TikTok's glitter cut crease is like snow angel makeup
Ethereal, starry-eyed makeup is beauty’s calling card right now so it’s little wonder that the phrase ‘how to do a glitter cut crease’ has had over 4 million views on TikTok.
Winterised makeup usually beats a familiar drum of berry hues and smoky eyes. So when China's beauty creators, including @jellybean_xxdd, started to pair the coquette aesthetic with a pin-thin arch of glitter eyeliner along their creases, we knew it was only a matter of time before the glitter cut crease makeup trend went viral globally.
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The beauty of this look is its multi-layered approach and offsetting matte eyeshadows and liners against their shimmery counterparts. We also couldn't think of a more perfect makeup trend that captures the glacial mood for the icy months ahead. The only caveat is that the look requires a steady hand.
In a TikTok tutorial by @wholesalesoymilk, muted rose tones are buffed over the lid and around the eye, before adding definition with a thin cat eye flick. But the real fairy-tale happens when she smears a pearlescent glitter eyeshadow over the lids, then adds a swipe of glitter eyeliner in the same hue on the waterline only, before tracing a snowy white liquid liner along the hollow of her eye socket to finish the look.
Whether you choose to then take a few flecks of glitter down the bridge of the nose, or add a hint to high points is up to you.
Everything about the placement is delicate and considered. And the sheen? Middle-of-the-road rather than disco. A modern snow angel is what springs to mind.
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More glitter eye inspiration
It’s not the first time that sparkle has been the inspo for steering our makeup away from predictable mattes in recent months. First, Olivia Wilde rocked up at the Variety event at the Venice Film Festival sporting graphic eyeliner and a face-spanning, iridescent star motif over her right eye courtesy of makeup artist Wendy Rowe.
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Think of it as a glam rock-meets-Euphoria lovechild, with a touch of vintage Kate Moss thrown in for good measure (remember when the supermodel hit her 34th birthday with a gold star painted over one eye?). Speaking to GLAMOUR UK, Wendy revealed the inspiration behind the look, which involved transferring individual crystals onto Olivia's face. “It was a bit Bowie, a bit Marc Bolan and a bit elfin, like a modern-day fairy," she says.
Then New York Fashion Week SS23 was awash with the stuff. At Tory Burch, the models eyes were dripping with chunky silver glitter.
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While at Peter Do, glitter-covered eyebrows created light-reflecting arches.
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How to wear glitter eye makeup in a modern way
What keeps any glitter eye from venturing into festival or fancy dress territory is the sophisticated, pared-back effect elsewhere – instead of a bold lip or strong blush, it's all about glossy skin, hushed beige or rose hues and little else on the face.
“Keep the look simple, clean and contoured to give the face structure,” says Wendy, who likes to use a beige rather than bronze contour “to emulate shadows that normally fall on the face” and recommends pairing Pat McGrath Labs Divine Blush in Fleurtatious with the Pat McGrath Labs MatteTrance Lipstick in Peep Show for a your-natural-lip-but-better nearly nude finish.
A refusal to blend into the wallpaper completes the look. We’re bookmarking the glitter cut crease as inspiration for Christmas party season. And if we're really adventurous we might try sparkly brows, too.
Below everything you need to create the glitter cut crease.
