Once I saw a TikTok hack that means the standard eyelash curler will be the right guide to assist create a symmetrical cut crease, I nearly ran to my makeup bag to try it out for myself. In fact, I had some healthy skepticism, and wondered if my attempt could really end up just like the video that caught my eye from creator Tia Shea. But when holding my go-to Dior Backstage Eyelash Curler, I figured I had nothing to lose. 

While Shea’s video looked as effortless because it was seamless, my eye shadow skills will be described as beginner at best. It seems that I wasn’t the just one. “At first, I used to be slightly skeptical, [and thought] ‘Can a lash curler really do that?,” says makeup artist Shenise Sheena. But after attempting the look herself, she was sold. “The hack makes achieving a cat-eye easy and an amazing technique to get the effect without having to wipe off or perfect your eyeliner shape,” Sheena adds.

For the reason that eyelash curler tool is kind of literally your stencil, “this hack is an amazing guide for many who have a tough time placing eyeliner or eye shadow in the proper area,” Sheena says. It is also a fool-proof method for many who haven’t got the steadiest of hands and should hold their breath when drawing a killer cat-eye. As Recent York City-based makeup artist Tommy previously told Allure, it helps to position a dot behind your outer eyelash, which is the top of a cat-eye’s “tail.” This “should lift the attention shape and, most significantly, widen and elongate,” he adds. 

But within the case of this eyelash curler hack, the tool is an alternative choice to those extra steps. Sheena believes it could be due to how easy it’s to attain this cat-eye effect without ever having to wipe off and excellent the form of the wing. 

Before jumping into it, I followed a few of Sheena’s suggestions and tricks she found most helpful after her first go-around. “Stepping into with a pencil first to define the liner after which mixing with shadows works very well,” she advises. As for what shade of shadow to start out with first, I used to be somewhat surprised to listen to her suggestion of darkest to lightest transition shade, mixing every thing out to tie the look together at the top.