Cut-crease eyeshadow: how to apply it on clients

Q: What’s the best way to create the cut-crease make-up look on clients?

Traditional eye contouring is centred around the shape of the eye and tailoring the contour to the individual, whereas the cut-crease trend is a new way to add sophisticated drama, creating depth along the natural arc of the eye, with little or no blending, for a stylish impact.

What I love most about this trend is that it gives immediate lift, adds dimension and is easily adaptable to the shape of any lid. Plus, when executed correctly, it can completely elevate your client’s whole make-up look.

My favourite cut-crease technique is to use a mix of cream and powder shadows with a defined gel liner. For the base colour, start with a lighter, creamy shimmery shadow along the lid, blended from the crease down, then set with a lighter powder shadow.

Then, using a cream gel liner in a deep navy, draw a thick line into the natural fold of the eye lid, starting in the centre then sweeping back and forth until you’ve drawn a defined line from the inner corner of the crease to the outer corner, without extending past the end of the eyebrow.

The last step in this bold yet balanced shadow look is to blend a complementary powder eyeshadow along the liner, focusing the pigment along the crease. To keep your application looking flawless, blend the shadow into and above the defined line, ensuring it doesn’t fall below the crease.

Tiffany Kissler is director of style and artistry for professional make-up brand Vincent Longo Cosmetics. Kissler has worked as a make-up artist for leading brands Bobbi Brown, Guerlain and Trish McEvoy in the US.