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VIRAL SENSATION
I tried TikTok beauty trends to see what worked – I’ll use the self-tan trick but the viral ‘lipliner’ was pointless
THE weirder a beauty hack sounds, the more interested I am in trying it – luckily for me, a good number of the viral beauty tricks on TikTok are totally bizarre.
I tried a sample of the most popular trends on the app to see what's worth the investment and what's just a silly fad.
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I was surprised by the beauty trends that ended up impressing me and the ones that fell short. The mascara technique favored by Selena Gomez was terrifying, while one shaving hack I was skeptical about worked pretty well.
So, are these viral trends worth your time and money to try at home? Read on to find out – I've tried every trick in the book.
USING TWEEZERS TO APPLY MASCARA
According to Rare Beauty founder and famously beautiful person Selena Gomez, using tweezers to apply mascara is a sneaky, affordable way to approximate false lashes.
Her method has taken off on TikTok, where beauty influencers rave about using the hack to get major definitions on their lower lashes.
Mascara hacks are some of my favorite beauty secrets, so I thought I'd tried them all. When I heard about this application technique, I couldn't try it fast enough.
I snagged a tube of mascara and, just like TikTok taught me, smeared a bit of the makeup onto the tips of my tweezers. When it came to the application, though, I balked.
Maybe this mascara hack is the reason Rare Beauty's products have shade names like "Brave" and "Daring." As I gently squeezed my lashes between the tweezers to apply my mascara, I had to fight off my fear of poking or stabbing myself in the eye.
Even when I wasn't scared of a corneal scratch, I found that there was a fine line between applying the product and accidentally pulling out a few eyelashes.
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Frustratingly, I didn't see much of a difference between my normal application technique and the so-called Selena Gomez way.
After trying the hack a few times over the course of the week, my practice never rendered a significant result.
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I even tried a side-by-side comparison, applying mascara the normal way to one eye, and using this hack on the other.
Can you tell which eye I used the viral method on? Because I can't, and I don't think this hack was worth the hype.
COST: Free, but will give you anxiety!
VERDICT: Messy and laborious, no real results.
FACE-SCULPTING WITH A FROZEN CUCUMBER
There's a category of skincare hacks that boils down to a simple formula: if you rub X on your face, then Y will happen.
I've put yogurt, eggs, seaweed, honey, hemorrhoid cream, various acids, and even washable glue on my face for the sake of skin care. And, like any diligent spa-goer, I've tried the old cucumber-slices-under-the-eyes routine.
What I hadn't tried before was swapping my gua sha and jade roller for a frozen cucumber. The theory follows my formula: if you rub a frozen cucumber on your face, then you will see lifted, even, moisturized skin.
Cucumbers were three for $1.00 at my grocery store this week, so I was happy to add this minor investment to my shopping list. When I got home from the store, I peeled away part of the cucumber, then wrapped it in plastic and stuck it in the freezer.
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Once the cucumber had been in the freezer for a few hours, I took it out and settled down in front of my vanity. The common protocol for this treatment calls for 30 seconds of facial massage.
Starting at the bottom of my face, just under my chin, I swept the cold cucumber up my jaw and along my cheekbones. Then, I passed it under my eyes, and also rubbed it along my forehead in tiny circles.
The cucumber was frozen, with little water crystals on the surface, but not so cold that I felt uncomfortable.
Because the water began melting the moment it touched my skin, I didn't need to use a face oil or moisturizer to provide lubrication, something you definitely need when using a gua sha or roller.
After using the cucumber for a few days, I didn't see much difference in my skin, but I felt better. My pores looked the same size, but my dry patches were nonexistent, and when I used the cucumber under my eyes after waking up, I didn't feel any morning puffiness.
Rubbing a frozen cucumber on my face didn't seem any sillier than putting on a sheet mask while I watch movies, another beauty trick that never changes how I look very much, but always makes me feel good.
This hack is inexpensive, it only takes 30 seconds per day, and it leaves you smelling like a beautiful salad, so it's one I'll definitely try again.
COST: $0.33
VERDICT: Feels good enough that the lackluster aesthetic effect is worth it.
SPEEDING UP YOUR SHAVING ROUTINE
Along with all these face-focused trends, I tried a couple of summer secrets oriented around shaving. First up: a razor hack that scared me even more than tweezing on my mascara.
This is one of those "you've been shaving your legs all wrong!" trends that the algorithms love to feed me. In the original video, the beauty blogger shows the hair-raising method of speeding up a shave.
Instead of gingerly drawing your razor from ankle to knee, rinsing off the accumulated hair, and starting again at the bottom of your leg, this strategy asks you to slide your shaver of choice up and down your leg at top speed.
The supposed benefit is twofold. It's fast, and it also keeps your razor hair-free – when you reverse directions down your leg, your hair is freed from the blades and sticks to your skin, where it can be rinsed away.
To make sure I got the full effect of this hack, I went a few days without shaving my legs.
Then, I plopped down on a towel in my bathroom with my necessary shaving supplies to film and photograph the method in action. If I accidentally opened an artery trying this hack, I wanted to make sure I had good pictures.
Thankfully, this trend was a lot less frightening in practice than my nerve-wracking mascara application. As TikTok promised, shaving my legs this way was speedy, kept me from missing any spots, and left me covered with little clumps of hair, which were easily wiped away.
COST: Free, but again...anxiety.
VERDICT: Surprisingly effective! I reserve the right to change my mind if I ever cut my leg open doing this.
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BANISHING STRAWBERRY LEGS FOR GOOD
Once I finished shaving my legs, I broke out a holy grail product TikTok swears by. First Aid Beauty's KP Bump Eraser Body Scrub is supposedly the best way to prevent "strawberry legs."
