Learn how to get the bold, cut-crease look from makeup expert Caroline Killeen.
Step 1: Start by priming the eye. There are a lot of products to be placed and you want them to stay. Wash over the eye area up to the brow-bone with a light pearly white. Bright white will look too stark.
Step 2: Use a medium coloured pencil to cut a line where the crease of the eyelid (socket) should be. This acts as a good guide before committing to a darker product, which is not so easy to remove if applied by mistake.
Step 3: Using a socket brush loaded with black or dark charcoal eye shadow, follow the penciled line back and forth several times. This provides a thick crease line with blended edges. If going for a tonal contrast look without colour, intensify this line by a wet product application. Continue the intensified yet blended line along the upper lash line. This will highlight a cut-crease because of the contrast of pearly white, both directly above and below the darkness of the line. The line should have a graduating angular finish at the outer end.
Step 4: We are using colour to soften the effect of the crease, choosing a metalic teal green and gold (for edges) by Makeup Forever. The darkened line in the socket will still provide the contrast, up against the pearl. With a steady hand and a liquid eyeliner, run a fine line along this line to deepen further and add an edge. Now run the liner along the upper lash line finishing with an angular or cats eye outer end.
Step 5: Dress lashes with the blackest black mascara or apply faux lashes, and keep lips close to natural. Sarah’s lips are a glossy peach. Lastly, flush a peachy glow gently through the apples of the cheeks. Lips and cheeks should be subtle enough to allow the eyes to shine.
While the cut-crease style of makeup might not be as famous as its counterparts, it still does lend a bit of quirkiness to the eye. We explore more…
Popping eyes? Cut-crease? Cut and Crease? What!
Well, a technique that sounds like you are up-around dressing formally in Chanel’s fancy outfits, is actually related to eye-makeup! Adding color to an otherwise singular skin-tone has been in fashion for quite sometime now. In fact, cut-crease and its many variations are what women have been playing with for years. Especially popular during the 60s and 70s, this look is found on the fashion runway almost every year.
In this style, the crease is ‘cut’ sharply with a contrasting eye shadow color to give it a really dramatic defined crease. And where does that leave the wearer? It simply makes their eyes appear bigger and brighter. And those who sport it, usually swear by an added dimension: a dramatic, sharp liner to create quite an angular look.
Essentially, the cut-crease style of eye makeup re-emphasizes the movable part of your eye, the lid and the lash-line. So if the combinations of purple and white, or a gradual shift from golden to silver are your thing, or you’ve simply been wondering how to get around the palette, lay out a little time for yourself and head out into the sun. And if you need some form of inspiration, look no further than pop stars Jennifer Lopez or Christina Aguelira. In fact, Marc Jacobs and Michael Kors seized the concept of cut-crease whilst adding their own edge for their Spring/Summer 2013 shows.
For a cut-crease look like JLo’s, we suggest the following eyeshadows:
Nylon by MAC
Nylon is a great highlighter to keep handy! It turns tantalizingly white on the skin, while also retaining the shiny and metallic look!
Color Riche Eyeshadow by Loreal
With an option of twenty different packaged eye shadow trios, Color Riche by Loreal offers you a rich range of options. The colours already come mix-and-matched for the perfect cut-crease look. Because, of course, you are worth it!
Metallic Long Wear Cream Shadow by Bobbi Brown
This award winning range offers an irresistible palette for the ones who love the shine. Not only do they have their way with the silvers and the golden, they offer a range of gilded shades that are much more fancy! The market for eyeshadows, in fact, is huge and one can’t simply recommend enough.
Step out and check some of these products out for yourself. While you are at it you would also want to get something that is an all-purpose eyeshadow, the kind you don’t have to always think about. For that we suggest you give Carbon by MAC a try.
While for brown shades, you can opt for Cork by MAC, a nice mid-toned warm brown shade, with a matt texture. It works well as a crease color, as do most of the matt versions of eyeshadows from Urban Decay. And while we are out offering advice, gel eyeliners like Bobbi Brown’s Long-Wear, can make your tiresome makeup hours seem much simpler. While liquid liner does have its advantages, the gel formula is easier to work with and at the same time is much more forgiving and equally long lasting!
So there you have it… now get started and get quirky!
