The Cut Crease Is The Ideal Look For Almond-Shaped Eyes - Here's Why

Not all eyes — or eye makeup looks — are created equal. Using the right shadow or liner technique is crucial for celebrating and emphasizing the natural shape of your eye (and, perhaps equally importantly, avoiding the dreaded clown or raccoon aesthetic). If you're in the almond-shaped eye camp, one of the best techniques you can try is the classic cut crease. 

As their namesake suggests, almond eyes are oval-shaped, tapering to symmetrical, narrow points on either end. You can also determine whether you have almond-shaped peepers based on where your irises sit (via Lashify). If your irises touch or extend past your top and bottom lash line and you can see your lower eyelid even when your eyes are open, you likely have almond-shaped eyes. 

The soft curve and visible lids of almond eyes lend themselves to creating a wide range of stunning makeup looks, including fun pops of bright eyeshadow, a flirty cat eye, or simple, barely-there mascara. However, there are some notable pitfalls to avoid when styling almond-shaped eyes. If you're looking to really make your almond eyes pop, a cut crease might be your best bet — here's why.

An almond eye's symmetrical, oval-shaped edge makes it a great, neutral canvas for winged eyeliner. And because almond eyes feature a visible lower lid (unlike hooded or monolid eyes), it can also be easier to incorporate trendy eyeshadow looks, from a pop of single color to a beautifully blended ombré. Too much liner, though, can make almond-shaped eyes appear smaller and shallower, not bold and sultry. 

Moreover, visible lids can be helpful for applying eyeshadow. But if done incorrectly, most of your hard work will either be lost to your lid crease or overwhelm your narrower eye shape for a gaudy, straight-outta-1982 look. Plus, if you have smaller almond eyes, the visibility of your lids might not be as helpful if the surface area itself is tiny. Given these pros and cons, a fierce cut crease is a fantastic option for almond-shaped eyes. This makeup technique uses almond eyes' features to your advantage while giving them a natural-looking boost. 

A cut crease refers to an eyeshadow technique where a darker shadow sits on the upper lid just below the brow bone while a lighter shadow "cuts" across the uppermost edge of the lid crease (via Maybelline). This technique creates the illusion of bigger, rounder eyes while highlighting the soft curvature of an almond-shaped lid.

Maybelline's handy step-by-step cut crease tutorial begins with adding a dark eyeshadow shade above your lid crease but below your brow bone. Apply this shade while looking directly ahead with relaxed, open eyes to ensure you create the right amount of space between your darkest shadow and your crease, which is essential to making this optical illusion. 

Then, using concealer or light-colored cream eyeshadow, apply your lighter shade directly above your lid crease and down to the lash line with a small, angled brush. This shade should follow the curve and length of the darker shadow, creating a distinct "cut" line between the two. After this step, you can move on to liner and mascara to complete the look. Or, you can add a secondary light shadow to the lower lid to match a particular color palette, being careful to keep the point where the light and dark shades meet crisp and delineated. 

Alternatively, add a pop of glitter to the lower lid or blend the dark shadow further into the brow bone for added oomph. To add extra roundness to your eyes, Youtube makeup expert Aly Art recommends blending more color directly above and below the pupil to create more vertical space. However you choose to cut your crease, this look is a wonderful way to celebrate (and boost) the natural beauty of your almond-shaped eyes.