The Easiest Cut Crease Ever"

Start Sketching

It's Okay. You Can Start Over.

Blur It Out

Add Some Color

GET FREE SAMPLES