How to Do a Cut Crease (Sharp, Defined Eyes Step by Step)
By Viktoria @vioda.makeup ·
A cut crease carves a crisp line between your lid and crease so the eye looks bigger and more sculpted. Here's how to do one step by step, plus how to adapt it for hooded eyes.
A cut crease is a sharp, defined line carved between the lid and crease that makes eyes look bigger and more dramatic. Here's how to do a cut crease step by step, even on hooded eyes.
What Is a Cut Crease?
A cut crease is an eye makeup technique where you create a sharp, visible line between your eyelid and your crease, then keep the lid bright and the crease deeper so the two clearly separate. The effect makes the eye look bigger, rounder, and more defined, which is why it's a red-carpet and glam-photo favorite.
There are two versions. A classic cut crease uses a shimmer or bold lid color with a defined matte crease above it. A sharp or 'clean' cut crease uses concealer to literally carve a crisp edge for a graphic, editorial finish. Both start the same way, with a well-blended crease, and the sharpness comes from cleaning the lid afterward.
Step 1: Prime and Set the Lid
Cut creases live and die on a smooth, gripping base. Apply an eye primer or a thin layer of concealer across the whole lid and set it with a little powder so shadow and concealer don't slide or crease through the day.
Dab a neutral transition shade lightly through the socket first. This is your blending buffer, it softens every edge you build afterward so the finished crease looks intentional, not muddy. Skipping it is the number one reason a cut crease reads harsh instead of polished.
Step 2: Build and Blend the Crease
With a fluffy blending brush, work a medium matte brown into your crease using small windshield-wiper motions. Build the color in thin layers rather than dumping it on, you want a soft gradient that sits just above where your eye folds. Look straight into a mirror to find your true crease placement so the color reads where you actually want the 'cut' to fall.
Once the shape is there, deepen the outer corner slightly and blend the top edge up into the transition shade so there's no hard line on top. The crease should look diffused above and sit ready for a clean edge below.
Step 3: Carve the Crease with Concealer
This is the actual 'cut.' Take a small, flat concealer brush and a creamy concealer, then draw a clean line right along the top of your lid, following the shape of your crease. Start from the inner corner and sweep outward, letting the concealer cover the lower half of the crease color and leave a crisp edge behind.
Pat it out toward your lashes to cover the lid fully and set it with a touch of powder. If you want a softer daytime cut crease, stop here, the concealer alone gives you a bright, clean lid against a defined crease. For full glam, this concealer becomes the base for lid color in the next step.
Step 4: Add Lid Color and Liner
Pack your lid shade onto the concealer with a flat shader brush, pressing rather than sweeping so the color stays dense and true. A shimmer or metallic really shows off the cut, but a bold matte works for a graphic look. Because you're patting onto a tacky concealer base, the pigment grips and looks vivid.
Finish with liner along the upper lash line, extended into a small wing if you like, and add mascara or lashes. A dot of light shimmer in the inner corner opens the eye even more. Line and lash are what tie the sharp lid to the rest of the eye so it reads finished, not floating.
Cut Crease on Hooded and Mature Eyes
Hooded eyes hide a traditional cut crease when the lid disappears, so place your crease color slightly higher than your natural fold, with eyes open, so the definition is visible when you're looking straight ahead. Keep the lid color bright and the cut thin, a heavy dark crease can close the eye down.
For mature or crepey lids, skip heavy shimmer and dense concealer, which settle into texture. A soft satin lid and a diffused, slightly-higher crease give the same lifted, defined effect without emphasizing fine lines. The goal on any eye shape is a crease you can see with your eyes open, so always check placement looking forward, not down.
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