Named after the bumpy, pink appearance of freshly-shaved skin, strawberry legs are the hottest new thing to hate about your body. They show up after shaving because your hair follicles become visible, looking like little seeds in the skin.
After a few shaving sessions, I couldn't really tell if the KP Bump Eraser had worked.
Whether my follicles were noticeable seemed to depend more on my environment's lighting than anything else. One morning, I admired my textureless Barbie legs while getting ready, but thought they seemed a little spottier in direct sunlight.
On another day, my legs looked perfectly smooth in the midday sunshine but pockmarked in the harsh fluorescence of a store.
I was ready to write off the body scrub as a dud, but after shaving in the shower, I rubbed it into my legs and then absentmindedly applied it under my arms, too.
This is when I got a delightful surprise: my underarms felt totally soft, smooth, and restored.
Because I shower more often in the summer, and sometimes even scrub at my armpits in the sink in between showers to ward off body odor, I wind up with itchy, dry patches and even ingrown hairs.
After using this body scrub under my arms, though, I felt much more comfortable. It even seemed to have a slight deodorizing effect, maybe thanks to the glycolic and lactic acids in the formula.
I applied deodorant after my shower, then went about my day in a tank top without any of the ugly redness I usually see after shaving my armpits.
COST: $12
VERDICT: Effective product, but I accidentally developed my own off-label hack.
APPLYING SELF-TANNER AS CONTOUR
If you find pictures of me at junior prom, you'll see that I've always been pale, but I haven't always known my limits on self-tanners.
After spending my formative years sporting various shades of sickly orange, I tend to take it easy on the fake tan, especially on my face.
But for the sake of my journalistic integrity, I broke out the strong stuff and a fluffy blending brush for this hack, which swaps out bronzer for a face full of strategically-applied fake tan.
The hack comes from model Kara del Toro, who said she uses fake tan for a waterproof, "no-makeup" contour.
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The tanner I used requires four hours to set, so I decided to apply it first thing in the morning and check my results at lunchtime. When I grabbed a brush and started buffing my own fake tanner into my face, I understood why del Toro used a foaming formula.
This hack is a little touchy, and using a cream or liquid tanner would probably result in dripping orange streaks instead of a "natural" glow.
I followed my favorite bronzing guideline and drew a "number three" on either side of my face, tracing along my hairline, my cheekbones, and the underside of my jaw, with a touch on my nose, too.
When I washed away the guide color, I was impressed by what I saw. It's definitely not a no-makeup look, but my baked-on bronzing looked great.
My cheekbones and jaw looked like they'd received an airbrush contour, and the effect was noticeably better than my usual powder and cream contouring.
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There was a little extra orangeness along my hairline, so next time I try this, I'll use slightly less product up top and blend it out a little more.
But even in direct sunlight, and under a layer of BB cream, my contour received compliments, and I felt great about it every time I caught my reflection. The color faded away after 24 hours and two face cleansings, and I know I'll be trying it again next time I go out.
COST: Sacrificing your least-favorite makeup brush.
VERDICT: Made me feel like a supermodel; I will use this hack forever.
CHEWING GUM TO PREVENT WRINKLES
Can chewing gum do just as much to prevent wrinkles as Botox and fillers? That's the question I had before trying this hack, and it's the question I had after trying it, too.
One beauty pro claimed that anti-aging procedures are no match for fine lines and wrinkles, which develop as your facial muscles weaken over time.
According to Isabelle Lux, a specific method of chewing gum can counteract the aging process and give you "a heart-shaped face" in the meantime, which contributes to a youthful look.
I decided to try Lux's "smile and chew" method for a week and track any difference in my face. Every day, I popped in a piece of gum and spent one minute on each side, concentrating on my cheeks, trying to will them into youthfulness.
By the end of my experiment, I didn't see any difference, but since this is a preventative hack that's cheap and easy to do, I won't write it off as a waste.
COST: $1 every two weeks, if you buy Orbit, like me.
VERDICT: Ask me again in 10 years!
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SWAPPING EYEBROW TINT FOR LIPLINER
The final viral trend on my list was an intriguing one: the secret to longwear lipliner is, apparently, not lipliner at all.
Instead of putting on lipliner before a night out, this hack suggests lining your mouth with a brow tint like Maybelline's Brow Tattoo, then letting the color set for three minutes before peeling it off.
I've used a few peel-off products specifically for lips, so this made sense to me. My preferred shade of brow tint is a light auburn, too, so I figured a thin layer of it might approximate a reddish nude when applied to my lips.
After applying the liner as carefully as I could, I allowed it to set, then followed the instructions and peeled it away once dry.
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Instantly, I regretted my choice. The lines left behind were darker than I anticipated, even though I left the tint on for a fraction of the time I'd use for the brow tinting.
Plus, the lines were uneven, despite my cautious application, and seemed blobby in some areas, especially on my lower lip.
To make the best of things, I chose brownish lipstick and applied it to my semi-permanent liner look. Indoors, it didn't look bad.
Once I stepped outside and opened my selfie camera, though, I grimaced: even with lipstick on, my poor outlining looked cartoonish and sloppy, and I noticed even more areas where the liner varied in thickness.
This is one of those hacks that technically works, but probably shouldn't be used unless you're desperate. There are plenty of longwear lipsticks that would look better than this, and many are at the same price point as a brow tint.
Read More on The US Sun
If you do try this trick at home, be warned: it's called "Brow Tattoo" for a reason. Hours after applying my "lipliner," my lipstick was long gone, but the messy outline lasted through meals, hours of chitchat, and even brushing my teeth.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
COST: $15
VERDICT: Absolutely not.