Here at Team MDC, we know firsthand that few things are as frustrating as meticulously perfecting your eye makeup, only to have it crease moments later. To help you prevent this beauty tragedy-and fix it if the damage has already been done-we reached out to professional makeup artist Gabriel Almodovar for his expert take.

The first step on the road to recovery is awareness, right? Well according to Almodovar, "eyeshadow creases because of excess oil production on the eyelid. The oil mixes with your shadow and causes it to slide around ending up in the crease." Since there's not much you can do to prevent excess oil on your lids, the key to crease prevention is in the prep. "To prevent creasing, apply the proper eyeshadow 'base' on the eyelid before your shadow application. The reason why I put base in quotation is because eyeshadow bases vary greatly. You want a 'base' that will prevent the oil produced on your eyelid from interfering with the shadow. The 'bases' I like to use are specifically designed to dry down to a super matte texture, which doesn't allow oil to seep through them, and therefore prevents creasing," he says. Not sure which eyeshadow base to use? Almodovar loves Laura Mercier Eye Basics and Maybelline Super Stay Concealer 24HR . "I apply these only on the eyelid, diffusing them just over the crease," he explains.

So now we know that prevention is in the prep, but what if you need to fix some creasing now? "Take a clean finger and smooth out the creased shadow. However, be aware that it will crease again so you just have to be mindful of it and smooth it out from time to time. You really don't even need a mirror, just close your eye and smooth it over," Almodovar suggests. "You could pull out your brush and shadow and apply more but that will also crease later so it's not a must-do. Your finger does the trick just fine!" The takeaways of the day: prep to prevent and just fix with your finger!

Have any other application questions for our MDC experts? Leave your questions below.

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